Afterlife in Ancient and Medieval China
By
Thich Thanh Nguyen
China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world that
still continuous till this day. It has made great contributions in
thoughts and philosophies to the world. Studying Chinese thoughts and
philosophies are always interesting but it is also difficult to
comprehend since it has a long and complex history. Ancient and Medieval
China has long been an attractive field of study because it was the
period of emergence, development, and mixture of some famous thoughts
and religions, such as popular religions, Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism. One of the greatest concerns of people at that time was said
to be the caring of life and death. After death, where did human beings
go: to heaven or the underworld or somewhere else? Were there any
relationships between the living and the dead? This paper will examine
the concept of the afterlife from the periods of ancient to Medieval
China.
Chinese religious practices started from as early as the
Neolithic era, around 7,000 B.C.E. However, the understanding of
Neolithic religions is limited and tentative at best, so our field of
study will start from the Shang period (c. 1600 – 1046 BCE). In the
Shang period, China entered the Bronze Age where the first written
records for Chinese religious practices were found.1 This
period led to the formation and development of native traditions/popular
religions. At this time, Chinese people believed and worshipped nature
gods, such as the god of weather, god of wind, the Supreme (Shang Ti)
god, and ancestors as well. On the other hand, the medieval period took
place from the Former Han (206 B.C.E.) up to the tenth century. This
period saw the emergence of Taoism as a religion as well as the entry,
development, and domination of Buddhism in China.
As we will see, there are some Taoist concepts about the
afterlife which were borrowed from Buddhism. Thus, it was considered
that the Taoist concept of afterlife was developed after Buddhism, but
the paper still follows the order starting with popular religions,
Taoism, and then Buddhism. Moreover, afterlife beliefs were varied from
ascending as a heavenly being, achieving Immortality, and attaining
Nirvana. However, they will not be the subject to be analyzed in this
paper; rather, it pays attention to the life after death which happens
in the netherworld or in hell.
Firstly, we examine the afterlife in popular religions. As
mentioned above, ancient people believed and worshipped a variety of
gods. All of these gods were divided into three main types: “the ghosts
of Heaven, the ghosts of the mountains and rivers, and the ghosts of men
who have died.”2 Again, the attention will be placed on the
last one. By means of “the ghosts of men who have died,” ancient people
believed that there existed “something” after death. In fact, the life
after death was supposedly superior to the living, and was called the
“extra human power.” These beings appeared in three kinds: human form,
animal form, or a mixture of human and animal form that can aid the
living.
Also, ancient people believed that human beings have a soul
which was of two kinds: hun and p’o. Each individual is made up of three
hun and seven p’o. Hun came into existence at the moment of birth, and
was fed by breathing chi. Meanwhile, p’o was sustained by eating food.
Eating and breathing are two essential processes of life. Without these,
there is no life, so without hun and p’o, there exist no human beings.
Soon after, the Yang and Yin dichotomy was applied to this soul theory.
Yang was identical with hun which represented the spiritual and
intellectual aspects of human beings. Yin made up of p’o that was bodily
and an animating principle. After one’s death, the lighter part of hun
would ascend to the Heaven while the form of the body p’o would descend
to the underworld.3 Thus, the dead were divided into hun and
p’o. These parts were considered the “soul,” but without a bodily
vessel. Under certain conditions, this “soul” was capable of being seen
by the living.
With the theory of hun ascending to Heaven and p’o descending
the underworld, people believed that, after death, the ruler would go to
heaven, and the commoner would go to the underworld. Then there were
popular beliefs that almost all souls should live in the underworld
after death: “Judging from the custom of human sacrificial burials,
however, there is reason to maintain that people then believed that
ruler could follow the ruler after death, if not in heaven, then perhaps
under earth.”4 The underworld then came to have other names,
such as the Dark City, the Yellow Springs, or the Netherworld. This was
where the dead resided which had nothing to do with the punishment yet.
