A LOYAL FUNERAL IN CHINA.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1047, 12 May 1882, Page 4

A LOYAL FUNERAL IN CHINA.

“Uer Majesty Taz’ An having ascended the Dragon throne on high, let the proper hoard take eognizance, and consult with the impend as'ronemer« to select an auspicious day firu the celebration of the funeral rites ” 8n ran the official announcement of the death ot the wii'ow of the Frnperor TTsien Feng in the Pekin Gazette of April 10, 1881. The la*e Empress

was the consort of TTsion Feng, but not bis first, wife, that lady having go- e on Inch previous to the elevation of her husband to the Chinese throne

When, in 18(11. TTsien Feng died. Taz’ An was. conjointly with the

mother of the late Fmneror Fung Chili, a ['pointed Emivess Regent. •Again, after Tnng Chill’s death, she continued to wield power during the minority of the present Emperor, Kwang Sn. This power she exercised

with considerable skill. On momentous occasions, more especially during the recent imbroglio with Russia, her diplomatic ta'ents were used to great advantage. Owing to her residing in that portion of the Imperial quanera designated ns the Eastern Palace, she became known as the Eastern Empress in contradistinction to her oo.regent, ■who. living in the Western Palace, is known as the Western Empress. The auspicious dav S' looted for the Imperial obsequies by the grave scientists who form the Board of Astronomy at the Chinese capital was October 29 last

Ever since tVo Empress died lier remains had been deposited in a mortuary chapel situated in the enclosure surrounding the coal hill, or May Shan in the grounds ot the palace. This hill was constructed in the year 1(135. and the coal of which it i? composed was bronchi from the mines of Chitang, which lie to the westward of Peking. At its summit a beautiful summer house is built, and its slopes are deooiated with trees and shrubs of various descriptions. In its construction it serves a double purpose, to enable the imperial denizens of the palace to obtain a view of tbe city, and also as a magazine of fuel in case Peking should at any time be in a state of siege. For seven months the body of the Empress reposed on this hill. Everyday delegations of high mandarins visited the shrine to offer sacrifice and prayers, while a legion of Buddhist lamas and Tauist priests lived in little huts around the gardens whose duty was to offer pm vers for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty. The Kwan Tch Tien, tor such is the name of the mortuary chapel, was sacredly guarded from common ken by a mat-shed erection. The King of Corea, the Khans and Sultans of Thibet, Turkestan, and Kashgariu, the chiefs and princes of the Mongolian and Manchurian domains, all sent deputies to offer prayers on their account at the shrine. Two weeks previous to the date fixed for the funeral the roads leading to the imperial tomb which are -tyled lung m/an tien lit (a 1 iding ' resting-hall of tbe Dragon)—were un- j der a process ot renovation To imagine a street in Peking is difficult A thoroughfare in the Chilil se capital cannot be equaled for diit in any other eitv in the world. Peking i" a city of magnificent distances, but its roadways, though broad and long, are vile. The heavy dust ot the plain accumulates and is kept from rising by liberal showers of dirty water, which is ladled in buckets by scavengers from holes in the side-walls. The method adopted to patch up the roadways consists in raking the mud from the sides to the middle and leveling it down with trowels. After the roadway was repaired, traffic on the portion renovated Was entirely suspended. As it was an essential feature in a < 'hineae imperial funeral that the coffin must be carried steady and without the least sway in",for some twenty days previous to the obsequies the men who were destined to bear the corpse were drilled under the eye of ■officials to proficiency. Two imme> se beam*, painted yellow, supnorted a loff.v canopy and stand, where the coffin was to rest. Upon this stand the presiding official was seated holding a cup of water in his hands. The desired point was achieved when the bearers could step together and n..t apill a drop of the fluid. On the appointed mor- ing at early dawn the procession left the palace] and proceeded on its way through the Hon Men, or back gate. The catafalque was carried from the shrine to •outside the gate by 128 bearers. Jn a yellow canvas tent situated £on the plateau outside the city the coffin was deposited by the bearers, there to await the a-rival of the boy Emperor and the Western Empress. Th re were some 10,1)00 soldiers of the imperial bodyguard as an escort and guard for his Majesty, and the Empress,who arrived at 5 a m. to pay their Inst farewell to the dead ruler. Du ring the passage of the procession along the street the ends of lanes abutting on the main '•t oroughfares were screened by blue - loth, and every shop and house was tightly closed Any one caught gazing at the imperial cort-ege. was arrested a d neve rely punished. The Emperor and Empress, after performing a number of prosM-a inns and offering libations to the departed soul, returned to the palace. In order to give rest to the bearers of the enormous catafalque there were no less than 1000 men dela led to not ns relays The procession then mo zed in the

following order ;—First dime a number of musicians with drums, tram pets, cvmhnls and flukes, but playing no music, these instruments being only outided at various points and imervas. Next, three imperial carts the bodies and wheels painted a yellow, with coverings or canopies of -i raw-coloured satin, the tops surmounted by gihVd oraments, and drawn by tsvo white horses with red trappings Then came a hundred while ponies with red trappings, led bv spearmen Next appeared three sedan chairs, covered with yellow silk, two carried by eight men in scarlet robes, while the third was richly decorated with gilded cramnents and borne by sixteen men. These chairs were the ones nse I by tlm late Empress. Following in order camn a number of high mandarins and princes on horse back, attendants carrying large fans of different colours, flags of white, yellow, black and blue silk, with the fiveclawed dragon emblazoned upon them and others carrying red umbrellas. Then appeared the ponderous catafalque, with twenty mandarins on foot in front of it. This huge bier was drapped in yellow satin, and in shape resembled an ordinary stage Under a canopy covered with silk, upon which a dragon was embroidered in gold thread, the coffin reposed. The roof of the canopy had a large gilt ball fixed in carvings resembling flames of fire and fringed with tassels. The 28 bearers wore scarlet silk rotes, official boots, and hats with yellow fringes. In cider to keep step a man with Chinese drum marched in front of the coffin. The procession closed with a number of mandarins on horseback, soldiers with spears, and a large retinue of carts, sedan chairs bearing officials and hired mourners. Prince Kung and the Viceroy, Le Lung Chang, followed at the distance of a mile. Some Coveans clad in flowing white lobes knelt by the roadside during the passing of the coffin. The journey to toe Imperial tomb occupied nearly three days, the large cortege resting on the way several times.

The following programme of cere- ’ monies to be performed at the grave ! appears in the Sunn Pao, a Chinese I paper polished in Shanghai; “ Kuang | Chang is appointed Bearer of Regalia. Prince Yu will attend to the pouring out of libations and the burning of incense at the various bridges and halting places. At starting and halting the Prince of Vmi will pour out wine, and he will aho offer a libation at the funeral banquet on the arrival of the coffin at the mausoleum. At the tomb at the auspicious moment the coffin will be deposited on the dragon hearse and lowered into the vault. Then a sacrificial offering shall take place on the eastern terrace, and Prince Rung shall pour offerings of wine. This from the throne. Respect it and obey ” From the Chinese Book of Ceremonids the following ac-ount is extracted from ihe final ceremonies attending the sepulture of a member of the imperial family: “The coffin is placed upon the hearse, which is a kind of truck, having as a headpiece a Carving representing a dragon. This hearse is slid into a vault constructed of heaw sione and concrete. The entrance is closed by a heavy, iron barred door, which, when pulled tight, moves a balai ce which sets free a heavy bolt on the inside, thus barring the door effectually. Then, when the door is closed, the seals of the high princes and officials are affixed on strips of yellow paper across the doors, and the remains are left to their eternal rest.”