Abstract: In this research,there are two major themes:one is ritual,and the other is comparison.It focuses on two main aspects of mourning of the dead before burial—lamentation and mourning apparel—to demonstrate the cultural function,purpose and social influence of mourning;thus,it can be seen that the ancient Chinese and the ancient Greeks followed different patterns of meaning when facing the same situation—death.This author uses the comparison between mourning rituals in Archaic & Classical Greece and Pre-Qin China as an example to illustrate some of the principles and methods used in comparative studies,and is trying to answer the question why the mourning and funerals of the two ancient societies had similarities in procedure and performance at the early stage,but showed significant differences thereafter? This author argues it is due to the different ideas behind mourning and funerals in two different societies:the Greeks strictly followed a ritual procedure with divine regulations,but they did not involve the actual social order and polity model,and did not raise them either as a theoretical demonstration.In this case,even the procedures and performances in the ancient Greek rituals can be maintained even in modern Greek society,it could only exist in folk as rituals.In China,on the other hand,since the Pre-Qin period,the Confucians merged their social ideals and political ideas into various rituals and deeply penetrated both social and personal life,thus created a unique culture of traditional Chinese society.

Key words: archaic & classical Greece, pre-Qin China, mourning rituals, comparison