Enchanter

No.18 The Legend of Maoshan (2)

After "leading the way", the filial son mourned in paper, and after hearing the cry, the neighbors in the neighborhood would come to help with the funeral.One is to invite a Feng Shui master (generally, the mortician is more professional) to inspect the funeral cemetery and the auspicious day of the funeral; the second is to invite a deacon; the third is to invite someone to report the funeral; the fourth is to invite a cook.

At this time, the filial son was extremely sad, and the sky was dark, and everything was presided over by the funeral master, and the cook helped prepare the funeral meal.When people with titles and meritorious deeds die, a funeral meeting will be formed, and the department will come forward to give a eulogy for them.

Encoffining can be divided into "big collection" and "small collection".

Xiao Lian refers to dressing the dead.According to historical records, the ancient Xiaolian was in the bedroom door on the second morning of his death.At that time, the small clothes were displayed in the room first, then the bed was laid, and then the dressing ceremony was held.Both the master and the housewife should remove the ornaments on their heads and tie their hair on their heads. The men should show their arms, and everyone should cry continuously to show their extreme grief.

The mortician began to dress the deceased, first laying mats on the bed, and then laying skeins. Their textures depended on the identity of the deceased.Regardless of high or low, the deceased should wear nineteen sets of new clothes.After wearing it, the undertaker wrapped the corpse with a quilt, and then tied it tightly with twisted belts.After that, put the cloth bag on the corpse, and then cover the quilt to cover the corpse.

According to folk customs, it is taboo to use satin for encoffined clothes and quilts, because "satin" is a homonym for "duanzi", for fear of being cut off from children and grandchildren for this reason.People usually use silk, and the homonym of "Silk" is "Chouzi", which can bless future generations with many children and grandchildren.

It is taboo to make mortuary clothes with fur.Although animal skins are rare and precious items, they are of no benefit to the dead, but they can be useful to the living if they remain.There is also a saying that if the quilt is made of animal skin, the deceased will be reincarnated as a beast in the next life.

Another theory is based on the consideration of the "whole corpse", saying that the human corpse and animal leather may be mixed together and cannot be distinguished.Cloths with the word "Yang" cannot be used for the mortuary clothes. The mortuary clothes are for the dead. Fabrics with foreign characters will make the mortuary clothes have the meaning of "Yang", which is not good for the dead in the underworld.

After the mortuary clothes are put on, activities such as opening the light and pursing the eyes will be held in some places.After dressing the deceased, take a bowl of warm water, dip a piece of new cotton in the water, and scrub the eyes of the deceased, which is called consecration.It is said that if a dead person does not consecrate, he will be blind in his next life.In the area around Quanzhou, bereaved families have to tie up their chickens and dogs.Because the folks think that cats or other animals will cheat the corpse if they are close to the corpse.

The dead body will jump up and cling to the living person or other objects tightly.The mortician should remind the filial family members to carefully guard the corpse and coffin, perform filial piety carefully, and not treat the dead lightly.

The "big burial" refers to the coffin of the corpse, which is commonly known as "gui Dawu" among the Han people.This means that the deceased is isolated from the world and bids farewell to his relatives for the last time, so holding the funeral ceremony is very grand.

The coffin for the corpse is made of pine and cypress, and it is taboo to use willow.Pines and cypresses symbolize longevity.The willow tree bears no seed, or is thought to lead to extinction.In some places, cypress wood is used to make coffins, and some fir wood is added. It is said that coffins made entirely of cypress wood will be hit by the sky (lightning).After the Shoumu is finished, it can't be moved there. As the saying goes, moving it casually is not good for the person.The outside of the coffin is generally painted vermilion and written with gold characters.There are also paintings of flowers and birds.

The time for Da Lian is held on the second day of Xiao Lian, that is, the third day after the person died, to wait for him to come back alive.According to folk customs, a layer of grain grass should be spread on the bottom of the coffin, and then a layer of yellow paper should be spread, which means that the soul of the deceased can ascend to heaven high.

The seven-star board is the meaning of longevity.A cotton mattress embroidered with yellow satin is spread on the seven-star board, commonly known as paving gold. The mattress is embroidered with patterns such as Shanghai Jiangya and Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, which means that the soul of the dead will ascend to heaven and become a fairy.In the late Qing Dynasty, things like the Dharani Sutra quilt and the Ruyi Shou Pillow, which were popular among funeral homes in Beijing, all had this meaning.

When the master "puts the corpse in the coffin", it is the time when the filial piety of the children can be expressed and most needed, and it is the best occasion for the formalization of filial piety by relatives.