So, how and what did the Netherworld look like? There was a
common belief that the life in the Netherworld was similar to life on
earth. This similarity was clearly depicted through the life of dead
being and the netherworld’s government. Firstly, people believed that
the dead beings were just the continuation of the living; for example,
they needed food and possessed various desires: “Yellow Springs
reflected the hierarchy nature of the moral world. If a person had a
poor and miserable time when alive, they would have the same in the
afterlife.”5 Thus, people started to provide the dead with
almost everything to enable the dead to live a happy and comfortable
life in the netherworld:
Toward the end of the Warring States,
however, this burial system began to change … In a word, they were
clearly intended to serve as models of the houses of the living. As the
burial chambers expanded from single to multiple, the entire structure
came to resemble the houses of the living.6
Funerary objects containing real or
surrogate food, utensils, cattle, mansions, fields, clay money,
figurines of servants, all intended for the deceased’s happy life after
death. Many wall paintings and reliefs in tombs, furthermore, portray
daily activities that may be seen as also representing future activities
in the netherworld.7
People’s idea was that the dead also need everything like the living.
People offered the dead comfortable houses, and all the necessities of
life as a way to comfort the dead in the Netherworld. From the quotation
above, we also can learn that people, from the Warring States, started
to hold a pessimistic view about life in the netherworld. They thought
that the dead might be in difficult situations, and needed support from
the living. Secondly, people insisted that there was a government body
in the Netherworld, and this government should be similar to the one on
earth. However, this government was better than on earth, since there
was no injustice in the netherworld. A deity name Ssu-ming possessed the
authority over life after death. People believed that if one did enough
good things, the minor offences would not affect him/her. The earliest
evidence for this idea is the record which we found in a Ch’in tomb in
Kansu province. Through the story, we learn that a man name Tan had
died. When he faced the deity Ssu-ming, the deity thought that it would
be unfair for him to die from a minor offence, so he resurrected Tan’s
life on earth.8
Thus, the skeptical view about the afterlife first rose toward
the end of the Warring States; overall, the dead were always seen in a
higher state than the living, and the dead were seen as the source of
blessing. The dead became almost gods-like, ghosts or spirits who
watched and helped the living (relatives). By worshipping these deities
or spirits, people expected to gain welfare and avoid disaster, and by
sacrificing these deities, people would be blessed. “The royal ancestors
were thought to be able to ‘be guests with Ti’ and to protect
descendents.”9 This idea formed the framework for the
development of clan hall cults for ancestors. There is a mutual
relationship between the dead and the living in which the latter is for
sacrifices and the former is for blessings:
For offerings, for sacrifices
[The Personator of the ancestors] is seated and invited to
partakes,
And thereby bring down great blessing
……
The sacrifices are very splendid.
The august forefather –
Their spirits enjoy the offerings,
Their filial descendants shall receive good fortune.
They will reward them with many blessings,
With limitless myriads of years of life.10
Thus, from ancient times, there was the assumption that the living
and the dead were dependent on one another. On the one hand, the living
has the duty to offer and sacrifice to the dead, and they will get the
blessing from their ancestor. On the other hand, the ancestors enjoy the
living’s offerings, and their functions are to reward and to protect the
living. In ancient times, there was no hint that ghosts were malicious
to the living. However, toward the end of the Warring States, people
possessed a less optimistic view about the netherworld, for they thought
that was an uncertain and gloomy place. Consequently, the contact
between them was less than before, and although people still held the
view that ancestors were the source of blessing, they were not really
welcome: “Although the living mourned the dead, they preferred to have
no more contact with the dead, except through sacrifices and offerings …
The living and the dead go different ways; they should not become
obstacles to each other.”11
In short, from the most ancient time, people believed that
there should be some kind of existence after one’s death. An individual
is made up of two kinds of soul: hun (yang) and p’o (yin). After death,
these two souls go separately. Hun ascends and has its abode in the
heaven, while p’o descends and lives underground. Living underground is
similar to earth, and there is nothing to do with punishment for the
dead in the underground. After one’s death, his relationship with the
living has not yet ended. The dead were seen as the source of blessings.
The living have the duty to offer and sacrifice to the dead, and the
dead, in response, bless the living. Toward the end of the Warring
States, people started to doubt and fear the dead. As a result, they
wanted less contact with the dead. There no evidence that the dead did
any harm to the living, but instead they were the source of blessing.
Secondly, we examine the concept of the afterlife in Taoism.
