Abstract
In modern Beijing, urban space for the living and the dead is completely separate. However, before the 1940s, the separation was not that obvious. After the middle of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), funerals of residents in Beijing were carried out according to “Master Zhu’s Family Rituals” (Zhuzi jiali 朱子家禮, 12th). Typically there were three phases: the period in a mortuary, the farewell to the soul, and the burial. All three phases were ceremonies which clearly show that before the burial, and for a long period of time, the dead person was not separate from the living. During the first phase, the coffins were temporarily placed in a temple. The temples could also rent their rooms to the public and therefore served as hotels hosting the living and the dead at the same time. The second phase, which was the farewell ceremony to the soul of the dead, was typically held near water, especially large expanses of water in the heart of Beijing. Shi Cha Hai 什刹海, a lake in the center of Beijing, was thought to be the entrance to the other world, and thus, the space, in the city, reserved for the souls and ghosts. Moreover, the cemeteries were not only for the dead, they were the places for the living for recreation, to meet, and to present newborn infants to the ancestors and therefore embodied, in a sense, the true “home of the family”. The way people treated death deeply influenced their knowledge of and feeling about the environment, which also impacted on their planning and usage of urban spaces. From the analysis of death rituals in late imperial Beijing, and of the spaces shared by the living and the dead, one can observe that death was not a polluting element for the living nor seen as a danger for the health. However, the transformation brought by the Japanese invasion, along with its ‘hygienic modernity’ completely overturned people’s attitudes towards death and the dead body. Urban spaces for the dead and the living became strictly separate, which finally formed the modern urban landscape.
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Notes
- 1.
Harvey 2010, p. 33.
- 2.
Rogaski 2004, p. 2, pp. 193–195.
- 3.
Ariès 1977, trans. 1981, p. 569.
- 4.
Naquin 2000, p. 287.
- 5.
Ibid., p. 376, pp. 398–399.
- 6.
Compiled by a great Confucian scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹1130–1200) in the Song dynasty, the Zhuzi Family Rites later became the most popular ritual text which was to be followed by all of the society. The details of this book will be given below, see part 2, “Death Observances and Related Practices.”
- 7.
Qing Gaozong Shilu, Vol 5, p. 241.
- 8.
See Guan 2010.
- 9.
Suoning’an (索宁安, 1747~?), Manchu, belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner (镶黄旗, Xianghuangqi, one branch of the Eight Banners). The compilation of Manchu Four Rites was taken up by his grandfather, then continued by his father, and finally finished by himself.
- 10.
Suoning’an 1801.
- 11.
The Records of Dreams under Window of Leisure is a Manchu diary manuscript, written by an Inner City Banner man, from 1828 to 1829. The author is Mu Qixian (穆齐贤). He was born in 1796, and he was a bondservant (包衣Baoyi) who belonged to the lower class in the Eight Banners System.
- 12.
- 13.
For the nature, content, and objects of this investigation, see Marianne Bujard 2011, pp. 1–17.
- 14.
Several scholars have discussed the historical value of notes and novels. For example, Robert Company thinks that mystery novels are not fiction, but the record of proven ideas. Edward Davis suggests that ancient Chinese stories are not only novels but also the document of private life concerning the subjective experience. Related discussion see Kang 2011, p. 11.
- 15.
BA 1939, J1-2-120.
- 16.
Eleven archive files preserved in Beijing Archive show the details of this investigation, such as J183-002-17547, J183-002-25256, J183-002-25922, etc.
- 17.
Beijing zhi 2003, pp. 465–466.
- 18.
In addition, there are also several other procedures not listed here because they are not directly related to the corpse, such as the sacrificial practice held at noon of the day of burial (虞祭 Yuji).
- 19.
Mainly based on the two books Records of Leisurely Dreams under an Open Window and Red and White Joyous Event . Details see (Ju 2017b; Mu 2011).
- 20.
If the deceased couldn’t receive sufficient ritual offerings, his/her soul would become a starving ghost. This could be caused by two reasons: 1. If the deceased had no offspring or his/her descendants did not hold the sacrificial ceremony in time, his/her soul would be “starved” of ritual offerings which were supposed to be provided by his/her descendants regularly. I will give some details of this point in the part 3 of this article. 2. If the death was abnormal, caused by suicide, accident, or violence, the soul of the deceased then couldn’t be guided by the deities to the Netherworld. It could only stay in our world and do harm to the living. To prevent damage from starving ghosts, the living had to offer them plenty of sacrificial food. In Buddhism, then in popular religious tradition, the ceremony of providing sacrificial food to starving ghosts is called Fang Yankou.
