Tombs Architectural Decoration And Faith Studies In The Northern Region In The Qing Dynasty

Funeral is a special form of cultural relating to human death. And it’s also a reflection of people’s faith, ethics, morality and art. The folk art and tomb painting in funeral is an important part of history culture and art research.In northern Sichuan, there existing a large number of stone and wood structure tombstones and other outbuildings from Ming and Qing dynasty, including main tombstone, accessory tombstone, memorial arch, font tower, mast, tomb beast and wood grave cover, all these elements build up a comprehensive courtyard space.The graves of one same family members are built nearby each other, called a grave group. Their tombs are normally with a huge volume, complex structure, well carved, heritage meaning. However, most Chinese put their beliefs and spiritual sustenance on their ancestor worship and ghost belief. "Returning Home", "worship" are the basic complex of Chinese traditional culture of filial piety, and it is also the "root" and "soul" of Chinese people. Based on plenty of fieldwork on the Qing Dynasty tombs in northern Sichuan and combined with the special historical and cultural background of "Huguang fill in Sichuan", this article researched the images, monumental inscriptions and genealogies on the tombs. By analyzing the grave structure, building style, image carving, stone inscriptions, this article made a discussion of the ancestor worship, soul belief and filial piety of people in this area.According to the historical documents and field survey data, further study on the basic shape of the building tombs, space allocation, engraved image, stone inscriptions, the ritual process, the family class, folklore,and perspective research on its unique concept of funeral,folk beliefs and craft traditions are made in this paper.Studies suggest that due to the traditional Chinese concept,people lived in this region put a high value on building their graves as same as their home. In their view, the ideal home for their souls in another world should be the same reality. accommodations, even more luxury. Therefore, they were dedicated to build a huge and beautiful tombstone for themselves, in order to realize a " permanent existence in a good place"In the competing "immigrant" community, the tombs embodies the traditional concept of "mutual benefit", which means the family has excellent background,filial sons and honor of ancestry. Besides, a grand grave is also a declaration of family wealth and social status. In this region, the gravestone pursuits a beautiful forms of art such as carve& decoration, structural shape, image and painting. The "on the ground" building tombs also focuses on good fortune, lively, and beautiful visual, and therefore they would inevitably attract more people’s attention from tribe, community and neighborhood rural.These study have a academic value and practical significance on researching the folk beliefs and how the funerary concepts in this area leads to their special "tomb buildings" and achieves its "ancestors construct and source construction".