The most interesting folklore

Chapter 18 The Most Interesting Funeral Culture (1)
1. What are the nicknames for death?
Chinese people are usually more reserved. They don't directly say that people are dead, but give the "dead" an appropriate title according to the person's status, age and other factors.

Common words often include these words: death, passing away, passing away, long sleep, rest in peace.

Dying for the country and the people is called sacrifice, sacrifice, martyrdom, and martyrdom.

To deal with the enemy, he said that he saw the king of Hades, went to the west, finished, died, and had pigtails and other derogatory words.

When the emperor is dead, it is even more taboo to say the word "death", such as Jiabeng, Daxing, Daxie, and Shanlingbeng.

When a monk dies, it is said that he passed away, sat down and other words with religious connotations.

In ancient books, "death" is even more elaborate: death, death, passing away, passing away, etc.

The "Book of Rites" has more incisive regulations on death: the death of the emperor is "beng", the death of princes is "fu", the doctor is "death", the scholar is "bulu", and the common people are "death".

There are also other abnormal deaths, accidental death is called "death", death, and minor death is called "immature death" and so on.

3. Is "Jiuquan" the name of the spring?
"Nine Springs" originally refers to the deep underground, which means the place where people are buried after death.The Chinese refer to having no regrets about life after death as "Smiling Nine Springs", which is probably the most ideal state of death.

"Nine" is the largest single digit. In Chinese culture, it means how many, big, deep, and extreme. "Spring water" usually comes out of a deep well. The ancients believed that people have to go very deep after death. Go to the "Yincao Jifu", so the prisoner combined the characters "nine" and "spring" and called it "Nine Springs".

3. Is the epitaph an article written for the dead?
The epitaph is a text buried in a tomb that records the deceased's surname, native place, official title, and life story.They are generally engraved on stone, some are written on bricks, and some are made of iron casting or porcelain clay.It usually consists of two parts: Zhi and Ming. "Zhi" mostly uses prose to describe the life story of the deceased, while "ming" mostly uses rhyme to express condolences, praise or comfort to the deceased, and some of them are used together, which is called "epitaph".Chinese epitaphs originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and have a history of more than 1000 years. The more famous epitaph is "Liu Zihou's Epitaph".

The writing requirements of the epitaph are concise narrative and gentle language.The epitaph is generally written by others after the death of the deceased, or written by the deceased himself before his death, and relatives engrave it according to the will or entrustment.The epitaph is actually a brief introduction to the life story of the deceased. After the death of a great person, a person who has made outstanding contributions, and a person worth remembering, there is often an epitaph on his tombstone. Ancient people usually have the habit of writing epitaphs. Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty There are as many as u volumes of epitaphs written, but writing epitaphs is no longer popular among modern people.

4. What is a "white wedding"

There are two major functions in the funeral: one is to deal with the remains of the deceased, and the other is to vent the emotions of the living.Funerals should be sad, but there are scenes of singing and dancing at the funerals of many ethnic groups. People use this form to vent their emotions, and they call funerals "white weddings".

Faced with the remains of their loved ones, people have complicated emotions, crying and wailing for the death of their loved ones.But life has to go on, and the children and grandchildren will continue to reproduce from generation to generation.If you think about it a little more, I believe that the deceased just entered the "Yin" from the "Yangjian" and entered another world. Maybe the "Yangtian" is as prosperous and lively as the world, and has abundant supplies, so we should happily see the deceased off. There were scenes of singing and dancing at the funeral, which meant celebrating the entry of the deceased into the world of bliss.This is the origin of "white wedding".

