Anecdote of the Yellow River

Chapter 18 Sending off ghost relatives (2)
I raised my head and looked at the opposite mountain wall. At that time, the sun was setting and the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the mountain wall red.I saw one huge picture after another suddenly appeared on the opposite mountain wall. Those pictures were rich in content, simple in line, and full of strong artistic atmosphere.Large pictures can reach tens of meters in length and width, and small pictures can also be more than ten meters long. The lines of some pictures are gray and white, while the lines of some pictures are colored.Even after hundreds of thousands of years of sun, rain, and water vapor erosion, those pictures are still gorgeous.From a distance, it is magnificent.

People in the Western Regions like to paint on mountains or in caves. The painting style is rough and unassuming, with a strong visual impact, which can be seen from the famous Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes murals.

We walked all the way, and saw more than a thousand pictures distributed on the rocky walls of the mountains stretching nearly 1000 meters on both sides of the river.The picture is rough, the composition is simple, the posture is natural, and the realism is strong.Human heads accounted for more than half of the total, followed by animal figures such as cows, horses, donkeys, deer, birds, and wolves.

The pictures of human heads are simple and strange. Some heads have horns, some have feathers, and some wear pointed or round hats.The petroglyphs depicting women, some wearing headdresses, and some wearing hair buns, are elegant and elegant, reproducing the ancient women's pursuit of beauty thousands of years ago.Some have big ears, high nose and long hair all over their faces, some hold bones in their mouths, and some have striped or curved lines on their faces.There are also several facial features resembling a standing human figure, with arms bent, legs spread apart, and a long knife at the waist, showing the image of a wizard.

The composition of animal graphics is rough, vivid and lifelike.There are running deer, blue sheep with protruding horns, galloping horses, dogs wagging their tails, figures of birds and beasts, pictures of some people's hands and the sun, and scenes of primitive religious activities. .

One picture after another made us dizzy, and we were completely shocked by the superb artistic expression techniques of the ancients.You know, in that age when technology was backward, it was a arduous and difficult project for ancient artists to paint on the mountain wall, which made me have a deep admiration for ancient artists.

Professor Ye told us that these pictures carved on the mountain walls are called "petroglyphs", as the name implies, they are paintings left on rocks.The local people also call it "Tian Shen Tu", and they believe that these patterns are carved on the mountain wall by the gods in the sky.The subject matter and expression techniques of these petroglyphs are very extensive and imaginative, giving people a feeling of truth, kindness, solemnity and innocence.These petroglyphs provide extremely precious cultural relics for us to understand and study the history, culture, economic conditions and customs of ancient nomadic peoples, and they can be called a precious national art gallery.

When we were fascinated by these rock paintings, the sound of firecrackers, gongs and drums suddenly came from a distance, breaking the tranquility of the Yellow River Ancient Road in the evening.

Who set off firecrackers on the Yellow River?
We followed the prestige and saw three fishing boats appearing on the water a hundred meters away.The three fishing boats were connected end to end and sailed on the river at a leisurely pace.What surprised us was that the three fishing boats were all decorated with lights and festoons, and the boats were hung with red curtains, which looked very festive.

The first fishing boat carried a drum band of about ten people, with red ribbons wrapped around their waists, happily beating gongs, drums and suona.At first we thought it was a family sending off fleet, but when we saw the second fishing boat, we were all stunned.

There was a black wooden coffin in the center of the second fishing boat. What was even more strange was that there was a big red flower hanging on top of the coffin, and big red happy characters were pasted on both sides of the coffin.Four strong men guarded around the coffin, carrying waist knives, and lit a string of firecrackers from time to time.An old man with a goatee stood at the bow, singing an inexplicable eulogy in a strange tone.

There were also seven or eight people on the third fishing boat, and besides that, there were a lot of dowry items, including dressing tables, wardrobes, etc., all of which were pasted with the Chinese characters "Happy" in red, and there were several large wine jars filled with white wine and Roast chicken, goose, etc.

This weird fleet made our scalps tingle. The big red happy characters contrasted sharply with the cold black wooden coffins. We couldn't figure out whether it was a funeral or a funeral. coffin?If it was a funeral, how could it be so festive?
Just when we were puzzled, Grandpa told us that this is the famous "send ghost relatives" on the Yellow River Ancient Road.

Send ghost relatives?What is sending ghost relatives?
Seeing our puzzled faces, grandpa explained to us: "On the ancient Yellow River road, there has been a custom of sending ghosts to relatives for a long time. If a girl from a family unfortunately dies in the Yellow River, people think it is the King of the Yellow River. They fell in love with their own girl. So people put the girl's body into a coffin, and then organized a fleet to see her relatives, and drove the boat happily all the way to the river where the girl died. They would sink the coffin and the dowry into the Yellow River, Let the dead girl marry the King of the Yellow River as a bride, so as to protect the safety of the whole family."

We were stunned for a while, but we didn't expect such a strange custom on the ancient Yellow River, which really opened our eyes.For such a custom, we all feel a little absurd and unreasonable.

