VIEW OF A BURYING-PLACE,
near Han-tcheou-feu.
The tombs and monuments of China exhibit a variety of architecture, except those of the common people, which are nothing more than small cones of earth, on the summits of which they frequently plant dwarf trees. These simple graves are occasionally visited by the family, who are particularly careful to trim and keep them in neat order.
The coffins of this country are made of very thick boards, plentifully pitched within, and varnished without; which makes them durable, and prevents them from emitting putrid exhalations: this process being absolutely necessary, where the coffins of the lower class often lie scattered among the tombs, totally uncovered with earth.
The rich spare no expence in having coffins of the most precious wood, which are frequently provided several years before the death of the persons intending to occupy them. A deceased parent is oftentimes preserved in the house by an affectionate family for months, and even years; yet, either from their knowledge of embalming, or from the practice of securing the joints of the coffin with bitumen, no contagious effluvia proceeds from it.
The duty of the widow or children is not finished here; even after the corpse is deposited in the sepulchre of its ancestors, the disconsolate relatives (clad in coarse canvas) still reside with the body, and continue their lamentations for some months. The characters on the monuments, signify the name and quality of the defunct; and epitaphs, extolling the virtues of the deceased, are inscribed on tablets of marble at the entrance of the vaults. The tomb with steps before it, and another, inclosed with cypresses, are common with people of affluence.