5. How did the soul-calling and funeral customs come about?
The origin of soul-calling and funeral customs is very early, and it was prevalent in the pre-Qin period.For example, in the ancient book "Yi Li" at that time, it was recorded that there was a ceremony for the soul-calling of a scholar: the soul-caller wore an official hat and court clothes, climbed to the roof from the east corner of the main house, held the clothes worn by the deceased in his hand, Hold the collar, hold the waist with one hand, and call out the name of the deceased to the north with a long voice, saying: "So-and-so, you are back!" Calling the dead soul to return, he shouted three times in a row.Then the clothes were rolled up and thrown from the roof, and someone below took the clothes and covered them with the dead.After calling the soul, the relatives should observe the nostrils of the deceased again and feel the pulse of the heart to confirm whether he is dead.This kind of ritual expresses the reluctance of the living to the dead, and it is more of a haunted soul, who has to face the sad reality of the death of relatives and friends.So after the soul-calling ceremony, the master can formally handle the funeral.Such as bathing, meals, burial, mourning, condolence, etc.

From ancient times to the present, there have also been soul-calling ceremonies in folk funerals, which are similar to the above-mentioned scholar's soul-calling ceremonies.

7. What is a "white wedding"

When Taoist priests save the dead, they spread a reed mat on the ground.There is a reason for this.It is said that once upon a time, a rich and powerful official died of his mother. He paid 500 taels of silver to invite Western monks and Eastern Taoist priests to open a way for the dead to be buried.Both the Taoist priest and the monk wanted to drive each other away, so that they could steal the money all by themselves, and they were both secretly making up their minds.

After the banquet was over, the two parties set up the incense burners, put on cassocks and Taoist clothes, and prepared to save the dead.Daotu said to the monk: "You read your scriptures, and I will open my way. We don't interfere with the river water, but we have a good place." Occupy the place." The monk responded, "Please see the factory cast out the cassocks and filled the whole room. The Taoist saw it and yelled that it was not good. Get up and throw the reed mat on the ground, which is regarded as occupying a place, and the monk has no choice but to bow down.

From then on, every time a Taoist priest opened a way for the dead, he had to put a reed mat first, and stand on the reed mat to open the way for the dead.

Why burn paper money for the dead Paper money, also known as "Yuqian", "Mingqian" and "Chucoin" by the ancients, is the currency specially used by the dead and ghosts and gods. ceremony.

People believe that the "underworld" needs clothing, food, housing, and transportation just like the "Yangjian", and the dead need to use the coins of that world to live in the "underworld".Therefore, for the sake of a better life for the dead in the "underworld", the living people gave them a lot of gifts and coins while paying homage to them.The coins in it are made of paper to look like money in the world, and they are burned to give to their relatives and friends in another world for their daily use. This is burning paper money.When people burn paper money, they usually light firecrackers and burn incense, and call their relatives to come to get the money, so as not to be taken by other ghosts and gods.

This custom of offering sacrifices began in the Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Tang Dynasty. Poets in the Tang Dynasty also described this custom. In a poem by Zhang Ji, it was written that "the wind blows the wilderness and the paper money flies, and the ancient tombs are full of spring grass." By the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, The folk custom of burning paper money became more popular, and it has continued since then.

7. What happened to Mingshou?
Mingshou is also called "Yin Shou", which refers to the birthday of deceased parents or grandparents.Logically speaking, Mingshou should not be celebrated, because since a person has passed away and his lifespan has ended, there is actually no point in continuing to hold birthday celebrations and celebrations with distinctive features of praying for longevity.But it is very strange that in Chinese society, it is common to hold Mingshou celebrations for deceased parents and grandparents.Xu Ke said in the book "Qing Barnyard Banknotes": "Those who wish to celebrate a birthday wish their people a long life. There are those who celebrate the birthday of the deceased grandparents and parents, and they are called Mingshou, also known as Mingqing." On the day when the parents die, the children will send invitations to relatives and friends as they did when they were alive, and relatives and friends will also present birthday gifts to their children as they did when they were alive.On the first day of Mingshou, all the children should wear colorful clothes and dress up beautifully, and go to the birthday hall together to kowtow to the memorial tablets of their deceased parents.This kind of children who celebrate their parents' birthdays call themselves "Zuiqingzi", which means "reminiscing about" and "celebrating" their parents' birthdays.

