What is the difference between "sacrifice" and "libation" in funerals?

Suppose at a funeral, you send wreaths with the word "ji" in it, the consequences are unimaginable. At a rural funeral, there will be a big word "li" on the coffin. When there is a memorial service in the city, The wreath also has the word "dian" on it, but the word "offer" is seen instead.

Usually we often say "memorial", but when the two words are used separately, the meanings will be very different.

It is said that when Confucius traveled around various countries, he met Tathagata from Weishan Lake, passed by Hongze Lake and arrived at Qinnanchang on the bank of the Boa River. The two watched the scenery of Qinnanchang and investigated the people's sentiments. In the evening, stay, drink and eat at the "Cyclamen" Inn.

The two tasted Hassan beef, Qinnan salted duck eggs, and drank Python Hete Qu. After the wine and meat passed through their intestines, they kept praising Qin Nanlun as a good place. The people here are kind-hearted and the wine and meat are good. Fragrant, beautiful scenery, good mountains and good water make good wine.

The two were very happy eating and drinking, but Tathagata said: "Although this is a good place, it is not a place to stay for a long time. I will go back tomorrow." At this time, Confucius was already drunk, so he dipped his chopsticks in the wine. Then write the word "Dian" on the table.

Then he stood up and said loudly to Tathagata: "Look at this word. When you have eaten and drank enough, I will send you back tomorrow." Tathagata saw the word "Dian" After that, he got angry and said: "The word "dian" is used to pay tribute to the deceased. You invited me to drink, and you dared to write "dian" to scold me because of your knowledge.

Confucius But he smiled and said: "Tathagata! You misunderstood," but before Confucius could explain, Tathagata said: "No matter how you say it, this word is a living person's sacrifice to the dead, and you are just cursing me as a dead person."

etc. The Tathagata calmed down, Confucius took a sip of wine, and then slowly explained to the Tathagata: "Dian" is the cursive cursive of the three characters "Up to the West" connected together, and "Dian" is separated into the three characters "Up to the West" , Buddha is the Tathagata of the West, and it is your way back.

Only then did Tathagata react, then he took a sip of wine with a red face, and said awkwardly: "Yes, yes, go back." "Western Heaven".

The upper part of the word "Dian" is "You", and "You" was originally written in the shape of a wine jar, representing wine and wine jars, and was later added to the outline. The horizontal and vertical strokes represent the decoration of the altar wall.

The "one" in the lower part represents the ground, indicating that the wine altar is placed on the ground. The combination of the two structures represents the sacrifice of wine and meat to the deceased or the earth god, and the wine is sprinkled on it. On the ground, it means praying for a stable residence.

The word "big" below looks like a person's hands, and the word "lib" can be seen as a person's hands, with wine in their hands. This is also the saying of our Chinese culture since ancient times that "the deceased is the most important". No matter how big the activities or hatred is, one must first put it down to show respect for the gods. Therefore, the word "Dian" is a "reverence word" for the deceased.

The original meaning of "Lien" is to place wine on the table as a sacrifice to the gods. In modern times, it is used to mourn the deceased, and the word "Lien" is also used, which comes from sacrifice.

In the word "sacrifice" in early oracle bone inscriptions, the left side is a piece of fresh meat, with blood flowing out of the meat, and the right side is a hand. The two figures indicate that the hand is holding the meat for sacrifice.

This may be considered. The meeting was not accurate enough. In the later period, the oracle bone inscriptions added an altar "show" under it, and changed the "meat" shape into a "mouth" shape.

In ancient times, people killed animals, part of which was for themselves. In addition, raw meat is often placed on the altar. The word "ji" means a sacrifice of wine and meat, also called an animal sacrifice.

Sacrifice mainly means holding a ceremony for the dead and celebrating the year, such as the annual Qingming Festival. On this festival, many people hold flowers in front of the Memorial Tomb of the People's Heroes to pay homage to the heroes. Sacrifice represents the old custom of offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors on this festival to express reverence and respect. Remember and pray for peace.

For example, on March 3rd, a unique festival in Guangxi, many people only know how to sing folk songs. In fact, this day is also a day for sweeping tombs, similar to Qingming Festival. This day mainly commemorates the deceased people who are close to the family, such as ancestors. Grandpa, grandma.

