It seemed reasonable to apply Van Gennep＇s rites of passage to the Chinese case，and it appears to fit well to the imperial model.The structure of imperial funerary ritual is at first，like a barbell，with the tomb and palace as balls on both sides and the journey as the handle.Fig.7 The two ends of the funerary ritual and the journey between.The designation of the kinds of supervisors for each stage suggests a closed structure.Ritual specialists from the Department of Rituals（Libu礼部）guided ceremonies at the residence and at the tomb.However，for the journey－in－between，officials from the Court of State Ceremonials（Honglusi鸿胪寺）took over.This would suggest that the tomb and the old residence were the same kinds of space and the journey in between was another.Van Gennep＇s division of the rites of passage—“separation”“liminality”and“re－incorporation，”I would suggest，also fits the case of Tang funeral rites.Tomb and former residence are inner spaces，or nei内.The journey between these two inner spaces is the outer space，or wai外.The structure of ritual principles was suggested to me by the classification of participants at each stage：residence，journey，and tomb.In each case the players etched out the kinds of space in the ritual and thus its structure.three points illustrate this thesis.First，the tomb and former residence are two opposite points which are similar inner spaces paralleling each other.The rite of separation takes place at the palace and the rite of reincorporation takes place at the tomb and at the palace in a double circle structure.That is to say，the body is incorporated into the tomb，and the spirit is reincorporated into the ancestral temple back in the capital，after parallel rites at the palace.The journey can be traced as a circle with the palace and tomb at opposite points on the circle.（See Fig.8）
Gate for gate，each point of departure from the palace corresponds to a parallel point of entry for the tomb.This points to the symmetry of the living world（the palace）balanced against the other world（the tomb）.After the body and accoutrements are deposited in the tomb，there is another journey，from the tomb back to the imperial palace，where the spirit tablet is deposited in the imperial temple for worship.Again here，gate for gate，each point of departure from the tomb corresponds to a parallel point of entry for the palace.In essence，the journey back from the tomb is a mirror image of the journey to the tomb.Fig.8 Journey to the tomb and reverse weeping（fanku反哭）[1]This article diverges from Wu Hung＇s conclusions on the mirror－image inscriptions on the spirit pillars at the tomb of the Liang emperors.[2]In 1994，Wu Hung published a seminal article called，“The Transparent Stone：Inverted Vision and Binary Imagery in Medieval Chinese Art.”For Wu，binary vision is“a form［that］should be seen from both the front and the back.”He explored various versions of reversed writing，such as those which are true mirror images but including others，one is to write the characters backwards while keeping the standard right to left sequence of writing and reading and the other，writing the characters in the normal way but in an inverted sequence（from left to right，such as in English）.These are the three ways to invert characters.In any case，such variations in vision caused the stone to become“transparent，”as our visions travel through the stone and back again.The analysis presented here suggests that such characters were not a fanciful result of artistic imaginings of the point of view for the ghost viewing the beyond.Rather they are a visual prop for the ritual of return，an inherent part of funerary rituals.One might go as far as to suggest that they are physical markers which show the mourners their general positions.One represents the view of the deceased going into the tomb.The other shows the vision of those on the way out，to the temples.And thus this reason fits Wu Hung＇s analysis，“Their vision may be called a‘binary vision’because they look in the opposite directions of life and death at the same time.”[3]This theory fits even better when one thinks of the dichotomy of the two ritual perspectives—xiong凶and ji吉—which manifest themselves in different directional quadrants.[1]See Kaiyuanli，667－668.
[2] Wu，58.
[3] Wu，67.
3.6 Conclusion
Seen in this light，the tomb becomes the end point of a journey，but it is also the half－way point on a circular journey which convey the tablet to the ancestral hall，close to the“liminal”journey of the body and the spirit in between.The funeral procession halts at thresholds to perform certain rituals，of separation at the former residence，then of reincorporation at the tomb，and finally with transformation at the ancestral temple，there the reincorporation is complete and the new identity is achieved.The change in identity for the deceased is fraught with dangers and so it needs to be safeguarded by loud sounds，human guards，and supernatural creatures.The destination，the tomb，is a new home for the deceased，an identity which is different from the living identity，clearly proclaimed by the stone epitaph stone in the front of the tomb structure.The deceased＇s spirit is bound up in one of the two processions，the“auspicious（ji吉）”procession，whose vehicles carry the spirit tablet.The“inauspicious（xiong凶）”procession vehicles carry the body of the deceased and related objects for the tomb.The inauspicious procession follows the auspicious procession during the journey to the tomb.The auspicious procession＇s journey is circular；the inauspicious procession＇s journey is one－way.Once the whole procession reaches the tomb，the ji（auspicious）procession parks in front of the auspicious enclosure，facing south，and the items of the xiong（inauspicious）procession are unloaded and placed in their proper locations in the tomb.Once the burial is done and the tomb sealed，the auspicious procession completes the journey by returning to the ancestral temple，where the spirit tablet will be displayed.The inauspicious elements remain at the tomb，never to return to the sphere of the living.For the spirit of the deceased，then，the tomb is only the furthest point on a circle from which it circles back to the ancestral temple.In this way，it has come back to its starting－point but in a new form，as an ancestor.Having come home，it begins a new existence.
The sequence of events can be set out as follows（and illustrated schematically in fig.9，10，and 11）：1.Hastening to the the Obsequies（chusang初丧）[1]2.Calling Back the Soul（fu复）[2]
3.Washing（muyu沐峪）[3]
4.Placing in the Mouth（han喊）[4]
5.Setting Up the Inscribed Funeral Banner（sheming设铭）[5]6.Suspending the Temporary Banner（xianchong悬重）[6]7.Lesser Dressing（xiaolian小敛）[7]
8.Offering at the Lesser Dressing（xiaolian dian小敛奠）[8]9.Greater Dressing（dalian大敛）[9]
10.Offering at the Greater Dressing（daliandian大敛奠）[10]11.Encoffining（bin殡）[11]
12.Divining the Abode When About to Inter（jiangzangshizhai将葬筮宅）[12]13.Revealing the Coffin and Making Offering at the Temple（qibin chaomiao□殡朝庙）[13]14.Introducing the Vehicles and Grave Goods and the Decorated Coffin（jian chema mingqi ji shiguan荐车马明器及饰棺）[14]15.Offering for Departure（zudian祖奠）[15]16.Offering for Despatch（qiandian遣奠）[16]17.Drawing Song（wan’ge挽歌）[17]
18.Burial Rites（zangyi葬仪）[18]
19.Sacrifice of Repose（yuji虞祭）[19]
20.Offering at the Placing of the Tablet（fuji祔祭）[20]21.Changes at the Lesser Auspicious Sacrifice（xiaoxiangbian小祥贬）[21]22.Changes at the Greater Auspicious Sacrifice（daxiangbian大祥贬）[22]23.Changes at the Sacrifice at the Close of Mourning（tanbian昙贬）[23][1]The Tongdian heading is more exactly“Hastening to the Great Obsequies（bendasang奔大丧）.”Tongdian“xiongli凶礼5”ch.80：2174.Hereafter，chapter number after TD，and page number follows colon.I follow closely McMullen 1999＇s translations for the ritual terminology.[2]Tongdian，83：2249.
[3]Tongdian，84：2267-2268.
[4]Tongdian，84：2270.
[5]Tongdian，84：2275.
[6]Tongdian，84：2276－2277.
[7]Tongdian，84：2284－2285.
[8]Tongdian，85：2298.
[9]Tongdian，85：2301.
[10]Tongdian，85：2305-2306.
[11]Tongdian，85：2307.