Smaller Mingshou activities are mostly held in their own homes, and more grand Mingshou celebrations are mostly held in temples and Taoist temples.

In modern society, the meaning of doing Mingshou is mainly reflected in two aspects, one is to commemorate the deceased relatives, and the other is to satisfy one's own interests in entertainment, dining and communication.Mingshou celebrations are generally held until the 100th birthday, because according to Chinese folklore, when a person reaches 100th birthday, he will be reincarnated to become the next generation.Therefore, the [-]-year-old Mingshou celebration ceremony is the most grand and the scale is the most grand.

8. Can dead people marry?

Marriage for the dead is called ghost marriage.Ghost marriages have a very long history in my country. As early as the Shang Dynasty in the first half of the 12th century BC, ghost marriages already existed.After the Zhou Dynasty, the custom of ghost marriage was not banned, but was advocated by some upper feudal rulers.In the Qing Dynasty, this custom of burying women in the dark was still very popular with the strengthening of the concept of chastity. It was not until the feudal ceremonies in the late Qing Dynasty were impacted by Western civilization that it gradually disappeared.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing still had the phenomenon of ghost marriages, and some families held "happy events" for the dead to marry the dead. This kind of "wedding" ceremony was mostly held at night. Awakened by the sound of drum music, this is the "welcome" team for the ghost marriage. The people who "welcome relatives" carry a paper sedan chair and are preceded by playing single drums, odd numbers, and single suona.Some don't use this form, and still use eight big sedan chairs, full of golden lamp deacons, but inside the sedan chair is just a photo of the woman to be married. After the 20s, some people imitated the "civilized marriage" ceremony, with a western band as the forerunner, and four people behind carried a funeral booth with a photo of the "bride" inside.Ceremonies generally include the detailed posting of the general family, praying and occupying the dark clothes, preparing wine and fruit in front of the tomb, laying down first and then wishing, and joining together.

Generally speaking, dark marriages also need to be introduced by a matchmaker. The two parties go through the portal post, get married in the Mingguan, and get the dragon and phoenix post.Resting concentration is mostly one-time, so there is no such thing as big or small concentration.Half of the betrothal gift from the man to the woman is real silk and satin rulers, gold and silver treasures, and the other half are paper-pasted leather, cotton, folders, and single clothes, two pairs of brocade boxes, containing earrings, bracelets, rings and other items. Jewelry such as hairpins.On the night of the scheduled day, it will be cremated at the gate of the woman's house or on the grave.

9. Why are the dead buried in coffins?

In ancient times, when a person was about to die, a small tomb was built with stones in advance, called "coffin".After a person dies, put the body in the coffin, block the door, and cover it with soil, which is called "sealing the coffin".Later, coffins were used to hold the dead.Why use coffins to hold the dead? This has to start with the story of Sun Bin and Pang Juan during the Warring States Period.

Pang Juan and Sun Bin were brothers, and Pang Juan, seeing that Sun Bin was better than himself, planned to kill Sun Bin.When Sun Bin found out, he ran away.Pang Juan ordered strict inspections at all checkpoints across the country, and personally led people around to arrest him.

One day, Sun Bin fled to the border of Qi and Wei. He wanted to take refuge in Qi, but he couldn't get out, so he hid in a carpenter's house and asked the carpenter to send him out.The carpenter told Sun Bin to change his clothes and hat, hide in the sleeping cabinet, cover his face with yellow paper, and pretend to be a dead person.Then, he closed the lid of the sleeping cabinet, tied the sleeping cabinet up with a rope, called a group of young men, and carried Sun Bin out of the pass with a loud noise.Along the way, groups of men, women and children followed behind to watch the strange things. They all said that this method was better than "sealing the coffin", and later they used sleeping cabinets to store the dead.The sleeping cabinet was also gradually changed into a coffin later.Later, people called carrying the dead out of the house a funeral, and sending the dead to burial was called a funeral.