Tomb-sweeping is also held on September 9th of the Double Ninth Festival. On this day, families with the same surname will sweep the tombs together. They mainly pay homage to their ancestors in the village and pay homage to their former ancestral graves.

Many people miss their ancestors very much, and at the same time they are also very eager to be blessed by their ancestors. Some people ask for a second child, a promotion and wealth, peace, health, etc.

In our traditional festivals, we have to offer sacrifices. We first go to the Earth Temple to worship, and then when we return home, we have a table of meals with wine on the table. Then we pour meat into the wine glasses to feed our ancestors and gods. We can only pay paper money and then let off firecrackers.

On the coffin of a funeral, you will see a big word "Dian". This is our unique Chinese culture. Many people are very confused as to why the word "Ji" is not used. Woolen cloth!

In fact, the two words are easy to distinguish. Before the burial, "liben" is used, and after the burial, "sacrifice" is used. We have already introduced the original meanings of the words "ji" and "dian".

1. The essence of "libation" is to place wine and meat on the ground for the people who have just left to enjoy it. In our ancient times, there were ghosts and gods who believed that the soul left the body, but the soul still had to enjoy the food. As long as there is If you eat food, the soul will come to possess you, so the word "dian" is used before burial.

The word "sacrifice" is used after the burial to express missing the person who has left, mainly to appease their souls, so there is no need to offer sacrifices such as wine and meat, and the memorial ceremony also emphasizes serving the deceased as he was alive. When eating, offer some wine and meat on its right side.

2. There is also a slight difference in the parts of speech between memorial service and drink offering. The word memorial takes away the complimentary meaning. Being able to use this word means that you have a good relationship with the deceased, while the word drink offering is more Neutral, it just expresses general objective facts, is not mixed with emotions, and is more serious.

3. Ancient Han etiquette is divided into five types of etiquette, collectively called "Five Rites"

They are auspicious rituals, unlucky rituals, military rituals, guest rituals, and honorable rituals. "Sacrifice" regardless of Whether it is activities such as worshiping sacrifices, worshiping gods and ancestors, or performing annual sacrifices during festivals, worshiping ancestors during the Qingming Festival, honoring martyrs, worshiping relatives and ancestors during festive times, etc., they are all praying for blessings and good luck, so "sacrifice" is used as "sacrifice". "Auspicious ceremony", sacrificial activities are carried out year after year.

"Dian" is used for funerals, because mourning halls, mourning tents, etc. are set up after the death of a person. First, family members pay homage in the hall and at home, and then relatives and friends pay condolences and pay homage. , are both relatively back-breaking rituals and sacrifices, so this is an "evil ceremony". As soon as the coffin leaves the house, all activities will change from "liberation" to "sacrifice".

4. The extended meaning of "lay" also means to place and place, and it can be extended to "determine and establish", such as the foundation laying of a certain real estate or industrial zone.

It means to establish the foundation of a building and lay a good foundation. When we built a house in ancient times, we also had a foundation laying ceremony. We took out wine to worship the earth god, and finally sprinkled the wine on the building place to pray for the firmness and safety of the future building. .

The formation of Chinese funerals is essentially the product of our ancient people's belief in "souls". In modern times, if someone dies, everyone is taboo. Everyone talks about death. It means "went" or "driving to the west".

This is the best proof that our ancients believed in "souls". Everyone believes that the dead are not dead and are still with their loved ones, but they can't see it.

So when sweeping the tomb, when everyone sees a snake, they all think that their ancestors came out to see it, and generally they don’t talk about snakes, they talk about dragons. In rural areas, if a snake appears at home or outside the home wall, everyone will They will not hurt them, but take them away with wooden sticks, because everyone thinks that this is the ancestor coming back to look after the house.

1. Handling the remains

Chinese funerals are very grand and have many details, but the simple ones have basically become complicated. Since ancient times, China has When someone dies, there is a practice of disposing of the body. It used to be called "hanging", which means that after the person's life ends, people go to his home to express condolences and condolences.

After a person dies, the deceased’s relatives will carry the body to the main hall and then place it on a temporary bed. Our ancients believed that the elderly should not be allowed to die on the bed, as the soul will be bound to the bed. There is no way to escape, so when the elder's family members feel that the elder is dying, they will carry the elder to the main hall to release him.

