Funeral ceremonial was more exacting than that connected with most
other observances, including those of marriage. Invitations or
notifications were sent to friends, and after receipt of these _fu_,
on the various days appointed therein, the guest was obliged to send
presents, such as money, paper horses, slaves, etc., and go and join
in the lamentations of the hired mourners and attend at the prayers
recited by the priests. Funeral etiquette could not be _pu'd, i.e._
made good, if overlooked or neglected at the right time, as it could
in the case of the marriage ceremonial.

Instead of symmetrical public graveyards, as in the West, the
Chinese cemeteries belong to the family or clan of the deceased,
and are generally beautiful and peaceful places planted with trees
and surrounded by artistic walls enclosing the grave-mounds and
monumental tablets. The cemeteries themselves are the metonyms of the
villages, and the graves of the houses. In the north especially the
grave is very often surmounted by a huge marble tortoise bearing the
inscribed tablet, or what we call the gravestone, on its back. The
tombs of the last two lines of emperors, the Ming and the Manchu,
are magnificent structures, spread over enormous areas, and always
artistically situated on hillsides facing natural or artificial lakes
or seas. Contrary to the practice in Egypt, with the two exceptions
above mentioned the conquering dynasties have always destroyed the
tombs of their predecessors. But for this savage vandalism, China
would probably possess the most magnificent assembly of imperial
tombs in the world's records.



Laws of Intercourse