11. How did the custom of filial sons sit in coffins come about?

Once upon a time there was a Prime Minister Zhang.One evening, the maid giggled as she washed his feet.The prime minister was furious and scolded: "Bold slave, so frivolous, what is it?" The maid was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and said: "The servant just saw the cinnabar mole on the half of the master's left foot, which looks like the half of the slave's right foot, the cinnabar mole." Mole, so I laughed, I hope the master will forgive me."

When Prime Minister Zhang heard this, he was very surprised, and immediately asked the maid to take off her shoes and socks to have a look.Sure enough, the cinnabar mole on the maid's right foot was exactly the same as the prime minister's. He thought, maybe this is a marriage from a previous life!From then on, the prime minister and the maid lived together in secret or in secret.

Unexpectedly, the good times didn't last long, and the prime minister was going to die in less than a year.The maid shed tears and said: "With you here, the people in the house dare not look at me with blank eyes. What should I do if you leave? What about the child in my belly?" The prime minister said: "Bring a pen and ink." Ling and Zhubi.Prime Minister Zhang wrote: "It was a concubine who was not a concubine, but a wife who was not a wife. The boy was named Tianyu, and the girl was named Tianji." The prime minister died after finishing writing.

Later, the maid gave birth to a son named Zhang Tianyu.After 18 years from winter to spring, Tianyu has won the first prize in the new subject.The mother was ill, and when she heard that her son had won the gold medal, she was overjoyed and died.

While doing the aftermath, Tianyu had a quarrel with her elder brother (half mother).According to the customs at that time, only the coffin of the wife of the wife could go out through the gate, and the coffin of the concubine had to go out of the way.Tianyu asked her mother's coffin to come out of the gate, but her brother refused.The king of heaven was angry, and asked: "Can I go out from the gate?" The elder brother said: "You are the number one scholar, of course you can." Tianyu stepped onto the coffin and sat down, and said: "Okay, take me out the number one scholar!" Brother Helpless, he had to let the coffin be carried out from the gate.

Since then, there has been a custom of filial sons going out in coffins.

11. Huisha includes those etiquettes

Huisha is often called Zhuansha in Shaoxing.It is said that after a person dies, he has to go home once within a certain period of time to check on his family members, which is called "turning evil spirits".A messenger who came with him was called Shashen, who had a terrible appearance and his hands and feet were like chicken feet. A feast must be held to worship, otherwise he would humiliate the ghost.

On the night before returning to Sha, a dummy is placed on the bed of the deceased. The clothes worn must be worn by the deceased when he died. The head is made of a large tin bottle, which looks like the person is lying down.

There is a table of dishes on the table, all of which the deceased loved to eat during his lifetime.Ingots of tin foil silk (commonly known as silver ingots) are placed in front of the bed, beside the table, and beside the chair.Make an offering, close the door, no one is allowed to enter.If there is a shortage of vegetables and the movement of the paper ingot afterwards, it will be evidence that the deceased has indeed been there.

It is also said that the god of evil came from the chimney, so a table of dishes was also served on the stove for the god of evil to enjoy.Flatten the ashes at the place where the ashes are stored under the stove, to see if there are chicken marks, if there are, it can be known that the evil spirit has been there.

A table of food is offered in front of the coffin (if it has been buried, it will be offered in the hall), and Taoist priests are hired to sit and chant sutras.

The person who sent the last person before the end must be present at this moment, and one person is indispensable. If he can't come, the plain clothes he wears will be hung on the wall to indicate that the number of people is complete, which is called "Jiesha".

During Jiaoxu (or Hai), incense candles are lit in the rooms and kitchens, Taoist priests go in and recite, and family members bow down one by one to express their condolences, because the deceased has arrived.When you come out, you still close the door.

