. Lion and dragon in northern China. remony wherebythe wooden tablet becomes the abode of an ancestralsoul. As a rule the tablet bears two names—thoseof husband and wife—so that each human soul is notnecessarily supposed to have a tablet to itself. Justas the bodies of husband and wife share a singlegrave, so do their spirits (according to the theoryaccepted in Weihaiwei) share a single tablet, and theprayers and sacrifices that are offered to the one areintended in equal measure for the other. The inscription on a tablet now before me4 maybe translated as follows. Outside. The Spirit-tabletof
. Lion and dragon in northern China. remony wherebythe wooden tablet becomes the abode of an ancestralsoul. As a rule the tablet bears two names—thoseof husband and wife—so that each human soul is notnecessarily supposed to have a tablet to itself. Justas the bodies of husband and wife share a singlegrave, so do their spirits (according to the theoryaccepted in Weihaiwei) share a single tablet, and theprayers and sacrifices that are offered to the one areintended in equal measure for the other. The inscription on a tablet now before me4 maybe translated as follows. Outside. The Spirit-tabletof my deceased honoured father and mother. I their 1 See p. 263. Needless to say, the ancestral temples of great orwealthy families are on a very much grander See p. 256. 3 Instead of red ink it is in some parts of China customary to useblood extracted from a cocks comb. For an explanation of this, andfor a full description of the ceremony of dotting the tablet, seeDe Groot, op. cit. vol. i. pp. 214-19. 4 See PEDIGREE-SCROLLS 279 son Ytieh-hsiang reverentially make obeisance andoffer sacrifice. * Inside. The Imperial ChingDynasty. The Spirit-tablet of Yao Feng-chu, theeldest son of his generation,2 and his wife ChangShih. Sometimes dates are added on the tablet butthese are not essential, as all such records are pre-served in the genealogical table or ceremonial occasions the tablets are set out in dueorder, so that the spirits may be comforted by thesacrificial offerings and by the sight of the manyprosperous-looking descendants who have assem-bled to do them honour. In front of the tabletsare set up sticks of fragrant incense, and all themembers of the family present themselves in turnand bow reverently towards the souls of their deadforefathers. The little ceremony is as simple and yet as im-pressive as could well be imagined. For the first fewdays of the New Year the pedigree-scroll (chia pku)%which is carefully wrapped up and put
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1910
