Bench Dragon Ever-living: Using Ritual Design to Shape the Localized Mode of Tree Burial in China

Abstract

Although tree burial has been proposed for decades, it is not yet widely accepted in China, mainly due to the lack of recognition of its embedded ecological ethics and the not fully localized practice. The article suggests that localizing tree burial activities in China should consider regional urban-rural relationship and combine tomb-sweeping activities with the renewal of local traditional ceremonies in rural areas, thus engaging urban residents. The site selected in this article, Youlong Village of Anhui Province, is located at the origin of the Xin’an River, which is an endowed advantage to attract downstream urban residents. Taking the Bench Dragon as the case study subject, the article analyzes its existing ritual sections and spatial nodes to sort out its ritual structure. Based on this analysis, the article proposes a design of the ritual sections and the marching route of the Bench Dragon for the Chinese Tomb-sweeping Festival, guiding the place-making of tree burial sites and the development of daily management strategies for the ritual landscape. Appropriate ritual design in rural areas can help perforate the evaluation items in strictly categorized cultural ecosystem services, which, through embodiment, calls for a holistic landscape experience. Additionally, ritual design is supposed to activate the potential aesthetic value in the countryside today, while the ecological ethics it carries may also introduce new meanings to the traditional view of life and death in Chinese culture, ultimately opening a new horizon for contemporary rural construction.