The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 23, 1900, Page 9

THE SUNDAY CALL. Is ready they lift the body. The face is flying prayer ¥ yer papers scattered before the At the ea Dcoverel. Toria; SISHUAEARRE. the. son: BEtwe DN DUpURE eiest s talaiton: s - tales T Comiate T eiaurs which it e e s . may see It from where he kne b:en erected by permission of the Street the Taolsts the large incense sticks which their evil powers upon th y others at the same time look away., that l—l')lfl‘l"nhxl‘er;l ?r?fpiz(‘l n;et:z‘xgl‘{»r :‘thm(‘afg‘ffi; ;\a\'ec}mn Y}(lllng the street with their per- safeguards provided. To his. may bé the last eves to rest upon the : . o = 3 umed smoky vapors have nearly burned the progress of the Sigimag he the i upon th re&x“‘nn mequg‘\l:?ufili a_:‘rms f,fftn?‘ ;A:\ay.g 1;?: "j’d muih giIt decorated candles of small pleces of bamb nd set s s = ¢ guitered to their ends, and th e 100 rou ch of wh As the face is covered agaln the son (be son gain kneels as before and pros- wine has been exhausted in pouring rere LioUEh each of 1 - ks p have been erfor: present clesp each their ‘own \a!?3 his forehead to the ground. Thus drinks to the thirsty underground people devil as be co S te (o Dlares of PH after thelr manner of salvtation .. 0 hours while the long who so much outnumber the living. per in his of instructing the spirit on its ' A hears < By al - e > to'the falry istes and biddIng it arives db by oo cosker ® Thck pnorses welgome to return on the ensuing Sep- feast is loaded into a covered wagom, in (ributes h tember with the caravan of the dead 1S which have already been placed the Per. during thele being sung by the priest sonal property and clothes of the dead. Liains e g | As soon as the coffin is In place @ feast The banners are taken up by a man who e ey I is spread from a neighboring Chinese res- sits by the driver. ‘ taurant. - A whole goat, dressed as a hog, The hearse starts, preceded by the rith the hair sealded and scraped from American band, followed by the son in but with head and horns all in white and grass cloth, stili bearing his t on the platform under the little shrine with its smoking incense and anking the goat are four oth- blazing candles, gulded by his two su , two sheep roasted whole until porters. Following come the In a looks as though it had been friends on foot, dressed in thelr violet- hed, two hogs hued gowns that reach nearly to the feet, le, both boiled ith white streamers waving from I, many curiousl decorated heads. Following. them come some f rice, bolled dumplings, fruits, seventy-five or eighty closed carriages. in les of the best sam shu, are also ane or two of which are women by them- and #0 shake hands with the dead, bow- ing reverently at the same time. weet notes of the the 1id is p s the face of the covered for the last dme the mot son bows his head fw the floor and is eyes, to open them no more until last rites of the day ! he air of the room Is heavily lume of incense fumes, seen. All about the pavilion are seives. in the others men alone. and green silk banners bearing To deceive the spirits as to the real di- nscriptions extolling” the virtues of the rection hich it is intended to go the deceased and -others exvpressing good procession first goes in the opposite way wishes to him on his journey. Ho han ja. from the cemetery and then by a detour The priest chants and sings: the flageo- s passing the starting point. let and gong continue to pl only now the six or eight blocks th: inged sadness; ¢ » leads through the stree’ e soul is being n e quarter of the city the son do chief mourn- ¢ pirits of evil bly follow ied. Al o have known the ers When to emerge into the 1 his lifetime now come up to American part the son is assisted into pposite end of the open pavilion from the wagon In which the funeral trappings hat at which ‘the coffin sets, and knecel- have been placed. The shrine which he ing upon the matting spread there for carried all this time Is now =et on the wiil be the foot « lifferent ¢ for a » who are THE MOURNING SON BURNING HIS FATHERS PROPER : dalwood ents . with > t pe n nd the i s Whole andle FhRpednis=n ach of tk n the ope L] the ropes cofin. The becomes the the man s time beery his mat, elng poured re all re- s o shr cups and P gl ming para- tam with this » wish A compro- nd b rest ara ed to the eaves hastl- I} * THE PRIEST OF THE GOLDE ROSE | WITH CYMBALS, of a ng her first born to laby of the departing from the cradie song at 2 woman is calm- t from which it will In this a departed into the oblivion but ends in the m which all things came. rm-swept would swirl and rik, so the music « nks to whispers so wake a sleeper of the Hv- rises to shrieking heights 1 wake the dead. ether the instruments be - the voice of the s tenderly sweet and pa- Jis the soul to its long- mere description this may d not in consonance With the general tenor, ¢ i far from belng the carnal, mortuary gloom of earth and worms which we assoclate with death. It is £ad, but in the seme way that lovers are sad “when most truly happy. The happiness is an undercurrent which does not express itself by outward demonstra- tive bolsterousness At the foot of the corpse and in front of the kneeling son is a smali shrine con- sisting of a porcelain basin in which hi been placed earth. In this are set gayly colored candles formed on sticks which are stuck in the carth. Between the candles is a white wand of paper, also formed on a stick, and around the candles are many pleces of burning incense. The canéles glow with a heavy, smoky flame, and clouds of smoke rise from the con- suming sanda! and@ camphor wood. Members of the family and intimate friends come silently into the room with their noiseless shoes of cloth, paper-soled. They. bow toward the covered form three times each, shaking their clasped hands before them. while the expression of their faces tells plainly that they are saying some set and memorized form of good-by in spirit language. Their eyes speak as though they see before them the ghost form that-is still fupposed to be hover- ing over the cddaver. When the last adieus have been sald by all but the eldest son, who still kneels as guardian, the undertakers come, bearing the casket. The music and the singing of the priest become more tense and sub- dued. The shroud is smoothed. When all takers garfer TI%" ‘personhi peldhgings or the deceased, which have been brought from his residence, and place them in baskets to be borne to the cemetery and cast Into the firs temple at the tomb. The coffin, covered with a white and cherry colored rcbe, is carrled from the room. The son takes the sbrine with Its candles and incense in his hands and two friends of the family, placing themselves one on efther side, assist him to rise. He does not assume an erect position, but stands with his head bowed to the level of his hips, and thus he, led by the two who hold his arms on either side, rever- ently follows the hearse, The public services are to be heldfpn the street. The incense smoke blows thick from the shrine he bears and the air is filled with the purpose receive from the hands of a Taoist priest a_small porcelalfi cup full of sam shu. This they pour upon the ground to wet the lips of those who have salready turned to dust. As they pour the liquor they bow the body and shake their ciasped hands be- fore them, saying, ‘‘Yat lo peng on.” (A peaceful journey.) Each of the mourners who belongs tothe society of the dead man is dressed in a peculiar shade of violet, the hue of death. and around their heads is the white band as the sign of acute mourning. A large crowd Is gathered about, block- ing the street, and through this the ex- press wagons and slowly gathering hacks make their way with much whipping of the horses and hard language to bystand- ers. Towatrd the end of the ceremonies an American band takes its place at the head of the casket and plays customary funeral marches. fAoor and he, kneeling, takes his place before it and %o rides to the cemetery. Each of the carriages has pasted upon its windows a lettered strip of red paper, bearing a talismanic sentence to protect its inmates from the imps who rush st son as he gives backward t shovel cutlined against iiffing dog pulling bits of 1 neral buked meats from the expiring fi