When he arrived at Zi, the Taoist turned around to two places, and then went straight out of the gate. The family members accompanied him and cried loudly, which is called "send evil spirit".At the same time, each person should hold a dough pan (made of bamboo, for dusting rice) and a rooster in one hand, and beat on the pan while walking with a stick in the other, so that the rooster crows loudly (it is said that when the ghost comes, it is necessary to go to the rooster). Only at dawn is he willing to leave, the evil god is fierce, afraid that it will stay, so he let the rooster crow loudly, it thinks it is dawn and will go back).After burning the silk, the family members stopped crying and turned around, and the return to evil spirits ended.

There are several common sayings about Huisha: when the date of Huisha is near, it is called Shashou;The former soul of the deceased is very powerful, while the latter is kind.

12. Does "send off" mean seeing off the dead?

China's traditional funeral culture is very particular about the end of life.When the patient's life is dying, the relatives should put on new inner and outer clothes for him, otherwise, he will "walk away naked", and the relatives will feel very regretful and guilty.For the "departure" of the deceased, the relatives want to "send one to send", commonly known as "send to the end".The relatives of the deceased are required to call loudly in front of the bed at their last breath until they die.Before the deceased swallowed his last breath, relatives should move him to the coffin in the open room of the main house to guard him through the last moment of his life. ", because the homonym of "Zhong" is "end").After the deceased dies, immediately remove the bed net to prevent the dead soul from being enveloped in the net and cannot escape, remove the pillow, and burn paper foil to see him off.

13. What are the paper bundles for the dead?

There are many types of paper tie.Among them, the "soul-inducing flag" is pure white paper with a head like a rooster (with a red crown), and it is hung high on a willow pole for the purpose of summoning souls.This streamer is cut and tied concisely, the colors are bright and clean, and the shape is exaggerated and bold. "Money tree" and "golden mountain and silver mountain" are both in pairs. The former is like a small tree crown, surrounded by small round flowers, full of strings of money; . The "cornucopia" is a round paper bundle, in which there are piles of pearls, coral trees, white jade scrolls, pipes and swords, etc., which can be described as dazzling and overwhelming. The "Paper Tie Courtyard" is a residence for the dead. The small courtyard has everything you need, including halls, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, and bronze decorations on Zhumen. The Chinese and Qiang are solemn and fascinating.All kinds of paper potted flowers, according to the preferences of the deceased, the owner asked questions, the artist cut paper, wind and rain, each in its own way. "Golden boys and jade girls" are probably servants prepared for the dead. They have different images, ranging from obedient and kind-hearted to innocent and ingenious.There are also various paper bundles such as cars, horses, and sedan chairs, each with its own characteristics.

After the funeral, these papers were either buried in the tomb of the deceased, or burned in the cemetery of the deceased.During the funeral, the whole village, old and young, went out to watch and judge, and some people snatched a few potted paper flowers back home to enjoy (snatching flowers is a folk custom, and the owner does not blame it).In fact, every funeral is regarded as an exhibition made of paper.

14. What are the points of burning seven libations?
Burning seven libation offerings, also known as Qi, Zhaiqi, Liqi, Qiqizhai, etc., is a common custom of offering sacrifices among the people.The general content is: within 49 days after the first death of the deceased, relatives hold a fasting meeting every seven days to offer sacrifices to the dead soul, seven times in total.The custom of making seven originated from when, where, and what concept. There is a saying that it originated from the "theory of gathering and dispersing souls" in the pre-Qin period, that is, at the beginning of a person, seven days are used as wax, and one soul is formed by one wax, and one soul is formed by seven or seven days. On the 49th day, the seven souls are all prepared; correspondingly, when a person dies at the beginning, one soul will be lost in one day, and the person will eventually return to the west after seven days. Therefore, there is a custom of burning paper every seven days as a taboo. .Of course, there are other theories, such as originating from Buddhism, Taoism, and "Yu Sacrifice" in the Zhou Dynasty, etc., which can be used as a reference to help us understand this custom.

(End of this chapter)