According to traditional Chinese folk customs, when an old person is dying, his or her children need to stay by their side until the old person dies. This is what we often call "send off".

The main hall is the most sacred and inviolable place in the house. Ancestors and gods are enshrined here. If you die in this position, it will be your final resting place

In ancient times, They are all covered with withered grass, but often when the old man is older, the leaves are blown away. In the past, carnivorous birds used to eat them. The relatives couldn't bear to see them, so they waited beside the old man with a bow. If any birds came, they would shoot them with their bows. So " The word "diao" is a vertical word plus a word for bow, which means relatives hold bows. Now, if there are many animals, relatives will put up a white mosquito net.

2. Reporting and assisting the bereavement

When an elderly person dies, family members usually cry bitterly for about half an hour. After the emotions gradually calm down, they begin to discuss the matter with the elderly person. Afterwards, informing some relatives and friends of the death of the old man is called mourning.

After the people in the village learned about it, they started to get busy. Generally, people in the village do not need to notify everyone. Everyone is very conscious to help and will send some items and money. This is "to help the bereavement".

There are many ways to help bereavement, and each place is different. Some send horses, and some send clothes. In the past, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, three days after the bereaved family reported the funeral, if relatives and friends did not come to express their condolences and help the bereavement, then Break up with you.

If it is too far to come, just use a letter. If neither the person nor the letter arrives, the bereaved family will be very sad and eventually break up with you.

In China, everyone looks down upon the saying "Be nice in life and alienate after death". Because we in China have always valued friendship since ancient times, we often hear the saying "Only come when you are invited for good things, but not for trivial things". "Come on."

This is not only recognition of the bereaved family, but also a sign of friendship and friendship. At the same time, coming to the scene is to comfort the bereaved family members, so many people work in other places and ask for leave no matter how busy they are.

3. "Lamentation" activities

From the time of the death of the old man to the sacrifice before the coffin is buried, the sacrifices will be placed in front of the deceased. Then choose a day. In the past, when someone died in rural areas, corpses were often mortued, usually for about three days. If the weather was bad, it would take longer, so the smell of corpses would be released. After crows smell it, they will come around.

During the mortuary process, relatives and friends will come to express their condolences, which simply means offering incense. Everyone usually brings something. In the past, they brought firecrackers, tissue paper, and wreaths, but now they mostly bring wreaths.

The incense-burning ceremony after entering the house requires three bows and nine kowtows to the deceased. Relatives and friends will culminate in the funeral ceremony during the day, and finally participate in the "funeral banquet" in the evening.

When disposing of the body, the relatives will clean the deceased. The relatives wash the hair with rice water and shave the beard cleanly. Now there are specialized makeup artists, but in rural areas , basically all relatives do it themselves.

In addition to bathing, there is also "rice holding". Relatives put rice, copper coins, and money in the mouth of the deceased and let him hold it. The reason for doing this is because there was a folk saying in the past that if the deceased A long mouth means that he did not eat well or did not eat well during his lifetime, so food or money were placed in his mouth. In ancient tombs, some jade cicadas were often unearthed, which were placed by his relatives before.

After arranging the face of the deceased, put clothes on the deceased. In ancient times, it was easier for civilians, but for officials, they had to wear 19 sets of clothes after death. If they could not wear them, they would cover them. They were tied up with ribbons before being put into the coffin.

There are many details when placing the deceased in the coffin. In some places, family members are not allowed to cry. People think that the deceased feels that his family is reluctant to leave him. The deceased cannot bear to leave, and finally does not go back. reincarnation.

In some places, it is believed that relatives should be on the road. At that time, tears should not be dropped into the coffin. After the deceased was put into the coffin, they would be nailed with iron nails. The relatives would kneel on the left side of the coffin and say "so-and-so" Good to go”.

4. Funeral

The last step is the funeral. There are eight people carrying the coffin, called the "Eight Immortals". The bereaved family arranges meals to entertain them, and then Then proceed to the following work.

The funeral procession is very large. When going out, they light firecrackers and scatter paper money. They are not allowed to look back during this process. There are many details in the funeral, such as breaking pots, etc. Finally, the coffin is buried, and the deceased is officially Rest in peace.

Let me tell you here, if there is a funeral in the village, don’t go if you are afraid. You can ask your family to send someone else to go.

