In Confucianism, cremation is an act of mutilation to the body, and in the codes of Chinese imperial dynasties, its prohibition is clearly stated (Sumio NAKA, 'A study on Jeo chon Sim Yuk's Thought of Hwayi and of So Junghwa' (A study on Centric vs. Barbarian concept and Small Sino centrism in Jeo chon Sim Yuk (literary remains of Jeo chon, edited by Sim Yuk)), 'Academic Report of Kyoto Prefectural University, Humanities and Social Science,' December 2003: ISSN13433946).
儒教では火葬は身体の毀損行為であり、中国の歴代王朝の法典においても禁止が明記されている（中純夫「樗村沈錥における華夷観念と小中華思想」「京都府立大学学術報告人文・社会」2003年12月ISSN13433946）。