本論文欲從通過儀式的角度著眼，探討飲食於喪禮中所扮演象徵死者存在狀態的改變及生者的身心過渡與轉化的功能。先由敬奉於死者的奠祭食物來看，下葬前、虞祭時、祔廟後，整個奠祭過程中儀式場所、牲體的處理與分解、奠祭牲體的部位、進呈次序的先後、食物陳設之方位、食物之生與熟、整體與部分……均呈現出豐富的差異與意涵。象徵符號的差異，一方面標幟著死者存在狀態的過渡；另一方面，也反映出時人面對死亡的態度，同時幫助生者進行身心狀態的調整。就守喪者的飲食來看，特別能夠顯現食物對於身心的感染及過渡的神秘功能。除了過渡的重要功能外，就家族與社會教化的角度來看，如何透過飲食的差異來確定倫理分位，並由變局中再次重整倫理關係，以對身體進行再教化，往往成為政教所關注的重點。

This paper intends to explore from the point of view of its significance as a rite of passage, the role food played in funeral rites in symbolizing the change in the state of being of the deceased, and the transition and transformation of the mind and body of the living. In ritual food offerings, the location of the ritual, the handling and dividing up of the sacrifice, the parts of the sacrificed animal, the order of the process, the presentation and arrangement of the food, raw and cooked, whole and part, all present an abundance of symbolic differences and meanings. These both signify the transition in the deceased's state of being and also reflect the attitudes towards death of the people of the time, at the same time serving to help the living readjust. The meals eaten by mourners especially reveal a mysterious transitional and affective function. Apart from this, with regard to food's civilizing function in family and society, how differences in food could be used to determine ethical gradations, and how behavior could be re-educated through redefining ethical relations, frequently became the focal points of politics and education.