Is it true that Guizhou coffin keepers carry bricks at the construction site during the day and sleep with 567 coffins at night?

Human beings have always been in awe of death. In ancient times, there were legends of various ghosts, monsters, and snake gods, all of which showed that people kept a distance from death. There have always been rumors of corpse exterminators in western Hunan, but they are only in legends. In Pingba County, Guizhou, there is a tradition that has lasted for thousands of years, in which the living guard the coffins of the dead.

In Pingba County, there was a man named Liu Chaoxian who guarded the coffins of these 567 tribesmen alone.

Cave burial was once a widespread custom among the Miao people, but with the development of the times, this phenomenon of cave burial has become increasingly rare. The burial cave first guarded by the Six Dynasties is located 20 kilometers outside Pingba County. The village where the burial cave is located is called Taohua Village.

Taohua Village is a relatively isolated village. Several families here once lived in caves on the cliffs. There were also several families scattered at the end of the winding mountain roads. It is precisely because of this that Taohua Village retains relatively primitive customs and lifestyles.

Liu Chaoxian worked as a construction worker in a place not far away during the day. It is said that the place will be developed into a tourist area in the future, and tourist buildings and parking lots are currently being built.

At night, Liu Chaoxian has another identity. He is the coffin keeper of the Pingba Coffin Cave. He also has a new-era identity? The cultural relics coordinator of the village. The cultural relics managed by Liu Chaoxian are the 567 coffins in the coffin cave.

The coffin cave is on a sparsely populated mountain peak, more than 20 meters above the ground. Behind a large ancient tree is the entrance to the coffin cave. After walking for a long time along the winding path in the cave, you can reach the place where the coffin is actually stored.

The mountain topography of the Coffin Cave is a typical Custer Cave. According to archaeological experts’ measurements, the Coffin Cave is 45 meters long, 24 meters wide, and the highest point is more than 20 meters high. . It is such a cave where hundreds of coffins are placed all year round.

Most of the coffins here are very well preserved, and the types of coffins are also different. There are six types, namely: square coffins, trapezoidal coffins, ship-shaped coffins, log coffins, and bolted coffins. Coffin, general coffin.

After an on-site survey of the coffins here by archaeological experts from Guizhou Province, they determined the year when each coffin was put in. Among them, the boat-shaped coffin named No. 516 is the earliest coffin in the burial cave, dating back approximately Around 1120.

According to this time calculation, the first coffin in the Coffin Cave should have been placed here in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. And according to the measurement results, new coffins will be placed in the Coffin Cave regularly. .

According to the Six Dynasties, the position of the coffin in the burial cave is also particular, and it is not placed casually. Some areas are relatively mixed, and there are not many rules about seniority and inferiority here. Most people can be placed here. However, this is not the case in some areas. For example, people who died of illness, especially those with infectious diseases, must be placed in the innermost part of the burial cave.

Liu Chaoxian can tell the stories behind many of the coffins here. For example, some families were too poor to afford coffins, but their descendants got rich and later replaced them with better coffins. There is also a father who was buried here after his death. Unexpectedly, his son unfortunately passed away soon and came here.

One year, a tomb robber discovered the burial cave and lost several coffins. Later, Liu Chaoxian stayed here at night to prevent the coffins from being stolen again. Every night, Liu Chao would first check the coffins before sleeping in the burial cave.

The Pingba Coffin Cave is very helpful for studying the national history and folk burial customs in southwest my country. It can be said to be a living specimen library.