Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors as Reflected in Death Rituals in a Chinese Village

Death rituals have played an important role in Chinese society for thousands of years. This article, based on ethnographic data collected in a village in Chongqing in southwestern China, reconstructs the sequence of preburial, funeral, and postburial rituals performed by the villagers. Then it discusses the belief system associated with these rituals, which includes traditional Chinese cosmology, the nature of ancestors, and the roles of feng shui. It concludes that the death ritual in this village helps people adjust to life in fast-changing, modern rural China.