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1010 book XII died at their posts, shall all be provided with hearse-carrying soldiers, and the magistrates and border garrison commanders who died during their term shall be provided with vehicles and oxen to transport their hearses.” In my observation, since the law never fails to provide soldiers for transporting the hearses of the magistrates, although it has gradations in providing those soldiers along with vehicles and oxen, one often runs into such a funeral procession on the main road. Furthermore, the law establishes the places where hearse-carrying soldiers voluntarily gather, providing rules and regulations. The agency called Shoulder-Resting Bureau [Sikgyŏnch’ŏng] can carry out its mission when the order comes down from the superior office. The Supplementary Compilation on Funerary Equipment [Sanggu poch’an] records as follows: “Since it is extremely difficult to transport a coffin to a place 1,000 li away, the coffin must be made small, narrow in width, and light in weight. Choosing a dry wood, one makes the bottom plank 1 ch’i and 2 p’un thick, and the lid on top 1 ch’i and 8 p’un thick. There is a phrase, samch’ŏn yangji, that means that the plank at the bottom of the coffin should be made one-third less thick than the one on top. If the coffin is to be made small and narrow, one should reduce the amount of cotton and clothes in dressing the body as much as possible. He who knows what a proper burial is will bury the coffin as it is. He who is shortsighted and interested only in making the tomb look impressive often changes the coffin when it arrives at the foot of the hill. Although there is no reason that he should not do this, the coffin can be easily damaged if it is too big and heavy, and those who have to carry it up the hill dislike this since it makes them sweat and breathe hard. The reason that the sages formulated funeral rites was to make the people not dislike the funeral itself. Bereaved individuals or their families need to know this. CHAPTER : MISSING AND HONORING THE LATE MAGISTRATE If the Residents Yearn After the Late Magistrate and Build a Shrine in His Honor, One Can See That They Truly Loved Him. When Zhu Yi of the Han dynasty was young, he served as bailiff [sefu] of the district of Tong. His administration was clean and fair; he never exercised cruelty like physical punishment or brought shame on individuals, and he looked 100. “Supply to the Outside Officials,” Laws on Taxation. 101. The title of this book suggests that it is a book related to funerary items and burial, but detailed information on it is not known. 102. One of the low-ranking officials in the local administration, mainly responsible for maintaining supplies (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 404). Departure 1011 after the elderly, orphans, and widows. Therefore, all the residents, including clerks, loved and respected him. He was gradually promoted until he became chamberlain for the national treasury but fell ill. Faced with imminent death, he said to his son, “Many years ago I used to serve as an official of the district of Tong, and I was well liked by the residents. I want you to bury me in the district of Tong. My descendants in coming ages will not be as good as the residents of the district of Tong in the way they miss me.” When he died, he was buried outside the fortress on the west side. The residents of the district of Tong indeed offered their assistance to his family, joining them in making the tomb, and never ceased to offer sacrifice to his spirit after building a shrine in his honor. When Ren Fang of the Liang dynasty became prefect of Wuxing, his children and woman ate only barley. When he arrived in the district, he was unable to enter the gate because his dress was too shabby and worn out. Shen Yue sent him a set of clothes and ushered him in. The residents built a memorial shrine for Ren Fang and offered sacrifices to his spirit. When Han Wengong [Han Yu] served as prefect of Chaozhou, the residents really liked him and followed him. After his death the residents built a memorial shrine in the south of the fortress and never failed to offer a sacrifice whenever they had...

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