Taoism was found by Lao-tzu during the 6th century BCE.
However, it emerged as a religion at the first century CE. Early Taoism
focused on the worldly goal or on immortality of the physical body. So,
the concept of afterlife was not well-developed in Taoism. Early Taoist
afterlife was an adoption and development of the ancient period. Soon
after, in response to Buddhism, Taoist incorporated the Buddhist
concepts of heaven, hell, and rebirth, thus makes the afterlife in
Taoism clearer. In the following, we will examine the Taoist afterlife
in two different contexts: prior to and after the influence of Buddhism.
Prior to the influence of Buddhism, Taoist afterlife was
similar to that of the ancient time. However, Taoist also contributed
some new ideas about life after death. As mentioned above, toward the
end of the Warring States, people started to doubt and fear the beings
underground. This idea was the framework for Taoist to believe that the
dead were the source of disaster. There were two kinds of livings people
for whom the dead could cause trouble. The first one was the person with
whom the dead had private vendettas. The second one could be the dead
relatives if the dead relatives did not fulfill their responsibility to
them, for Taoist believes that “it is responsibility of the living to
provide the thing the dead will need to be comfortable: food, money, and
other amenities.”12 If the dead were starving, abandoned, or
buried insufficiently to their station, they can sue in the offices of
the underworld. The result of this led to disaster, disease, or havocs
the living. People at that time wished: “O, Soul, do not come back!”13
To avoid this source of disaster, people had to do proper offerings or
sacrifices so that the dead would rest peacefully underground, and do no
harm to the living: “Priests help affect the transformation of a dead
family member into a benevolent ancestor. Without such a change he or
she could become a dangerous ghost.”14
Despite the fact that people held the view that the dead were
the source of disaster, there was evidence that the interaction between
them still carried on. However, there was a contradiction in the theory
of Taoism regarding this relationship. On the one hand, evidence exists
to show that there is still a mutual relationship between the dead and
the living. As previously mentioned, with the proper offering and
sacrifices, the dangerous ghosts can be transformed into benevolent
ones. So, the ancient idea about the relationship between the dead and
the living still carry on. The duty of the living is to offer to and
sacrifice for the dead, and the dead will aid the living instead of
causing them trouble. In the dream of Jie, we find, “yet asserting his
emotions [Jie’s father’s emotion] led him to save Jie from further
punishment.”15 In another story between Guo Fan and his son,
we also find that the concern of the dead to the living has not yet
ended. They still have connections: “When one has been dead for long
time, one no longer thinks of the living. But for those who have just
died, like me, personal concerns have not yet come to an end. I still
think [of my descendents].”16 On the other hand, evidence
also suggests that there is no connection between the dead and the
living. In the story between Su Shao and his son, Jie, Su Shao said he
has “no further emotions” to think or take care of his relatives. Even
if Su Shao’s family’s members provide him with a rich burial with a high
mound, he is not delighted with that because he is “not present.”
Thus, at its outset, Taoism’s concept of the afterlife is
somehow problematic. It often appears to contradict itself. Another
concern is: What is going on in the underworld? Or were there any
differences between the life in the underworld and the life on earth?
A common belief that there is a place for the dead to reside is
also carried on. That place is either called Yellow Springs or Mount
Tai. There is nothing to do with the punishment in these places; rather,
they are a place for the dead to stay: “There was the subterranean
Yellow Springs, where commoners were believed to labor ... This labor
was not punitive, but rather a continuation of their lives above
ground.”17 The life of the dead is the same as the living.
Taoist depiction of the afterlife is clearer: “There is no difference
[between death and life], except that the dead are immaterial and the
living material.”18 The dead also possessed various desires,
but the ways they do so are different from the living: “when they drank
or ate, the sustenance remained; when they wrote, the writing was
unrecognizable.”19 The most distinguishing feature of the
Taoist afterlife is that all beings in the underworld have longevity.
Another thing is that in ancient times, many accounts for the
underworld’s government could not be found, and this government was just
simple with the only account of the Lord of the underworld. Here, we
find a number of Taoist accounts about the underworld’s government.
