The so-called "mourning stick" is the stick held by the filial son during the funeral. The mourning stick is a folk saying, and in the normative funeral texts, the mourning stick is the "stick" or mourning stick. In folklore, there are also mourning sticks, weeping sticks, filial piety sticks, etc. In real life, in the Han culture area, there are funerals at home, and the common use of mourning sticks is a relatively popular funeral custom.
There are many theories on the Internet about the mourning stick. Some people say that the mourning stick is a road opening stick, a ghost exorcism stick, and a soul protection stick, protecting the deceased all the way and preventing the infestation of lonely souls and wild ghosts. Some people say that the mourning stick is a dog beating stick, in order to prevent wild dogs in the underworld and protect the spirits of the deceased. Others attach historical figures or make up stories to explain the mourning sticks, and so on. It's all nonsense, and it's not credible.
In the normative funeral texts, the rod has a clear source, and its production and use and funeral significance are undoubted. In the texts of the normative ceremonial classics and the texts of the funeral system implemented by the imperial edicts of various dynasties, the shape and function of the mourning rod are clearly written in black and white. From the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties to the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Chinese humanities have a history of more than 3,000 years, and in both official and mainstream ideologies, funeral rods are in the same vein and have never changed.
However, since the beginning of the "New Culture Movement", we have completely denied traditional culture, especially funeral culture, so the official mainstream inheritance has been broken, and the folk funeral operation has become more complicated. The production and use of mourning sticks and the interpretation of the meaning of funeral events are also relatively confusing. Let's discuss this issue with the liturgical texts and the ritual system for your consideration and comment.
1. First of all, it must be clear that the mourning stick is the rod in the ancient funeral, which is an integral part of the full set of mourning clothes
(1) The provisions of the "Rites".
The text of the ceremonial classic "Ritual --- Mourning Clothes" has: "Chop, dress, tho, staff, skein, skein, crown rope, and suga." This is the full set of systems and styles of mourning clothes for the son to "cut off" the mourning clothes for three years of mourning for his father.
Explain. The son is mourning for his father, and the name of the mourning dress is called beheading. The original meaning is hemp mourning clothes. Chopping refers to the workmanship of mourning clothes, that is, making hemp mourning clothes with knives and chopping, without sewing edges, which is relatively coarse. The garment is the garment, the upper garment is the garment, and the lower garment is the garment. Tho is coarse linen. It is a hemp belt, which is called a silk when it is tied on the head, and it is called a twist when it is tied around the waist. The crown is the hat, and the rope tassel is the tassel made of hemp rope. Suga is shoes made of suga. The rod here is the so-called "mourning stick" of later generations.
Strictly according to the funeral regulations, the full set of filial piety's mourning clothes looks like this: wearing a mourning hat, and tassels made of two hemp ropes hang on both sides of the hat. He wore a hemp mourning belt on his forehead and waist. Mourning clothes "cut decay" tops and bottoms. Wear straw sandals on your feet. Holding a mourning rod (mourning stick) in his hand.
(2) The provisions of the Zhuzi Family Rites
"Zhu Zi's Family Rites --- Mourning Clothes" has: "One is said to have been declining for three years. His formal service is that the son is the father. Its staff is made of bamboo, and it is in unison, and it is below. ”
It means that the Son mourning for the Father is three years old. Bamboo sticks. The cane is high and flat-chested. The bamboo roots are underneath.
(3) The provisions of the "Tang Kaiyuan Ceremony".
"The Complete Book of the Four Libraries of the King James ----Tang Kaiyuan Rite Volume 131---- Five Service System" has: "Three years of decay. Formal wear. The Son is the Father. Cane. Right Tho bamboo cane. It is as large as a waist. Together. Ben is below. ”
Roughly speaking, the son mourned for his father for three years, and took the rod for the mourning. The filial son holds a bamboo cane in his right hand. The bamboo cane is as long as a belt, and the bamboo is high and flat-chested. The base of the big head of the bamboo cane is below.
(4) The provisions of the Great Song Dynasty Politics and Rites
"The Four Libraries of the King James Quanshu ---- Zhenghe Five Rites New Ritual Volume 24" has: "Five service system. Cane. For the father's cane and bamboo [the dark one of the color is Tho]. Cut for the mother cane [remove its color of the thoroughness]. Most of them are like waist scarves. Its strengths are all in unison. ”
This means that in the five-service system, the son uses a black bamboo cane for the father's funeral, and a paulownia wood cane for the mother's funeral. The staff is as large as a belt and high and flat-chested.
