In the hall of a large and rich Canton family there are two apartments, in each of which there are about eleven hundred tablets, and in a room between them an image of the first ancestor, b.c. 300, who was a disciple of Confucius.
On the death of a man two candles and three sticks of incense are lighted and placed at the foot of the bed, a bundle of paper money being placed under his head as a pillow, and his face being covered with the same. The corpse is arrayed in full dress clothes, hat, and boots, as though he were going to see an official, the popular belief being that he is about to see Im Lò Wong-Yama, the Ruler of Hell.
If the deceased be of a wealthy family, he is dressed in twenty or thirty coats; if poor, in eight or ten. A man is then summoned to write on a piece of buff-coloured paper a sentence or two eulogising the departed, which is then pasted up beside a picture representing him, on the other side of which is written, Amida Buddha, Liberator from Hell. The phrase of eulogy is probably in the style of—Respectful, Reverential, Benevolent, Compassionate. The writer must hold the rank of a Kung Shang, or presented licentiate. Two or three licentiates are at times invited to be present with him. A chair and the eight sounds, or music, must be provided for his use, all expenses being defrayed by the bereaved family. The eldest son or grandson, as chief mourner, then takes a white earthenware vase, in which are placed three sticks of incense stuck in as many pieces of paper money, and a piece of silver. The chief mourner, dressed in hempen clothes, and with his head bound with a white cloth, is led out by two persons who support him on either side to the river side. In one hand he holds the vase, in the other a short piece of bamboo wrapped round with white paper. His friends and relatives dressed in white follow in the rear. Arrived at the bank of the river, candles and incense-sticks are lighted, and the piece of silver, for which three cash are frequently substituted, is thrown into the water, a little of which is then dipped up, and taken back to wash the breast of the corpse. This custom is known as buying water. Should there be no river at hand, the nearest water is selected, and in Hong Kong the hydrants are used for this purpose. The washing has now become a mere pretence. When it has been concluded, the mouth of the deceased
