Symmetrical Rituals of an Ancient Bride's Descent and a Coffin's Departure (Part 2)

II. Mirror Symmetry in Core Rituals 1. Head Coverings (Not Competing with Heaven) • Auspicious Occasion (Bride's Descent): Rice sieve or red umbrella • Inauspicious Occasion (Coffin's Departure): Wansui umbrella or black umbrella Symmetrical Interpretation: On this day, both hold the highest status, thus they cannot directly face the heavens and must be covered to ward off celestial malevolence. 2. Taboos Underfoot (Purification and Severing Ties) • Auspicious Occasion (Bride's Descent): Stepping over a fire basin, stepping on roof tiles • Inauspicious Occasion (Coffin's Departure): Burning foot-of-the-bed paper, smashing the mourning bowl Symmetrical Interpretation: The bride steps over fire to purify and shatters tiles to break evil spirits; the filial son smashes a porcelain bowl symbolizing the deceased's irreversible separation from the living world. 3. Threshold Taboos (Reverence for Household Deities and Fortune) • Auspicious Occasion (Bride's Descent): Absolutely must not step on the threshold • Inauspicious Occasion (Coffin's Departure): The coffin must never touch the threshold Symmetrical Interpretation: The threshold is the home's defensive line. The bride stepping on it is inauspicious; the coffin colliding with it will disturb the door gods and the earth deity, taking away the living family's fortune. 4. Carriage Decorations (Life and Death Metaphors of Bamboo) • Auspicious Occasion (Bride's Descent): Green bamboo and sugarcane hung on the carriage • Inauspicious Occasion (Coffin's Departure): Filial son holds a soul-summoning banner made of bamboo Symmetrical Interpretation: The green bamboo used for a wedding symbolizes continuous life with a beginning and an end; the bamboo used for a funeral guides the soul to the afterlife. These must never be mixed. 5. Warding off Evil Along the Way (Dispelling Misfortune and Paying the Road Toll) • Auspicious Occasion (Bride's Descent): Groom shoots three arrows, scatters grains along the road • Inauspicious Occasion (Coffin's Departure): Firecrackers are set off along the way, 'road money' is scattered