The present paper examines the entire process from death to the final burial as it was observed by the bureaucratic class in the Goryeo Dynasty.
As preparation for death, the people of the Goryeo Dynasty cleansed their bodies and reaffirmed their faith in the Buddha. Such acts were motivated by not only their Buddhist piety but also fear of death and love of life. Those faced with their own death would then make their last will and testament regarding their funerals and inheritance.
Usually, people met their deaths at home or Buddhist temples. These temples are very likely to have been the memorial temples of the individual faced with death or their family, transcending the mere relationship between lay believers and places of worship. While lying-in-state rooms were usually prepared in temples near Gaegyeong, they increasingly came to be set up in private homes as well following the preparation of Ham Yu-il’s lying-in-state room within his house in the 15th year of King Myeongjong’s reign.
With the preparation of lying-in-state rooms, family members and friends were notified of the death and received. Condolence callers were diverse, including not only non-acquaintances but also the masses. As for mourning garb, white clothing and black or white stovepipe-shaped hats were de rigueur. The government dispatched officials as condolence callers, bestowed posthumous posts and titles, provided condolence money, and assisted funerals. Funerals and condolence money were classified into various degrees, and the amount paid was considerable.
After condolence calling, the primary funeral was performed. This was done according to one of largely three methods: established during the early Goryeo Dynasty, the recovery of the remains after the body had been placed or buried in a particular for some time; burial; and Buddhist cremation. The most common method was Buddhist cremation, which was performed on an auspicious day within a month of the death. After cremation, the remains were housed at Buddhist temples. During this period, the performance of certain rites, provision of donations and food to the temple and the monks involved, and reception of condolence callers took place. Because Buddhist cremation was costly, however, those who did not have the economic means to pay for the attendant ceremonies even had their family members’ cremated remains housed at temples for years.
After cremation, preparation for the final burial began. Because they were the final resting place of the dead and thought to affect the lives of descendants, burial grounds were selected with great care. Because auspicious sites were selected for individual graves, it was impossible for family graves to develop. Once auspicious sites had been selected, sepulchers or stone cists were used to create graves and sarcophagi and epitaphs were produced as well.
Once all the preparation was complete, the dead were buried on auspicious days. After the dead had been hearsed and buried according to certain procedures and rituals, a mound shaped like a horse’s mane was created, and pine trees and wild walnut trees were planted around the grave in memory of the dead.