Besides the Lord of the underworld, there were several officials with
assistants, and these officials were well-developed and superior to the
courts of the living: “The courts of the dead were modeled on the courts
of the living in all respects except one: the offices sent to apprehend
defendants were invisible to normal vision.”20
Moreover, when Taoism developed the idea of Fengdu Shan, an
interesting view of Taoism about life after death emerged. Fengdu Shan
served as the connecting point of life, death, and immortality: “life
and death, earth and void, all gathered in the same body, that of the
mountain …, this small mountain brings together the authentic
territories of death, and the ‘pure lands’ of Immortality which border
it.”21 Again, Fengdu Shan for Taoism was not entirely
pleasant, but it was not the place for punishment. More importantly, it
was not the final place for the dead to reside. It is a kind of a
junction for the dead to continue their journey to immortality if they
have not achieved when they were alive:
The Gui, the souls of the dead who are in
the hells, can practice immortality xian like men; they can do Taoist
exercises, and when seven generations (in other words ancestors) are
established in Virtue, their merit come down on their descendants and
guide them to the state of shen, and of Immortal.22
From the above, we learn that Taoist concept of afterlife prior
to the influence of Buddhism is simply a continuation of the ancient
times. However, it contributes some new point, and makes the concept of
afterlife clearer. Of these contributions, we have to mention the
longevity of the dead, and the equality and justice of the underworld’s
bureaucracy. With the emergence of Fengdu Shan, Taoism for the first
time has a concept of hell. But this hell still had nothing to do with
punishment; rather, it is a connecting point to a higher achievement,
the immortality.
However, Taoist view on the concept of afterlife started to
change when Taoism came into contact with Buddhism. When Taoism imported
the Buddhist concept of karma, rebirth, and hell, the Taoist hell was no
more a neutral place. As we will see, Taoist hell and its government’s
form are similar with the Buddhist one. “The Taoist is now called on to
believe in a purgatory, consisting of ten courts of Justice situated at
the bottom of a great ocean which lies down in the depths of the earth.”23
All beings have to undergo the purgatory. If one’s good deeds are
prevalent, he will be escorted to the land of immortality. If one’s good
deeds and evils are equal, he will be reborn among men. If one did many
bad deeds when he was alive, he has to pass through various courts of
purgatory to suffer bitterness, and then be reborn as a human being.
Their future life is uncertain, and depends on a decision of the second
time upon trial. If they behave well, he will be reborn to a happy
state. On the other hand, if his behavior is bad, he will be reborn
again either in human or other forms and undergoes a bitter life. At
death, they have to enter the everlasting hell, and suffer there
forever.24 How do the dead experience life in purgatory? The
dead have to pass one up to ten courts depending on their evil or good
deeds for judgment. The judgment was approved by the savior Pu-sa
(Chinese name for a ruller Bodhisattva who rules over Infernal Regions),
and then all decisions of the eleven courts are submitted to Yu-Ti (Yu
Hwang Shang Ti). After that, the dead will be reborn either into a happy
state or evil one in accord with his deeds.
Since seeing the netherworld as a terrifying place and the dead
has to experience suffering there; the living wanted to transfer merit
to the dead in order to rescue or release the sins of the dead, so that
they can be reborn in happy states.
Lastly, we examine the concept of the afterlife in the Chinese
Buddhism. Thompson in his book Chinese Religion: An Introduction,
states: “Buddhism [was] the only alien tradition both to infiltrate and
modify Chinese culture.”25 Buddhism with its basic concepts
of karma, rebirth, hell, and samsara had changed the Chinese view and
understanding about the afterlife. Prior to the influence of Buddhism,
Chinese had the concept of retribution, (i.e. if you did good, you will
reward good, and vice versa). However, they found difficulty in
explaining some aspects of life. For example, there were many virtuous
men who suffered in their lives while many evil ones but had good
fortune. The Buddhist theory of karma and rebirth helped the Chinese to
solve this problem. Furthermore, Buddhist karma and rebirth together
with its hell, in combination with the netherworld in popular religions,
offered the Chinese a clear understanding of the wheel of
life-death-rebirth. What is really going on before one is reborn or what
happens to a person after his death? Buddhists believe that after one’s
death and before one is ready to be reborn, he has to expiate in hell
(purgatory) for the sins that they committed during their life time. The
period of purgatory often “lasts from the moment of death until the
spirit of the deceased is reborn in another bodily form, usually in the
third year after death.”26However, there are some exceptions.