- 21.
Chang 1995, p. 282.
- 22.
Anonymous 1925, p. 121.
- 23.
See Liu 2008, pp. 165–166.
- 24.
According to the statistics of the China-Franco research group of “Epigraphy and Oral Memory of Temples in Beijing: Social History of an imperial Capital” in 2008.
- 25.
A detailed discussion on this number is in the following part.
- 26.
For the relationship between gods, ancestors, and ghosts, see Wolf 1974, pp. 131–182.
- 27.
- 28.
See Liu 2008, pp. 163–200.
- 29.
Ji 1800, vol. 11, part 1, p. 184.
- 30.
Hebang’e 1791, p. 341.
- 31.
Chang 1995, p. 283, note 1.
- 32.
That is, to send them to Huangquan (黄泉 Yellow source). Since the earth is yellow in the systematic correlative thinking of Yin/Yang and five phases Yinyang Wuxing (阴阳五行), the place of the dead which is located under the earth is called “yellow source.”
- 33.
Quoted from Li 1937, p. 220.
- 34.
Ji 1800, Vol. 21, p. 404.
- 35.
Investigated: Wang Xiu (王岫), born in 1947. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating time: October 4th 2005. Location: Wang Xiu’s home at Longtoujing (龙头井).
- 36.
Investigated: Sheng Xueying (盛雪莹), born in 1933. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating time: December 2003. Location: Sheng Xueying’s home at Dongsi Shi’er Tiao (东四十二条).
- 37.
FHA 1770, 05-0277-031.
- 38.
See: (BA 1944, J183-002-25922).
- 39.
See: (BA 1936, J183-002-40250).
- 40.
This is what Shanguo (善果), the Abbot of Wenchang Zitong Temples said. See: (BA 1930-1939 J2-8-114).
- 41.
Investigated: Wang Shuzhen (王淑珍), female, born in 1950. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating Time: November 6, 2014. Location: Inside Zitong Wenchang Temple in Mao’er Hutong.
- 42.
Investigated: Ms. Li (李), female, born in 1930. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating Time: September 2006. Location: inside Jiuding niangniang miao, No. 175, Yonghegong Avenue.
- 43.
Investigated: Mr. You, born in 1952. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating Time: March 15, 2015 Location: Baoan Temple in Dianmen West Avenue.
- 44.
BA1946, J181-016-02958, pp. 28–39.
- 45.
BA 1939, J183-002-27402.
- 46.
Chang 1995, pp. 441–447.
- 47.
The author of the book Beijing Funeral History (北京丧葬史 Beijing Sangzang Shi) thinks the number of temples for keeping coffins was 73, the number for the public cemeteries was 130, but he does not mention his sources. (Zhou 2002).
- 48.
Daqing huidian zeli 1986, vol149, Court of Sensors (都察院 Ducha Yuan).
- 49.
Investigated: Wang Shuzhen, born in 1950. Investigator: Ju Xi. Investigating Time: November 6, 2014. Location: Inside Wenchang Temple in Dianmen.
- 50.
Chongyi 1982, p. 26.
- 51.
Liu 2008, p. 187.
- 52.
Ibid., p. 187–189.
- 53.
Liu, Yu 1635, p. 102.
- 54.
Wang 1684, p. 8.
- 55.
Li 1937, p. 77.
- 56.
See (BA 1939, J001-002-00120).
- 57.
See (BA 1944, J183-002-28754).
- 58.
See (BA1948, J181-016-02568).
- 59.
The original publication date, when known, follows the title. The edition consulted is in square brackets.
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Ju, X. (2019). Urban Space of the Living and Dead: The Conception of Environment and Death in Beijing from the Eighteenth Century to the Middle Twentieth Century. In: Bretelle-Establet, F., Gaille, M., Katouzian-Safadi, M. (eds) Making Sense of Health, Disease, and the Environment in Cross-Cultural History: The Arabic-Islamic World, China, Europe, and North America. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 333. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19082-8_11
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