(5) The provisions of the "King James Great Qing Dynasty".
"King James Qing Dynasty Tongli --- Mourning Clothes" has: "Clothes, raw linen, side and bottom, not wanted." Hemp crown. Silk. Suga. Bamboo cane. ”
It means that the mourning clothes are made of raw linen cloth and are not sewn. Hemp hat, hemp headband. Sandals. Bamboo mourning stick.
To put it in layman's terms, the mourning stick as a mourning stick is a part of the specific dress of the filial son's funeral, according to the mourning clothes worn in real life, the mourning stick and the funeral meaning of filial piety robes, filial piety belts, filial piety hats, filial piety shoes, etc. are completely consistent. Singing is used to proportionate, civil officials must hold wat boards, military generals must carry weapons, maids must hold handkerchiefs, etc., are all specific components of specific costumes.
2. The second thing that needs to be understood is that the meaning of the funeral stick, as well as the material, size and specification, use method, etc., are clearly stipulated in the etiquette classics and officials, and now the people are in chaos
(1) About the meaning of the funeral
"The Book of Rites -- Asking for Funeral" says: "What does the cane do? It is said: The filial son has lost his relatives, wept countless times, served for three years, was sick and healthy, and helped the sick with a cane. ”
It means that because the filial son is weak and weak during the mourning period, the "crying mourning stick" is usually used by the filial son to support the body, which is equivalent to crutches or crutches.
The ancient funeral ceremony has a rule that "the sons do not eat for three days". And the whole mourning period "does not eat meat". When sleeping, you should "sleep on the grass pillow", that is, sleep on the grass and pillow the clods. You must also "stumble" (i.e., hit barefoot), "dum" (i.e., jump up and cry), and so on, and good people will be bad. So there is the rule of the "rod". That is to say, at the beginning, the cane was a crutch, which the filial son used to support his body.
(2) About the material used
"The Book of Rites--- Asking for Funeral" said: "What is the cane? Therefore, it is the father's cane, the cane, and the bamboo, and the mother's cane, the cane, and the tong. ”
It means that what is the difference between the mourning rod and the use of bamboo and paulownia in righteousness. and for the father, it is a rod of black and bamboo. It is a scepter made of paulownia wood.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the enlightenment children's book "Kindergarten Qionglin" explained the use of a cane by parents, saying: "The staff of filial piety is called a mourning rod, which is to support the body of grief." The father's festival is outside, so the rod is taken from the bamboo, and the mother's festival is inside, so the rod is taken from the tong. ”
In the process of the development and evolution of funerals, all regions, regions, and groups of people use sticks according to the specific local conditions, and there are bamboo and wood, and the wooden ones are not necessarily paulownia wood but local commonly used trees. There are also people who use straw such as sorghum, corn, sunflower and other straws as mourning sticks. In real life, in most parts of the north, it is more popular to use willow trees as mourning sticks. Willow and stay homonym, that is, the meaning of retaining the deceased.
(3) About size specifications
The ceremonial source texts "Rites" and "Rites" do not stipulate the size and length of the mourning stick, but the "Zhuzi Family Ceremony", "Tang Kaiyuan Ceremony", "Great Song Dynasty Zhenghe Ceremony", "King James Daqing Tongli", etc., all clearly stipulate that the mourning rod "is in unison, and the original is below." "The so-called high heart, that is, flat chest. The so-called root is below, and the root of the bamboo pole is below, that is, the thick head is below.
Generally speaking, according to the general logic of life, a flat chest is about four feet, that is, about one meter now.
In real life, the size and specifications of the mourning stick are more complicated to use. There are long and short, thick and thin, and there are large differences in various places. In most cases, a one-handed thick pole is used, but there are also branches and even large wooden sticks. As for the length and shortness, there are many lengths, and there is no strict observance of the ancient law of "high heart".
3. Finally, it should be known that when there is a funeral at home, men use canes, and female personnel and children do not use canes
The scope of use of the mourning rod is limited to male personnel who have been deceased for three years, three years of Qi decay and the period of Qi decay, and the specific scope is sons, heirs, nephews, grandchildren, etc. Women and children do not use rods.
(1) The full set of women's costumes in "Etiquette - Mourning Clothes" about the three years of mourning clothes is: "Total cloth, arrows, hair, decay, three years". There is no "rod". It shows that in the original setting of the funeral, there is a funeral in the family, and female personnel such as wives, concubines, unmarried daughters, and daughters-in-law do not use "rods".
