70
GÖRAN AIJMER
hells. The usual way of converting paper money to the death realm is to burn it. In terms of calendar events54 it seems possible to argue that yang ancestors are provided with 'valuables' by way of burning. But burning is not used on the graves—with one exception, on record from Baling.
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Instead, the yin ancestors receive their share of paper wealth by way of the medium of bamboo. How that medium ‘operates' remains as unclear to me as the working of fire in the same capacity in the many important burning ceremonies. This particular aspect of bamboo may be complemented by others. Apart from the protective, cleaning properties, mentioned above, bamboo is also linked to productive forces. The hollow bamboo is, in 'general' Chinese thought, contrasted with solid fir tree, both being antonymous ‘exhibitions' of the element wood. Wood is one of the Wu hing £ fj, five ‘elements' (or perhaps better, activities), wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Again, the element wood is linked to east, spring and green colour. Here I shall not pursue such intricacies of classification. Instead I shall venture a pure, and to some minds probably wild, guess that bamboo branches with paper money inserted on the grave is a representation of a rice plant in ear. Bamboo and paper money may have formed a sign constellation designating rice straw and rice grain. If we accept this, at least for the sake of the argument, then we may proceed to say that the plant by its 'roots' links the 'grain' hung up in the branches with the soil in which are the yin ancestors. Thus it may be argued that the act of 'planting' a paper money bamboo on a grave is a reversed reaping.
In an attempt to make this piece of guesswork more plausible we must refer the reader to the suggestions with regard to the structure of the Chinese calendar which were presented above. I maintained that in Central China, Qingming is a symbolic correlate to sowing and Chongyang the symbolic correlate to reaping. I will return to this discussion in the final paragraphs of this essay; suffice here to mention that if my propositions are 'true', the yin ancestors are those entities which are 'responsible' for the agricultural production and the main providers of rice. Through the roots and stalks of rice, which are a medium linking Earth and human beings, paddy is sent by the ancestors to their living progeny. The grain is a gift from them to reciprocate the Qingming offerings, the paper money provided by the living, which is 'seeped' through the bamboo branches down into Earth.
70
GÖRAN AIJMER
hells. The usual way of converting paper money to the death realm is to burn it. In terms of calendar events54 it seems possible to argue that yang ancestors are provided with 'valuables' by way of burning. But burning is not used on the graves-with one excep- tion, on record from Baling.
+
Instead, the yin ancestors receive their share of paper wealth by way of the medium of bamboo. How that medium ‘operates' re- mains as unclear to me as the working of fire in the same capacity in the many important burning ceremonies. This particular aspect of bamboo may be complemented by others. Apart from the pro- tective, cleaning properties, mentioned above, bamboo is also linked to productive forces. The hollow bamboo is, in 'general' Chinese thought, contrasted with solid fir tree, both being antonymous ‘ex- hibitions' of the element wood . Wood is one of the Wu hing £ fj, five ‘elements' (or perhaps better, activities), wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Again, the element wood is linked to east, spring and green † colour. Here I shall not pursue such intricacies of classification. Instead I shall venture a pure, and to some minds probably wild, guess that bamboo branches with paper money in- serted on the grave is a representation of a rice plant in ear. Bam- boo and paper money may have formed a sign constellation designa- ting rice straw and rice grain. If we accept this, at least for the sake of the argument, then we may proceed to say that the plant by its 'roots' links the 'grain' hung up in the branches with the soil in which are the yin ancestors. Thus it may be argued that the act of 'planting' a paper money bamboo on a grave is a reversed reaping.
In an attempt to make this piece of guesswork more plausible we must refer the reader to the suggestions with regard to the structure of the Chinese calendar which were presented above. I maintained that in Central China, Qingming is a symbolic correlate to sowing and Chongyang the symbolic correlate to reaping. I will return to this discussion in the final paragraphs of this essay; suffice here to mention that if my propositions are 'true', the yin ancestors are those entities which are 'responsible' for the agricultural production and the main providers of rice. Through the roots and stalks of rice, which are a medium linking Earth and human beings, paddy is sent by the ancestors to their living progeny. The grain is a gift from them to reciprocate the Qingming offerings, the paper money provided by the living, which is 'seeped' through the bamboo branches down into Earth.
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