Is there really a corpse driver?

I. Market demand

In ancient times, if someone died in another country, his body had to be transported back to his hometown. First, China people pay attention to returning to nature, but comfort the grief of the families of the deceased. The traffic in Xiangxi is blocked, so it is very difficult to transport corpses. At this time, the families of the deceased usually let the old company (that is, the corpse driver) drive the corpse. Most local people in western Hunan refer to "driving the corpse" as "walking away" or "welcoming the Western gods".

Second, the historical origin

According to folklore, Apchiyou, the ancestor of Miao nationality, led troops against the enemy on the Yellow River. Since it is a war, it is inevitable that a large number of people will be killed. Ap Chiyou hoped that the souls of these fallen soldiers would return to their hometowns, so he asked Ap Jun Shi, Ap Jun Shi and Ap Chiyou to exchange clothes. Apu Chiyou walked ahead with Jeff in his hand, and Apu's military adviser hurried behind, praying. It is said that the roads in Xiangxi are rugged and the traffic is difficult, so a quick and economical way to let the corpse walk by itself came into being.

Third, the corpse object.

You don't have to be a dead man to be driven away. Those who are beheaded (their heads must be sewn together), hanged and died in cages can be driven away. Because these three kinds of people have grievances in their hearts, they can hook their souls back with magic, put them in their bodies with magic, and then let them stand up and walk. Those who died of illness, threw themselves into the river, hanged themselves, and were maimed by thunder and fire could not be driven away. His dead soul has been hooked by the ghost king, which is beyond human power to recall; The soul of the person who threw himself into the river was entangled by "substitution" and may be handing over, and the soul is inconsistent with the body; Those who are killed by lightning must be sinful people, while those who are killed by fire are often incomplete. These two types of bodies cannot be driven away.

Fourth, candidates for corpse removal.

Xiangxi folk, since ancient times, there has been a corpse industry. Driving a corpse, like robbing a tomb, is a technical job that ordinary people can't do. You must learn from your teacher in order to be recognized and walk the Jianghu, and you must meet three conditions:

1, bold. Dealing with dead bodies often, you can never do it without some courage. Master put a tung leaf in front of the grave in the deep forest and ordered you to retrieve it alone in the dark. Only in this way can you show that you have the courage to drive away the body.

2. Good health. Sleeping outside requires strength in addition to excellent physical fitness. Because the body is not alive after all, when it encounters a steep slope, the body can't climb up, so the corpse drivers have to carry it one by one.

2. Ugly face. It is better to be ugly and hated, making people afraid at first sight, and there is no turning back. It matches this profession and makes the other person feel mysterious and creepy until he is scared to run away, so as to keep secret and quiet.

4. Strong sense of direction. The corpse driver first asked the examinee to look at the sun in the sky, then kept spinning, and then suddenly told you to stop, so that you could distinguish between east, west, north and south at once. If you can't tell the difference, you can't be hired. Because you can't tell the east, west, north and south at this time, it means that you can't tell the direction and drive the car at night.

Medics never take apprentices in disorder. Apprentices are parents who write first and then impart knowledge. Generally speaking, you must be at least sixteen years old and five feet tall. The corpse driver's costume is very special: no matter what the weather is like, he has to wear a pair of sandals, a blue gown, a black belt around his waist, a blue cloth hat with a pattern of Yin and Yang gossip on his head and a special "symbol" stuffed in his pocket. An apprentice must learn thirty-six tricks before he can drive a corpse. The first thing is that the dead body "makes contributions", that is, the dead body must first stand up; The second is "walking skills", that is, to stop the body from walking freely; The third thing is "turning work", even if the body can turn when walking. In addition, there are downhill skills, bridge crossing skills, dumb dog skills and resurrection skills.

Five, three corpse method.

There are three ways to drive a corpse in Xiangxi: the next way is to carry a corpse. In China and France, the body of the deceased was dismembered, the head and limbs were taken, treated with drugs, and taken to the destination, and the corpse body double was used instead of walking along the way. Going to Dharma is the practice of the old company, so that the deceased can walk to their destination by themselves. This is the best spell in Xiangxi corpse drive.

Six, corpse driving equipment

I need a psychic, which is an instrument in the gate. There are generally four kinds of instruments for corpse driving in the old company of Xiangxi: coffin, bell, gong and whip (or stick). Cinnabar and Chenzhou rune are two objects that must be used before corpse removal.

Seven, the body removal steps

Step one: stop the soul. Cinnabar is stuffed in the ears, nostrils and mouth of the corpse with three souls out of body, and tightly blocked with crumpled spells, which is called "preventing three souls from out of body". Later, Lao Si read the curse again, and put cinnabar on the forehead, breech, chest, left and right palms, and the hearts of left and right soles of the feet of the body, and pressed it down with the curse and tied it tightly with five-color cloth, which is called "restraining the seven souls from out-of-body experience".

Step 2: "Dress up the corpse". Roll up the jade emperor's seal with both hands. After winding the body three times from left to right, a brown hat (i.e. a paper cloak) with no edge is attached to the head of the body, and magic symbols are attached around the brown hat.

