Tree of Life and Chinese Folk Art

Author: Jin Zhilin
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Life originates from water, and the tree of life originates from water. The evergreen tree of life of our Chinese nation is deeply rooted in the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, sheltering the bloodline of the Dragon. This book takes the basic consciousness of humanity—life consciousness—as its foundation, discussing the original philosophy of the Chinese nation's continuous existence, the observation of objects and images—culture of the tree of life. The author traces back 5,000 years of Chinese history, traveling across the vast land, and finally extracts the life consciousness embedded in the tree of life of the Chinese nation, capturing its subtle traces hidden in the folk culture. (This book is printed in copperplate paper with color, exceptionally exquisite!)
Excerpt: Examination of Funeral Rites in Bashu—“Pathfinder”/“Money Cage” and “Qingming Battle”
The funeral and sacrificial processions and folk customs of the ancient Shu King in Guanghan Sanxingdui, as remnants of primitive culture, are still prevalent in the Bashu region today, 3,000 years later. I conducted field investigations in the northern part of Guizhou, Chishui County, and Hejiang County in the eastern part of Sichuan, westward to Chengdu, Guanghan, and Mianzhu, examining the folk culture and customs of the Bashu region. I found that the remnants of primitive culture in this area are extremely rich. Chishui was originally part of Hejiang County in Sichuan and was only ceded to Guizhou during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. This area is similar to eastern Sichuan customs and largely consistent with those in northwestern Sichuan.); The elderly residents in Yibin and this area were mostly relocated from Hunan and Hubei along the Yangtze River, so their folk culture and customs are closely related to those in central China, Hunan, Hubei, and even Jiangxi. We visited the folk artisan Yang Qixian several times in the northern gate of Chishui. His family has been making paper figurines for funerals, weddings, and festivals for three generations, known as “silver ornament craftsmen.” His ancestors were originally from Xiaogan Township, Macheng County, Hubei, but later moved to Hejiang in Sichuan and lived there for nine generations. It was only in the generation of his grandfather that they moved from Hejiang to Chishui. The traditional funeral processions in this area are very spectacular, with the most spectacular one being in 1935 when he, along with his father, the elderly artisan Yang Chunrong, made paper figurines for the mother of a government official named Mao Guangxiang. After the coffin was lifted, the entire funeral procession left the city. The sacrificial officiant in the front held yellow paper inscribed with a series of life symbols connecting heaven and earth, scattering it along the way, called “scattering the money for the path,” to allow the soul of the deceased to connect with heaven and earth. This role is probably similar to the sacrificial shaman standing figure in the Sanxingdui funeral rites; then came the five-meter-tall “Pathfinder” General and the Second General, known as “Fangyou” and “Fangxiang,” two divine generals clad in armor, with one hand holding a sword and the other a knife, wearing helmets and war boots to lead the way, along with the lion, white elephant, and the golden and jade children who guide the soul, and so on.
“Fangxiang Shi,” as mentioned in the Rites of Zhou (Summer·), states: “Fangxiang Shi wears a bear skin, with four golden eyes, wearing black robes and red skirts, holding spears and shields, leading hundreds of subordinates to perform the Nuo ritual at fixed times to drive out plagues from the rooms. At great funerals, they lead the coffin.” Zheng Xuan notes: “To guide the coffin to its destination.” In ancient times, images of gods were used to drive away plagues, and they were also used in funerals, known as the “Pathfinder” or “road-opening god.” The first wife of the Yellow Emperor, Luo Zu, died on the road, and the second wife, Mo Mu, guarded the road, so Mo Mu became the Fangxiang Shi.” [Yuan Ke (compiler): Dictionary of Chinese Mythological Legends, Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, 1985, p. 97.] It seems that during great funerals, the “Pathfinder” leading the coffin, the “Fangbi” and “Fangxiang Shi” who “led the hundred subordinates and performed the Nuo ritual,” are the bronze god heads and bronze Nuo masks inserted into wooden bodies in the Sanxingdui funeral rites, and so on; next came the six-meter-tall “Money Cage” at the head of the ceremonial guard, along with a pair of sky-reaching canopies and two pairs of sky-reaching “Four Cardinal Flags.” Then came the sky-reaching “Golden Mountains,” “Silver Mountains,” and “Spirit Houses” with a height of about 1.2 meters. Then came the eldest grandson (the eldest son carried the spirit tablet to show off his lineage, so the eldest grandson carried the spirit tablet) and other filial sons and grandsons holding the spirit tablets of the deceased. Next came the coffin of the deceased, followed by the female relatives—eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, third daughter-in-law, and eldest daughter, second daughter, third daughter, and so on—forming a long procession to escort the deceased. When the procession reached the “Golden Well” (the tomb), the “Money Cage” was tied to the top of the tall evergreen pines or “bitter bamboo” trunks, merging with it to become a towering sky-reaching tree of life. After burial, the paper figurines were piled high in front of the tomb and burned in a sacrificial fire to pray for connection with heaven and gods. This is the traditional primitive concept inherited from the primitive society in China. These lifeless things, after passing through the fire, ascend to heaven and connect with the gods, becoming immortal and supernatural deities. This is the essence of the sacrificial fire in funeral rites. The nature and connotation of the bronze and paper figurine processions in funeral sacrificial fires are the same here, only differing in status and between the king and the people. Moreover, there was no paper during the Shang Dynasty! The funeral processions I saw in the eastern part of Sichuan were the same as those described by the elderly artisan Yang Qixian. Now, the “Pathfinder” generals and the lion and white elephant are no longer present. Yang Qixian said that making such paper figurines was too expensive. He remembered that when Mao Guangxiang held a funeral for his mother, his father and he alone spent 12 shi of grain just on the two “Pathfinder” figurines of Fangbi and Fangxiang. Six shi per figurine—how could ordinary people afford it? Now, the ceremonial guard is led by the “Money Cage,” which is over six meters tall and still very imposing. At the time of the procession, the “Money Cage” is essential—it leads the procession and is the most important. In his paper figurine workshop, I saw the tall “Money Cage” he made for the people of Chishui for their funerals. In fact, this is the “sky ladder” through which the soul of the deceased can ascend to heaven—the Jianmu. It consists of a sand trunk over six meters tall as the axis connecting heaven and earth, with nine concentric circles ascending layer by layer around the central axis. These nine circles are connected by colorful ring papers, symbolizing ascending the Jianmu ladder to the nine heavens. It is truly a hundred-story tree without branches, with nine (belonging to wood). At the top are four yellow sunflowers and a vaulted sky-reaching crown, with a white crane standing on it. This vaulted sky-reaching crown is the same as the shape of the tomb mounds in this area, which carry the meaning of connecting with the soul. It is different from the conical tomb mounds popular in northern China, which also carry the same meaning. The vaulted sky-reaching crown is surrounded by various symbols of connecting with the sky and the sun. The white crane is also a symbol of connecting with the sky and the sun, and later it was transformed into the meaning of longevity and the soul of the deceased being transformed into a crane to ascend to heaven. Therefore, in folk customs, a white crane is added to the “Money Cage” for those over 60, while those under 60 do not have it and instead point a spear straight to the sky. As one grows older, each additional year means ascending one higher heaven, so the “Money Cage” has the custom of adding one circle for each year of the deceased, though this is generally not fully achieved. When the procession reaches the tomb, the “Money Cage” is tied to the top of evergreen trees or bamboo poles, resembling a giant tree connecting the nine heavens, connecting with the soul and the sun. It is the same as the two-meter-tall tree of life unearthed in Guanghan Sanxingdui, symbolizing the nine branches as the nine heavens, connecting with the sky, the soul, and the sun.
Local customs dictate that three days after burial, the tomb must be “rounded” (closed). The deceased's relatives walk around the tomb three times, called “treading the boundary,” marking the tomb's boundary. Then, the children of the deceased shake the “Money Cage” tree of life deliberately, causing the circles to fall. If it falls in front of a man, it symbolizes prosperity and wealth; if it falls in front of a woman, it is buried at home with grain immediately, symbolizing a bountiful harvest. The “Money Cage” is then burned in the fire three years later. This transformation of the tree of life into a “Money Cage” clearly reflects the secular cultural concepts of a commodity society.