lasts for approximately five to six days. However, the duration of the ceremony may extend if the family is expecting the arrival of relatives residing abroad. The body is washed and dressed. A chopstick, is laid between the teeth and a pinch of rice and three coins are placed in the mouth. The body is put on a grass mat laid on the ground according to the saying, "being born from the earth, one must return to the earth." The dead body is enveloped with white cloth, lễ khâm niệm, and placed in a coffin, lễ nhập quan. Finally, the funeral ceremony, lễ thành phục, is officially performed. Funeral The surviving family wear coarse gauze turbans and tunics for the funeral. There are two types of funeral processions: Traditional: The date and time for the funeral procession, lễ đưa tang, must be carefully selected. Relatives, friends, and descendants take part in the funeral procession to accompany the dead along the way to the burial ground. Votives are dropped along the way. At the grave site, the coffin is lowered and buried. After three days of mourning, the family visits the tomb again, lễ mở cửa ma, or worship the opening of the grave. After 49 days, lễ chung thất, the family stops bringing rice for the dead to the altar. And finally, after 100 days, the family celebrates tốt khốc, or the end of the tears. After one year is the ceremony of the first anniversary of the relative's death and after two years is the ceremony of the end of mourning. Modern: Nowadays, mourning ceremonies follow new rituals which are simplified; they consist of covering and putting the dead body into the coffin, the funeral procession, the burial of the sike into the grave, and the visits to the tomb. Traditional clothing In feudal Vietnam, clothing was one of the most important marks of social status and strict dress codes were enforced. After the Ming conquest of Vietnam, Ming-style clothing was imposed by a Ming official within a month. Due to the previous centuries of conflict between China and Vietnam, Ming administrators said that their mission was to attempt to "civilize" the unorthodox Vietnamese "barbarians", which ironically reduced the amount of Taoist institutions in the process. Prior to the Nguyễn dynasty, people not of noble birth could dress quite liberally with only few restrictions on styles. For example, wearing