Step 3: "Activate the corpse". The old master drew a spell on the clear water with a glass of clear water in one hand and a candle in the other, and read the word of God while painting until the water in the cup was as thick as rice soup. Old four dipped his thumb and middle finger in the magic water, and then gently dusted the magic water on his finger into the air, to the ground, to the east, west, north and south. After honoring the Five Immortals and Five Dragons, Old Four put a big mouthful of water into his mouth and suddenly sprayed it on the body.

Step 4: After spraying water on the corpse, Lao Si put down the cup, picked up the corpse whip, threw it into the air and shouted, "Get up, beast!" " "The body will answer. Old Sima, the boy, stood in front of the body with a soul-inducing gong; The caster carries the "mastermind clock" on his back, walks behind the corpse, throws the corpse whip, and drinks:

"Beast, go!" The soul-inducing gong that is helping your wife immediately rings, and your body will follow the wife who knocked the gong with stiff steps. The sound of the soul-inducing gong not only plays the role of attracting the dead, but also plays the role of warning the living things along the way not to approach.

Eight. Geographical scope

The so-called "corpse-driving" in Xiangxi, as the name implies, is unique to Xiangxi and geographically limited to Xiangxi. "Chenzhou House" drove the corpse to Langzhou (now Changde City, Hunan Province) in the north, not Dongting Lake, Jingzhou (now Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province) in the south, Fuzhou (now Fuling District, Chongqing City) in the west and Wuzhou (now Qiancheng Town, hongjiang city City, Hunan Province) in the southwest. Legend has it that these places are under the jurisdiction of the ghost country of Miao ancestors, and even experienced old wizards can't catch up with those zombies.

Nine. Conditions of corpse movement

Why is there only a corpse-driving industry in Xiangxi? Because only Xiangxi has the following conditions to drive a corpse.

1, mass base. Everyone in western Hunan knows that there is such a thing as driving a corpse. When they hear the soul-inducing gong, they will consciously avoid it to avoid bad luck. If there is a dog, they will lock it up, otherwise the dog will bite the body.

2. "Road outside the village". There are roads outside the village in Xiangxi, and roads in other areas generally pass through the village. Outsiders will not let such unlucky things as corpses enter the village.

3. Dead Body Inn. Only Xiangxi has such an inn, and only "corpse drivers" and dead bodies will live there. Most people are afraid to live there. Because the corpse-driving activities can only be carried out at night, the "corpse-driver" drives the corpse, arrives at the "corpse inn" before dawn and leaves after dark.

X. literary records

Mr. Shen Congwen, a famous writer, wrote in the Preface to Miscellanies in Xiangxi: "After Chenzhou (now Yuanling County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province), Chenzhou (a kind of witchcraft, it is said that it can drive away the dead) and cinnabar came out here. And some people will' drive the body'. If you have good eyesight, you will have a chance to see a group of dead bodies walking on the road. When the car is close, you know to avoid the roadside, just like the living! "

XI。 The truth has become known to all.

After a detailed investigation by the public security department, it was only a mysterious trick of Master Miao to drive away the body. There are three main methods:

One is to let the living walk dressed as a dead body and wear a big straw hat to cover the whole head, while the real dead body is dismembered and carried in a basket. After arriving at the destination, the bodies were quickly spliced and buried. It turned out that the secret was in that basket-on the surface, it contained paper money, but in fact, it contained a body under it.

The other is to let people carry the body. The man carrying the body is short. The body was tied to him, and he walked like a normal person. Outsiders look like dead bodies being driven away.

Third, the dead in the middle of the team walk with bamboo poles, and only the head and tail of the team are alive. It is not easy for these two people to bear the weight of so many people.

Personally, I think the first one is more reliable, because it is hard to imagine how two people can be tied together like one person. As mentioned above, there is no scientific basis for the three methods of expelling corpses. The cheating methods of China and France are to dismember the body and pretend to be dead. We can find some problems from the handover process of the body:

When the body is about to rush to its hometown, it is necessary to inform the family members of the deceased, prepare clothes and coffins, and immediately put on clothes, hats and shoes for the deceased after the "deceased" arrives, and put them into Shoumu. The process of burial is entirely undertaken by the corpse driver, and no one is allowed to watch. The reason is that as long as there is a stranger near the body, there will be a danger of "shocking the body", and the burial process must be in the middle of the night. When all arrangements are made, the deceased will only be claimed after losing his family. At this time, the deceased has arranged and does not need family members to collect it. At this time, the corpse driver humbly persuaded his family not to be too sad and made the deceased sad. The deceased had accumulated virtue before his death and could return to his homeland safely, but he just traveled a long way and needed to rest in peace. Did it perfectly cover up the fact that the body was dismembered?

References:

1, Liang Qiao: "Deciphering the remains of Xiangxi"

2. Ye Zi: Xiangxi corpse-a terrible mystery, Jiangxi Agricultural Science and Technology, 1, 2005.

3. Liu Jiping: Searching for Bodies in Xiangxi, Searching for Roots,No. 1, 2009.

4. Ruimin: Mystery of corpse-driving in Xiangxi, middle school students, No.31,2007.