Liturgical inculturation: A comparative study of Catholic funeral rites and Chinese death rituals: Toward developing a Chinese Catholic funeral liturgy

China was known as a "State of Ceremonies." Various rites concerning both the living and the dead were established very early on. The Chinese faithful carry the culture of their "State of Ceremonies" as it influences their appropriation of Christian liturgy. However, due to historical circumstances such as the Chinese Rites Controversy (1630-1939) and the Council of Trent, there has never been an inculturated Chinese Christian liturgy. The lack of Chinese characteristics in Christian liturgy makes Christian liturgy more difficult for Chinese Christians to understand and appropriate. It is crucial to develop an inculturated Christian liturgy in light of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy promulgated in 1963 at the Second Vatican Council.; Liturgical inculturation is a process by which significant elements and understandings from a culture are adapted into the typical edition of liturgy provided by the Church so that people from the variety of the world's cultures can appropriate the full depths of what the liturgy celebrates. In practice, such a process involves the insertion of the texts and rites used in worship by the local church in the framework of culture so that the language, thoughts, and ritual patterns of the local culture are absorbed into Christian liturgy. The inculturated liturgy allows the people to experience in liturgical celebrations a "cultural event" whose language and ritual forms can be identified as elements of their culture.; The purpose of this dissertation is to make a comparative study of the Christian funeral liturgy and Chinese death rituals and identify possible avenues toward developing an inculturated Chinese Christian funeral liturgy. The following elements will be addressed in this work: (a) the method of liturgical inculturation; (b) the practice and theology of the Christian funeral liturgy derived from texts, ritual gestures, and symbols; and (c) the main Chinese cultural values, ritual expressions, and customs surrounding Chinese death rituals. In light of the preceding research, this study will conclude by making a comparison between the Christian funeral liturgy and Chinese funeral rituals and by identifying the elements of Chinese culture that may be adopted by the Christian funeral liturgy.