“Splitting the comb“ is one of the Chinese traditional funeral customs. It means that if either one of the couple passed away, before the funeral, a “split comb” ceremony is performed for the couple respectively. It symbolizes a good ending of their marriage. After the ceremony, they both can go their own way, the dead can leave with peace of mind and the living party can remarry without being disturbed by the partner on the other world.

This custom usually applies only to young couples. For couples who are over half a century old, it is not necessary to do this “split comb” ceremony.

In Cantonese funeral customs, the “split comb” ceremony is performed by a Taoist Priest. The Taoist Priest will act as a witness and respectfully perform the ceremony to the heaven and the earth by breaking the comb into halves indicates that the yin and yang are separated, hence both can go their own way.

分梳

分梳是华族传统丧事习俗之一的说法。是指夫妇当中倘若有一方不幸离世，在未进行葬礼前，分别为这对夫妻所进行的“分梳“仪式。以象征彼此的婚姻正式圆满完结，双方可以走自己的路，亡者可以安心离去，而在阳间的一方他日再婚，也不会受到阴间的伴侣干扰。

这习俗通常只适用于年轻的夫妇。如果是已年过半百和年至古稀的伴侣，建议是没必要做这分梳仪式。

在广东丧事习俗里，分梳仪式是由道长来进行。道长会充当见证人，恭对天地进行分梳仪式。把梳子分成两半, 表示阴阳相隔分離了，各自好好地走自己的路了。