WELCOME TO OUR BLOG
Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
-
“Making Mobiles” by Karolina Merska: An artist’s manual on how to create beautiful Polish pajaki -
“Hands Up to the Sky” by Michael Franti & Spearhead: A surprisingly upbeat song about acknowledging both loss and the beauty of life -
Coping With Election Grief: While half of Americans are celebrating, the other half are in mourning
-
Categories
Tag Archives: China
Fear of Death and a Terracotta Army
The Emperor of China took a fleet of warriors to his grave
Perhaps no figure in history feared death as openly as China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Death was so terrifying to him that he might have actually killed himself in an effort to beat it. What would you do to ensure you … Continue reading
Rural China’s Erotic Funeral Dancers
How globalism and economics influenced Chinese funeral traditions
Hiring professional mourners is a common practice in many parts of the world, especially in rural China. Yet one mourning practice has inspired a country-wide crackdown. In recent years, some families in China have hired exotic dancers to perform at … Continue reading
Qingming: A Chinese Death Tradition
Have Chinese traditions on death, family and the afterlife changed since the Tang dynasty?
Qingming, or Tomb Sweeping Day, occurs every spring in China. The sacred day has been a call to action for Chinese families since the Tang Dynasty, encouraging them to tend to their ancestors’ graves. Today, Qingming can be observed with … Continue reading
A Community of Cremation Vessels: Cloud of Stars by Zhufei Zhufei
Chinese architecture blends technology with tradition in this columbarium
Today, social media technologies pervade our culture, setting the tone for the way we choose to experience life. So why not tailor technology to accommodate the ways we choose to experience death? Design for Death finalist Zhufei Zhufei is one … Continue reading
Cliff Burials of Ancient China
The ancient funeral custom calls to mind a modern perspective on grief and loss.
These magnificent hanging coffins or “cliff burials” are an ancient custom most widely practiced by the Bo people of southern China. The caskets are carved from a single whole piece of wood and either placed in small caves on the … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Bo people, Cambodia, China, cliff burials, Funeral customs, hanging coffins
1 Comment
Ancient Chinese Funerary Practices
Artwork from the Jin Dynasty shows life-after-life in 12th-century China
Unlike what we know of classic Christian death mythology, in which the hope is for the soul to escape to Heaven after life on earth, early Chinese beliefs surrounding death expected the core of your being to remain intact right … Continue reading