(2) "The Book of Rites - Four Systems of Mourning Clothes" has: "The rod is also a knight." Or it is said to be the master, or it is said to be an auxiliary disease. A woman and a boy cannot be sick without a rod. This means that the mourning rod is for those who have a lord. Some say that they are the bearer of the master, and some say that they are the auxiliary recipient of the disease. Women and children do not get sick from grief, so they do not need to use a rod.
(3) The stipulation of the "Tang Kaiyuan Ceremony" is that "housewives are also canes." and the wives will not be roded. The boy does not have a rod. That is to say, if there is a funeral in the family, the heroine must also use a cane. Other women and children do not use rods.
(4) The stipulation of the "Zhuzi Family Rites" is: "No woman shall be roded." ”
(5) The stipulation of the "King James Great Qing Dynasty General Rites" is: "A woman is not a rod."
Generally speaking, under the traditional cultural conditions, women and children do not use canes, that is, women and children do not use canes. From the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties to the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Chinese humanities have a history of more than 3,000 years, and the texts of the ceremonial texts of the ceremonial texts and the imperial court edicts are very clear in terms of the scope of use of mourning rods. But in real life, in many areas, women and children also use canes. Therefore, the use of the mourning rod is messed up in the liturgy.
4. In addition, it should be noted that the mourning stick should not be inserted into the grave in the end, but should be broken and buried in a pit in a specific place in the family
"The Book of Rites--- The Great Record of Funeral" has: "Those who abandon the rod will be broken and abandoned to the hermit." This means that at the end of the mourning period, the mourning rod should be broken and thrown away in an invisible place. What is called invisible, digging a pit and burying it in a relatively sparse place in the family, it will definitely not be visible.
In real life, the more popular practice is to insert a mourning stick on the grave after the deceased is buried into the grave.
According to the provisions of the ancient funeral ceremony, after the burial, there are funeral procedures such as anti-crying and re-hanging. The funeral ritual activities are not over yet, so the mourning rod of the filial son cannot be discarded, but must be taken home. After the Yu sacrifice, the filial son resumes his normal diet, the mourning clothes are reduced, and the mourning rod is no longer needed, so it can be disposed of.
Under today's social conditions, the general custom believes that when the deceased is buried and the funeral ritual activities are over, the clothes can be removed, and the mourning rod is not needed, and it is directly disposed of in the cemetery.
It boils down. As a mourning stick, the mourning stick has four main meanings:
First, mourning sticks are limited to family members, not relatives and friends of outsiders, mourning sticks are limited to men, women and children, and mourning sticks are limited to close relatives, including parents (heirs, mothers-in-law, biological mothers, stepmothers, loving mothers), wives, eldest sons, grandparents, uncles, etc., and are not used by other related persons.
Second, the mourning rod is an integral part of the mourning dress, and the complete set of mourning clothes includes filial piety hats, filial piety belts, tops and bottoms (filial piety robes), filial piety shoes and mourning sticks. That is to say, mourning clothes and filial piety clothes are a specific costume and dress, which is a complete set, and the mourning rod is one of the components of a complete set of filial piety clothes. In the sense of funeral, the mourning rod is completely consistent with the filial piety hat, filial piety belt, filial piety robe, etc.
Third, the mourning rod is the identity symbol of filial piety and filial piety, and it is held casually, that is, wherever a person goes, the mourning rod is in his own hand. For all funeral activities, filial sons and grandchildren must carry mourning sticks.
Fourth, as an integral part of mourning clothing, the rod can only be discarded when it is removed from the service. In strict accordance with the funeral regulations, the mourning rod should be kept within 100 days after the burial. After the sacrifice, the rod is abandoned.
Fundamentally speaking, etiquette is a kind of rule, a kind of exquisiteness, a kind of respect and respect, a kind of cultural concept, a kind of spiritual and emotional inheritance, we hope to restore the etiquette tradition, we advocate the traditional etiquette civilization. However, people nowadays don't pay attention to it, just be suitable for themselves, so in real life, how to operate in etiquette, each changes according to its own rules, and respects the vulgar.
Historical facts tell us that the rise of a country or group of countries is, first of all, the rise of a civilization. The rise of a civilization is, first of all, the rise of a culture. The core of Chinese culture is the traditional culture of the family and country. Courtesy, righteousness and shame, benevolence and love for others, people-oriented, helping the world and the people, self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and peace in the world, whether in the past, present or future, are the lifelong pursuit and life ideals of every Chinese, and are also the basic cultural support for the rise of Chinese civilization.