Chinese American Death Rituals Respecting the Ancestors

by Chung, Sue Fawn; Wegars, Priscilla; Abraham, Terry; Chace, Paul G.; Chung, Sue Fawn; Crowder, Linda Sun; Frampton, Fred P.; Greenwood, Roberta S.; Murphy, Timothy W.; Neizman, Reiko; Rouse, Wendy L.

• ISBN13: 9780759107342
• ISBN10: 0759107343
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-08
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Chinese American Death Rituals examines Chinese American funerary rituals and cemeteries from the late nineteenth century until the present in order to understand the importance of Chinese funerary rites and their transformation through time. The authors in this volume discuss the meaning of funerary rituals and their normative dimension and the social practices that have been influenced by tradition. Shaped by individual beliefs, customs, religion, and environment, Chinese Americans have resolved the tensions between assimilation into the mainstream culture and their strong Chinese heritage in a variety of ways. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(18)
Sue Fawn Chung and Priscilla Wegars
1 "What We Didn't Understand": A History of Chinese Death Ritual in China and California	19	(28)
Wendy L. Rouse
2 On Dying American: Cantonese Rites for Death and Ghost-Spirits in an American City	47	(34)
Paul G. Chace
3 Archaeological Excavations at Virginiatown's Chinese Cemeteries	81	(26)
Wendy L. Rouse
4 Venerate These Bones: Chinese American Funerary and Burial Practices as Seen in Carlin, Elko County, Nevada	107	(40)
Sue Fawn Chung, Fred P. Frampton, and Timothy W. Murphy
5 Respecting the Dead: Chinese Cemeteries and Burial Practices in the Interior Pacific Northwest	147	(28)
Terry Abraham and Priscilla Wegars
6 Remembering Ancestors in Hawai'i	175	(20)
Sue Fawn Chung and Reiko Neizman
7 The Chinese Mortuary Tradition in San Francisco Chinatown	195	(46)
Linda Sun Crowder
8 Old Rituals in New Lands: Bringing the Ancestors to America	241	(22)
Roberta S. Greenwood
Bibliography	263	(24)
Index	287	(18)
About the Contributors	305