If the merit of the death is prevalent, he will immediately be reborn to
a higher realm or a happy state without undergoing the period of
purgatory. In contrast, if the person has committed too many evils, he
is also reborn immediately, but instead of a good state, he has to be
reborn in hell to get retribution for his sins. According to Buddhism,
there are eight levels of hell in accord with the levels of one’s sins,
namely: “(1) The Hell of Resuscitation, where people constantly die and
are resuscitated for more torture, (2) The Black Rope Hell, (3) The
Crowded Hell, (4) The Screaming Hell, (5) The Great Screaming Hell, (6)
The Hell of Fiery Heat, (7) The Hell of Great Heat, and (8) Avici Hell,
or the Hell of No-Interval.”27 Generally, people possess the
good deeds and evils which are unclear, so they all have the period of
purgatory in which they have to pass through all ten courts for their
own retribution and for judging their next births. There are ten
important nodes in total for the death during his life in the purgatory,
and each node takes place in one court. They are the nodes of every
seven days after death (the node of every seven days ends in forty days
after one’s death), the node of one hundred days, the node of one year,
and the node of three years after one’s death. In the following section,
the examination will place on what the dead have to undergo in all ten
courts.
Before going through the ten courts, three days after death,
the dead have to cross the River Nai (or River of No Recourse). By
crossing this river, the dead enter the stage of despair of turning
back. They are totally hopeless, and ready for retribution. Thus, the
first three days after death can be another important node of the dead.
As a result, “To ensure the spirit’s safe passage it is customary to
invite priests to recite the scriptures on the third night after death.”28
After crossing the river, at the first seven days after death,
the dead reach the first court which is under the rule of Chin Kuang
Wang (The Great [or Extended] King of Ch’in). The King is in charge of
the register of life and death. At this court, the dead experience fear,
but have not yet get retribution for his sins yet. He is still free from
suffering. After registering the name of the dead with his sins, the
dead are forwarded to the second court.
At the second court (8-14 days after death) ruled by Chu-chiang
Wang (The King of the First River), the dead enter the stage of no hope
of escape, and the punishment starts. “Cangues have been placed around
their necks, and they find themselves cut off from the rest of the world
by mountains, which in some traditional Buddhist cosmologies were
thought to separate the human continent from the regions of hell.”29
At the third court (15-21 days after death) ruled by Sung Ti
Wang, the dead have to face one annoyance after the next. The King, one
by one, checks off the name of the dead. Then, the guardians drive them
to the King of the Five Offices (We-kuan Wang).
The fourth court takes place 22 to 28 days after death. The
King of the Five Offices carries on judgment to the dead. In his right
hand, the Boy of Evil displays the record and shows the scale of karma
of the sinners.
Then, the dead enter the fifth court (29-35 days after death)
ruled by King Yama who is said to be more severe than the others. So, it
is traditional for people to invite the monastic to make the offer to
the King Yama so that the dead will not be treated too severely. At this
court, the sinners claim their innocence. However, “as a ruler of the
underworld, he [King Yama] keeps records of people’s actions in their
previous lives,”30 so the plea of the dead is useless.
Moreover, at this court, the sinners have to stand in front of the
infamous karma mirror; all his evil deeds of previous life will be
displayed, so he has to accept the judgment of the King.
Then the dead are sent to the sixth court which is ruled by
King Pien-cheng Wang (King of Transformations). This court takes place
36 to 42 days after death. Here, the dead will transform into another
form of life. Happiness or sorrow depend on their actions: “The donors
in this court … ascend by clouds to paradise, while the evil person, his
head visible just inside the walls, enter the prison to witness the
punishment inflicted on people reborn there.”31
During the last week of forty-nine days, the dead enter the
court of King of Mount Tai (Tai Shan Wang). The King of this court keeps
the register for life and death of the spirits. The spirits, at this
court, start to “search for their fathers and mothers, [hoping] to meet
with loved ones and kin.”32
After one hundred days, the dead pass the eighth court which is
ruled by Ping-teng Wang (Impartial King). Here, the dead are divided
into two groups: donors are grouped at the top while the sinners are
grouped in a lower level, even they “will be spared from dropping into
the underground prisons, those places of external suffering.”33
After one year, the dead are forwarded to the ninth court which
is ruled by Tu-shih wang (King of the Capital). At this court, the dead
experience less grief, and their next birth to the Six Realms will be
revolve, but rebirth has not yet taken place.