Many young people don’t understand why wreaths are placed at funerals, and sending wreaths is a custom passed over from Europe and the United States. In ancient my country, funeral ceremonies were dominated by pagodas and mourning halls, surrounded by There are some white cloths, some paper figures and paper horses used to make money, as well as banners, paper money, etc.

According to Nordic legends, if a person temporarily puts on a wreath, an angel (angel) will take his soul to heaven. In the previous story of Mian Zi and Tathagata, the word "Dian" means going to the west. Meaning, so the wreath is a reward for good people going to heaven.

There are also many things to pay attention to when sending wreaths. The funeral wreaths are mainly white chrysanthemums and yellow chrysanthemums. If there are special circumstances, such as an old man with good fortune and longevity, it is "happy" to die of old age. "Mourning" can be paired with red or pink carnations to express care for the deceased during his lifetime.

Some wreaths and some elegiac couplets have the same basic format.

For example, the first couplet: Deeply mourning xxx through the ages, or xxx has a good journey.

The second line is usually: XXX respectfully or XXX weeping.

Write to the end: To sum up, worshiping as a libation after death without burial is a memorial service, and worshiping after death and burial is a sacrifice. When offering sacrifices, people are at the bottom, and when people are offering libations, people are at the top. There is only one sacrificial event for the libation, which is held regularly every year.

Nowadays, many young people think that many funeral etiquettes are superstitious and unscientific. But in my opinion, funerals are actually grand ceremonies formed by more relatives and friends to express their respect and feelings for the deceased. Etiquette culture, which also confirms the title of our Chinese nation as the "Land of Etiquette".

But there is one thing that is very ironic. During his lifetime, the old man was sick, and no one in his children or grandchildren was close to take care of him. After his death, he kept praying to the old man to help him get rich and get promoted. He spent hundreds of thousands to ask a Feng Shui master to look at the land, and spent tens of thousands to ask a Feng Shui master to inspect the land. Wan bought a cemetery and decorated it to be more luxurious than his home. It is really ironic.

If the old man was sick during his lifetime, and his children, granddaughters, and grandsons took good care of the old man, the old man would naturally bless him in the future. As the saying goes, a lucky man meets a blessed land, not a blessed man. Even if he finds a good land, he will not be able to make a fortune. This is Accumulate blessings.

When someone dies and goes to the funeral, we will find that the word "Dian" can be seen everywhere in the funeral ceremony, such as wreaths and funeral sheds. This word has a similar meaning to the word "Dian". The word "sacrifice" has never appeared. Why? What are the differences between the two?

1. The words have different meanings. The character "Dian" is a knowing character. If you take it apart, you will see that the upper part is the character "chief" and the lower part is the character "大". In ancient times, the word "chief" meant wine, and the word "big" looked like an upside-down offering table. Generally speaking, the word "dian" meant offering wine and food to the deceased. The ancients believed that the soul of a person who had just died would stay in the world for a while and still need to eat. Therefore, the word "dian" is often used in funeral ceremonies, which means that the deceased is still in the world for the time being and has not disappeared.

"Sacrifice" is also a knowing word. In terms of glyph, the upper left part of this character is a piece of meat, the upper right part is a hand, and the lower part represents the table. The combination is to carry meat offerings to the altar with one hand to offer sacrifices to gods or one's ancestors. In ancient times, when people needed the blessings of gods or their ancestors, they needed to prepare sacrifices to pray for the blessings of gods or their ancestors. It can be seen that "sacrifice" is mostly used after people are buried.

2. The Theory of Five Rituals. In ancient times, there were five types of etiquette, namely, auspicious etiquette, unlucky etiquette, military etiquette, guest etiquette, and honorable etiquette. "Sacrifice" focuses on auspicious rituals, and "dian" focuses on unlucky rituals. Therefore, people use the word "libation" instead of "sacrifice" after death, because funerals are unlucky rituals.

To put it simply, "drinking" is the sacrifice before the deceased is buried; "ji" is the sacrifice after the deceased is buried.

There is a difference between offering sacrifices and offering libations. From the perspective of word formation, both are meaningful words, with very different glyphs and meanings. In terms of usage, you need to be able to distinguish the difference in the order of occasions. Otherwise, people will laugh. The use of sacrifice is wider than that of offering libations, and the scope of using libations is much smaller in terms of space and time. They can be used together for memorial purposes and have the same characteristics. If they are used separately, there are obvious differences and cannot be mixed.