Therefore, the family members all beat their chests and feet and cried loudly.Before closing the coffin, some burial objects should be placed in the coffin.The folk tradition is to let the deceased hold gold in his left hand and silver in his right hand.Mostly, the deceased was asked to hold a small gold ingot of one or two weights in his left hand; a small silver ingot or silver ingot of one or two weights in his right hand; and the poor had to put some copper coins, or coins commonly used in the society at that time, such as large coppers, small steel plates, etc. such as.At worst, you have to put a handkerchief in the hands of the dead.

Therefore, the mausoleums of all dynasties have been robbed and excavated.Especially in the tombs of emperors, most of the burial objects are rare treasures, which attract countless coveters.

In order to ensure that the dead body can be completely intact, it is said that all things that fell off the dead body during the lifetime should be buried in the coffin.For example, the teeth that fell out in old age, and the nails that Xiaoyu cut off when he took a bath.At this time, the family members must put them into the coffin.In addition, the genitals cut off by eunuchs for "cleaning up" in the past should also be put into the coffin at this time, saying that "the whole body will be removed in the next life".

After the corpse and the sacrificial objects are put in place, the mortician will then nail the coffin lid, which is called "nailing down" among the people.Generally, seven nails are used for nailing, commonly known as "children's nails". It is said that this can make future generations prosperous.

After being buried, Yu beat the coffin.Otherwise, it is thought that future generations will suffer from poverty.Before and after encoffining, the coffin stays in the hall until the funeral.

Old Zhaotou said that the ceremonies of the funeral are as vast as the sea of ​​clouds, and there is a lot of knowledge in it.Even after a lifetime of study, I am afraid it will be difficult to master all of them.

"I'll ask you one more question, have you ever regretted it?" His voice was still like gold and stone, word by word.

After listening to the words of Old Zhao Tou, Yin Hui's expression kept changing, first confused, then painful, then hesitant, and finally determined: "No, I have never regretted it, because it was you, Master, who led me to practice Taoism. It made me understand a lot of truths that I couldn't understand at all before, it is said that all living beings are suffering, but what is sentient beings?"

"I am very fortunate that I understand this truth. It is precisely because I have nothing that I understand the value of living an ordinary life. If I can live that kind of life in the future, I believe , I should cherish it more than others. It is said that God assigns great responsibilities to people. Maybe this is the reason! I can’t keep escaping. Some things always need someone to do. Since God chose me, then I I have to protect my family and this land with my own hands. I believe this should be the meaning of our profession!"

After hearing Yin Hui's words, Old Zhao finally smiled with relief: "My good boy, I didn't miss you at the beginning. You really have something that many people don't have. In fact, I have thought about it countless times as a teacher these years. Now Many ancient things have disappeared. The main reason may be that they can no longer keep up with the relationship of this society. Therefore, we morticians are bound to follow this path in the future. Disappear on the stage of history. Disciple, as a teacher Knowing your suffering, these burdens are on you. It is too heavy. If one day, Taoism really reaches this point, you should live well. You must know that the so-called highest state of Taoism' Zhou Tianyiqi'. It means being upright and honest. Do you understand?"

Yin Hui nodded heavily, keeping the old Zhao's words in his heart.

Seeing that Yin Hui had written it down, the old Zhao head said to him with some relief: "Wait a while, I have been preparing for you for a year for the graduation ceremony for the teacher!" After finishing speaking, he went into the bedroom.

There was only a stir inside, and after a while, Old Zhao came out holding a long box, which was tied with several layers of thick black cloth outside, so it was spotless.

After washing his hands, the old Zhao head solemnly untied the black cloth. When he opened the box, he saw a green money sword with a whole body. After a closer look, he found that the color was not the sword itself. , but the rust on those copper coins, and some of them condensed into many small bumps. Yin Hui has studied chemistry and knows that this is a chemical reaction, but he can't tell the exact amount of oxide and iron. Anyway, it should be An antique with a somewhat long history.Next to the money sword, there are still two small things lying quietly, one is a small white skin bag, very inconspicuous, and I don't know what it is for, the other is a strange-colored bead, with light flowing inside, just Like hiding some kind of indescribable liquid.

Old Zhao twisted his goat's beard: "The patriarch has eight treasures in total, which coincide with the number of gossip, and each has its own strengths. Unfortunately, dynasties have changed and wars have continued. Only five can be passed down. A year ago, I I have given you the soul-calling bell and the compass, and now I will give you the rest, which are the money sword, the hundred bag, and the mysterious pearl, so I hope you can do it yourself."

"Yes!" Yin Hui knew very well that his fate with Old Zhao was over.He is also very clear that he will never be able to get rid of this person's imprint in his life...

A relationship that transcends bloodlines, an unswerving belief, connects two men who are opposite each other forever, and cannot be separated even for thousands of years.