Definitions
sacrifice at the end of mourning
Etymology
About
The character 禫 (dàn) is a phono-semantic compound denoting the ritual sacrifice marking the end of the three-year mourning period for a parent in classical China. It combines the semantic radical 示 (shì), linking it to rituals and ancestral spirits, with the phonetic component 要 (tán), which provides the pronunciation and may suggest the solemn depth of the occasion. Found in historical texts on Confucian rites, 禫 is a key technical term for the moment mourners formally ended their mourning, returning to daily life, and carries significant cultural weight within ancestral veneration practices.
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