International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2022

 

A Study on the Confucian Concept of Death in the Pre-Qin Period: Centering on Funeral Rites of the Shi

(Abstract)

 

Xubo Chen

　　

The concept of soul and spirit is the most basic understanding of life and death in pre-Qin Confucianism. After death, the soul leaves the body, a person enters the state of death. In Funeral Rites of the Shi, the Confucian concept of “treating the dead as if they were alive” revolves around the service of the soul and body of the deceased. But there is a difference between life and death after all. Even if “the dead should be treated as if they were alive,” it is still impossible to achieve the true consistency between life and death. After death, the body is buried in the earth, while the soul is welcomed back by relatives and sacrificed in the temple. At this point, the spirit and soul of the deceased have a place to return.