. The memorial ceremony can only be used in the funeral ceremony held after the death of the person but before the burial. Those who die without burial are worshiped as a memorial offering, and those who die with burial are worshiped as sacrifices. Worship ancestors, pay homage to graves, and offer sacrifices, but do not pay homage to ancestors, pay homage to graves, etc. The scope of the memorial ceremony is much smaller, and it is exclusively used for the first offering in the funeral ceremony after the death of the person. It should be held in front of the coffin before it is buried. It cannot be used after the burial. The memorial ceremony is the first worship ceremony for the deceased after death. The deceased is the most important person and can only be held in front of the soul. It is to express condolences and respect for the deceased. Sacrifice is a kind of mourning, respect and longing for the deceased who has passed away long ago, and the length of time can be greatly extended.

There is a difference between sacrificial offerings and libations. They are compound nouns for two independent and combined sacrificial activities. The specific meanings are just different. The worshipers offer sacrifices, including the activities of gods, ancestors, etc. , such as annual festivals, stove sacrifices, ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival, worshiping ancestors before festive feasts, and other auspicious rituals are called sacrifices. The rituals of libation are different. They are specially used for funerals. For example, after a person dies, the first procedure is for the filial piety and family members to drink libations before the deceased is buried, and then the day of mourning can be chosen. The second step is to issue a rhymed obituary notice to the close relatives for the memorial ceremony and home libation ceremony. The three-sacrifice wine ceremony and The auspicious sacrifices are the same, so they are also called memorial ceremonies. The memorial ceremony is a relatively painful and tragic ceremony, which is different from the sacrificial ceremony in degree. There are also sacrificial rituals in the funeral ceremony. For example, road sacrifices on the way to the funeral are usually performed by fellow villagers or people from the countryside. In the friendship between good friends, the funeral ceremony is performed for the deceased when the funeral procession passes by the door. In short, the memorial ceremony is limited to the ceremony of opening the hall and hoisting the crane. After the coffin leaves the Chaimen, it is considered a sacrifice.

Sacrifices and libations are two completely different etiquettes: sacrifices and libations are usually common, and they are a kind of etiquette for descendants to worship their ancestors on time (annual sacrifices, four-season sacrifices, four-season sacrifices, etc.), and they are Sacrificial activities are carried out year after year; the memorial ceremony is a kind of worship ceremony for the deceased when a person dies. It is usually held in front of the soul. After the memorial ceremony is completed, the earth must be sealed. After the earth is sealed, there are only sacrifices, but no memorial ceremony. The word "foundation laying" is Derived from this.

The words "sacrifice" and "dian" in funerals are both used for etiquette after the death of a person.

The essential difference between "offerings" and "libing" is that "offerings" are "unfortunate rituals" and are used in death rituals in many aspects, emphasizing sorrow and pain; they are also used on auspicious occasions, such as: Lay: establish, build a capital, lay foundation, etc. However, the usage space of "楷" is larger and more extensive. For example: sacrificial activities are extensive and involve the "auspicious rituals" of the country and various ethnic groups. For example, the country commemorates revolutionary ancestors, various ethnic groups commemorate famous celebrities, and various clans commemorate their ancestors and other sacrificial activities. It is generally an auspicious form of paying homage to and commemorating them.

After death

The worship ceremony before burial

is called the ceremony

After the burial ceremony is completed

All subsequent worship ceremonies

are called For sacrifice

Or as sacrifice

Therefore, it is clear that the sealing of soil is the critical point

so that there will be no misnomer

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"Dian" is the last time to remember and worship the deceased according to "human" etiquette, and "sacrifice" is to memorialize and worship the deceased after the deceased is buried. To put it bluntly, "Dian" means treating the deceased as a human being for the last time.

"Sacrifice" is the mourning words recited to express condolences and respect for the deceased. It is also a sacrificial activity, a kind of prayer and blessing for filial sons and filial grandchildren. "Die" is to offer food as a tribute to the deceased, which is a solemn sorrow and pain in the funeral. "Sacrifice" and "Diamen" are also one of the indigenous funeral customs in my country.

The sacrifice is a ritual of kowtow and bow before the deceased is buried, and the memorial ceremony is a toast to the deceased with wine, chicken, fish and meat.