ABSTRACT
The cult group in this (Greek and Roman) religion consists solely of persons related to one another by descent in one line from the same ancestor or ancestors.
A. R. Radcliffe-Brown.1
Here three questions arise about the nature of the soul in Chinese thought. What is the Chinese conception of the dissolution or disintegration of the person at death, and how do they regard those who have departed? On what principles is the fate of the soul determined? I shall discuss these subjects and furnish illustrations but I should say at the outset that the Chinese are neither clear nor very explicit about the matter, and even Confucius himself evaded the question.
