Taiwanese Buddhism has been influenced by ‘Ritual of Gushan Tradition’ chant for more than three hundreds. ‘Death ritual’ is significant and widespread in Taiwanese temples up to the present. This traditional music culture, however, has been reformed due to the society's vicissitude. One of the factors is the immigration of monks who came from mainland china to Taiwan with the Kuomintang Government after 1949. They brought Haichao Yin (the sound of ocean waves) style which has stimulated Buddhist ritual music to be changed. Another factor was that the modernized funeral ceremony altered the traditional Buddhist ritual. This dissertation tries to highlight the meaning and the music of tradition Gushan style by analyzing the ‘Death ritual’ in Gushan style practice. The attitude to Samsara of Chinese Buddhism and the conception of filial piety will be emerged from this process. Also, the meaning and influence of ritual music to the followers are shown. Furthermore, these recorders of ‘Death ritual’ and the practice way could be clarified and preserved by this essay.
