葬

葬 is a compound ideogram representing burial:

艸 (풀 초) — earth covering, grass, burial mound

死 (죽을 사) — the dead body

廾 (받들 공) — hands lifting/supporting, used in rituals

This forms the idea “a corpse laid down and covered with earth/grass, handled through ritual.”

葬禮 (장례) — funeral

葬事 (장사) — funeral affairs

葬地 (장지) — burial site

土葬 (토장) — earth burial

火葬 (화장) — cremation

埋葬 (매장) — to bury, inter

改葬 (개장) — to move a grave

安葬 (안장) — to lay a body to rest

風葬 (풍장) — sky burial / wind burial (cultural practice term)

Literary expressions:

葬送 (장송) — to send off the dead; funeral procession

葬身 (장신) — to die and be buried; sacrifice oneself

殯葬 (빈장) — pre-burial and burial rites

葬 emphasizes respectful covering, not “disposing.”

Confucian rites revolve around honoring the dead with proper concealment beneath earth.

In East Asian tradition, burial (葬) reflects:

filial piety (孝)

- social rank (through scale of rites)

- moral respect

- belief in proper resting of ancestors

Hence many related terms include 遷葬 (moving graves), 厚葬 (lavish burial), 薄葬 (simple burial).

葬 is inseparable from 禮 (ritual propriety).

In ritual texts, the phrase 喪葬 (상장) repeatedly appears to denote the full cycle of mourning and burial.

葬 vs. 葢 / 蓋:

- different semantics despite similar radical placement.

葬 specifically requires the presence of 死 or its graphic replacement in older forms.

Classical citations:

《論語·八佾》 (Analects)

「君子之於葬也，致其哀。」

“In funeral rites, the gentleman gives full expression to his grief” — emphasizes ritual propriety.

《禮記·檀弓上》 (Book of Rites)

「葬者，藏也。」

“To bury (葬) means to conceal (to lay to rest)” — interprets burial as respectful concealment.

《史記·殷本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「以厚葬為孝。」

“They considered lavish burials as an act of filial piety.”

《周禮·春官》 (Rites of Zhou)

「掌其葬禮。」

“[The officer] oversees the rites of burial.”