Gu Meidi frowned and said, "What age is this, and such a strange custom still exists?"

Professor Ye said: "Every place has its own unique customs and folk culture. The world is so big, and there are still many strange things we don't know about! When it comes to sending ghost relatives, I can't help but think of the past few years. The 'ghost marriage' seen in Shanxi is equally creepy and unbelievable."

Ghost marriage, as the name suggests, means remarrying after death.Where a man and a woman die unmarried, or an engaged man and woman die before they are married, the parents or relatives and friends of the two families will hold a wedding ceremony for them, so that the deceased will be married in the underworld, and they will live in an IKEA home.This custom was called "marriage" or "relocation" in ancient times, and after Tang and Song Dynasties, it was generally called ghost marriage.

Professor Ye said: "The ghost marriage on the Yellow River is to marry a girl to the king of the Yellow River. This is an ancient sacrifice. But the ghost marriage I saw is a living person marrying a dead person, which is even worse than sending ghost relatives." It was weird and terrifying. At that time, we went to a village in the countryside of Shanxi Province to investigate. The local ideology and culture were very backward, and the feudal superstition was very strong. On the second day of the investigation, we encountered a ghost marriage."

"The ghost marriage was held by an old man surnamed Lian. Even the old man was 67 years old. Due to his family's poverty, he had no wife for decades. Later, I heard that the single person was single after death, so the old man said to the matchmaker. Let's go together, spend the more than 1000 yuan I have saved so hard to buy dowry, and marry a woman who has died for more than three years."

"On the day of the wedding, the old man Lian wore a new red dress and turned on the candles in the bridal chamber. It was almost noon, and drums and music outside the village were beeping and crying loudly. Even the relatives of the old man put on filial piety and joined the mourning procession. When the coffin slowly entered the ancestral tomb of the Lian family along the village side and was buried in the newly dug grave, a group of people took off their filial piety and laughed all the way back to the old man’s home. Wedding wine. Even the old man has changed from a bachelor to a widower, and he has no money. I really don’t know whether it’s joy or sorrow?”

Rumble!
Suddenly there was a muffled thunder in the sky. We looked up at the sky, only to see a thick and heavy cloud floating from nowhere, covering the setting sun and casting a gray shadow on the river.

Grandpa said: "The weather in June is really changing. It seems that a storm is coming soon. We have to find a place to shelter from the rain!"

Before Grandpa finished speaking, a red lightning suddenly pierced the dark clouds, split into countless branches in the air, and fell into the Yellow River, instantly startling countless monsters and monsters. Under the reflection of the lightning, the petroglyphs on the mountain wall appeared Very weird.

I was suddenly a little nervous, and I remembered the story my grandfather told me before I set off.It was also such a bright day at that time, but the sky suddenly changed, and the iron-headed dragon king appeared on the ancient Yellow River road.Looking at the sky now, there shouldn't be any monsters about to appear, right?
Gu Meidi saw the strange expression on my face, she seemed to be able to read my mind, and immediately comforted me: "Don't worry, nothing will happen!"

A look of worry also appeared on Professor Ye's face, "There has been no rain on the ancient Yellow River Road for several days. This storm may be a bit violent!"

woo-woo-

The cold wind shuttled between the valleys, making a strange whistling sound, like the call of a demon.

At this time, the sparkling river water became turbulent and turbid.

Our tin boat swings on the river like a swing, which makes people feel like vomiting.

Rumble!
The rolling thunder exploded again, amidst the thunder, Gu Meidi pointed at the distant sky and screamed loudly: "Look, everyone!"

On the nine-day sky, black clouds tangle with each other and roll, like a black dragon with teeth and claws, and like a winding black python, swallowing the setting sun at the junction of water and sky. Indescribably weird beauty.

When we were dumbfounded, Professor Ye suddenly pointed to the mountain wall on the left and said, "Look, there is a cave over there, we can take the boat there to shelter from the rain!"

The fleet that sent the ghost relatives apparently also found the cave, and they stopped their flags and increased their horsepower to sail to the cave that could shelter from the wind and rain.Obviously, this storm will be very violent, and it will be very dangerous for ships to stay on the ancient Yellow River trail.

Grandpa hurriedly turned the rudder, turned the boat around, and rushed towards the cave below the mountain wall.

A wave hit the ship sideways, and the tin boat shook violently.We held onto the side of the boat tightly, looking pale at the tumbling water of the Yellow River, our hearts beating non-stop.

Before driving into the cave, bean-sized raindrops fell, like a dense rain of bullets, crackling on the hull of the ship, as if to smash the iron boat out of thousands of holes.

The entrance of the cave is neither too big nor too small, just big enough for a small boat to enter.The rushing water of the Yellow River poured into the cave, forming a vortex here. To drive in, the helmsman needs to have superb sailing skills, otherwise the ship will easily hit the mountain wall, and the ship will be destroyed.The three fishing boats that were sending ghost relatives slowly entered the cave one after another. Grandpa carefully drove the tin boat and followed closely behind.

(End of this chapter)