Abstract:

The generation, evolution and accumulation of funeral customs in the long-time history have expressed either varied forms of etiquette, or rich and profound history and culture. A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary widely among cultures, as well as, religious affiliations within cultures. By comparing the funeral customs between China and the western countries, the writer concluded that there are great differences between Chinese and the western cultures and they mainly depend on the differences of religion, ethics and other aspects. However, with the development of society, these differences seem to be in the continuous integration.

Key words: funeral customs; Chinese and western cultures; differences; mergence

摘  要：

漫漫历史长河中产生、演变和积淀而成的丧葬习俗,既表现为繁复多样的礼仪形式,又具有丰富深邃的历史文化内涵。葬礼是一种对于死者的赞美、尊重、认可和追忆的仪式。葬礼习俗是由复杂的信仰和惯例文化组成，从而纪念死者。从葬礼本身到丰碑、祷告以及所进行的仪式都是如此。文化中的习俗差异很大，宗教信仰也是如此。通过对中美丧葬礼俗的对比分析,文章认为中西文化有着较大的差异，这主要取决于宗教、伦理等方面的不同。与此同时，随着时代的发展，两者似乎也在不断融合。

关键词：葬礼习俗；中西文化；差异；融合

1 Introduction
    Funeral etiquette is a kind of special culture handed down from five thousand years of Chinese, and there are great differences in various regions. Even if some villages are just only dozens of miles apart, their viewpoints and practices differs from each other. The main color of traditional Chinese funeral is white, so it is also called “white happy event”, which is opposite to the wedding.
With the deeply rooted religious faith and the economic situation development, the whole Chinese funeral process is often accompanied by the Buddhism, Taoism and Fengshui ritual. There are lots of rules in Chinese funeral ceremony and the view that ‘Man is superior to woman’ is personified by those rules. Rural people want to have a son because their son has an important mission of mourning. The eldest son undertakes the glorious mission of dutiful son, who must keep the remaining or ash for 5 days and is not allowed to leave until the burial except the necessary physiological needs. In addition, the lineal family members must be present on that day. Distant relatives are also required to be present. Everyone who is absent will be called ‘Unfilial’.