“礼”“俗”之际——宋代丧葬礼俗及其特征

The Characteristics of the Funeral Rites and Customs in the Song Dynasty

自古以来,丧礼就是中国最为隆重的礼仪之一,宋代也不例外。就现存资料来看,宋代士大夫阶层提倡实施规范的丧葬礼节,并为此不懈努力,他们不仅继承总结先秦以来儒家的丧葬制度与理念,而且也依据宋代社会的实际状况加以改进完善,进而形成为一套较为系统的“礼法”。这些礼仪很大程度上得到了统治者的认可,有些甚至成为朝廷颁布的政策或法规。然而,由于种种原因,“礼法”未必完全符合两宋社会现实,因而民间丧葬之“俗”便成为庶民百姓约定俗成的惯例。二者之间存在矛盾,却也相互协调,进而共生共存,这是宋代丧葬民俗的总体特征。

Funeral has been one of the most important ceremonies in china since ancient times and the Song Dynasty is no exception. The existing materials show that the Song's scholar-officials advocated and made every effort to practise the standard funeral rites. They not only inherited and summarized the Confucian system and ideas on funeral since the Pre-Qin period, but also improved the rites according to the Song's social situation. As a result, they formulated a systematic set of funeral rites, which, to a great extent, won the rulers' approval. Some of the rites even were issued as a policy or regulation. However, for some reasons the rites may not be totally suitable to the Song's social reality. The folk customs related to funeral were more popular among common people. Therefore ritual and custom formed two aspects of funeral in the Song Dynasty. Although there were contradictions between them, they harmonized with each other. This is general characteristic of funeral in the Song Dynasty.