Lastly, the dead are sent to the tenth court when they are in
the third years after death. The ruler of the tenth court is Chuan Lun
Wang (He who turns the Wheel of Life). Here, “the dead are assigned to
the next mode of life,”34 either in one among six realms.
Their next appropriate birth is guided by the king’s assistants.
Thus, Buddhist view about the underworld is no longer neutral.
It is the place where the dead should experience misery. Following the
Buddha’s teaching, Chinese people also want to transfer merit to the
dead so that it can relieve or liberate the suffering of the dead in the
underworld. Transferring merit can be practiced in three common ways.
The first one is making of an offering or sacrifice to the underworld’s
bureaucracy:
The Buddha preaches that after one’s
death, if one’s descendant make offerings to the Ten Kings, then the
deceased will escape punishment for previous sins and be reborn in the
heavens … King Yama promises the Buddha that he will dispatch envoys
riding black horses from the dark regions to go to the homes of the
deceased to see whether or not their descendants make offerings.35
The second way is chanting scripture, name of a Buddha, or a
Bodhisattva especially the Ti-tsang Bodhisattva, for “ [he] promises
that anyone who chants his name will have their sins wiped away and that
anyone who gazes upon his picture will gain merit.”36 The
most popular one is an offering and donation to the temple and monastic,
especially in the Vulanpen’s festival. This practice is based on the
story of Mu-lian who entered the hell of Avici to save his mother.
Mu-lien with his supernatural power could not do any favor to his
mother. He came back and asked the Buddha for aid. The Buddha said the
only effective way to release his mother from that hell is to make an
offering to the Sangha:
He [The Buddha] instructs Mu-lian to
provide a grand feast of ‘yu-lan bowls’ on the fifteenth day of the
seventh month, just as monks emerge from their summer retreat. The
Buddha prescribes this same method of ancestor salvation for other
filial sons to follow in future generations …37
Thus, all three ways of transferring merit to the dead not long built
up one of the biggest festivals in China: the Ghost Festival whereby the
living earn as many merits as they can on the behalf of the dead. This
way, the dead can be released from their suffering in the underworld.
From the above mentioned, we can come to the conclusion that
Chinese ancient and medieval concepts of afterlife underwent a long
process of development. Initially, people simply believed that there is
a continuation of life after death. Human beings have two kinds of souls
(hun and po) in which hun is identical with yang, and will ascend to
heaven after one’s death. On the other hand, the po soul is made up of
yin which will descend to the ground. The underground is just the place
for the dead to live, and there is nothing to do with punishment. The
dead then become the source of blessings that can aid the living.
However, people did not want to contact with the dead except through
offering and sacrifice. There is evidence to show that the dead are not
welcomed by the living. With the emergence as a religion in the early
medieval time, Taoism contributed some new ideas to the Chinese
understanding of the afterlife. Taoist views of the afterlife include:
(1) the dead is totally the same as the living except they are
immaterial, (2) all the dead achieve longevity, (3) there exists an
everlasting hell, and (4) the government of the underworld was more
well-organized with the Lord of underworld, his assistants, and
varieties of offices. However, the concept of the afterlife was not
clearly understood by the Chinese until the introduction of Buddhism to
China. Buddhism has made great contributions to the Chinese
understanding of the afterlife. Among them, the concept of purgatory,
hell, and transferring merit are the most important. With the concept of
purgatory and hell, the image of life after death of a person is fully
depicted. With the idea of transferring merit, the ghost festival came
into existence by which people made offerings to the netherworld’s
bureaucracy, the savior, or to the Sangha. By making of offerings,
people hope to reduce the amount of sins of the dead or to rescue their
ancestors from suffering in the underground, and enable the dead to be
reborn in a happy or a higher state.
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Update 01-09-2010
