The mystery of corpse driving in Xiangxi is a folk custom of Miao nationality in Xiangxi, which belongs to witch culture and is also related to various tourist families. The rumor of "corpse-driver" in Xiangxi in Qing Dynasty was widely circulated, that is, corpse-driver used "secret technique" to bring the bodies of people who died in a foreign land back to their hometown and let them rest in peace. Although "Xiangxi corpse drive" has never been scientifically verified or personally confirmed, it has become the prototype of many thriller movies and has been widely known since then. In China, as early as the late Paleolithic period (about 1 0,000 years ago), people had the concept of "being buried in the soil". Until today, burial is still the most common way of funeral in China. However, for wanderers who died in other places, "seeking their roots" may just be an extravagant hope. However, in Hunan, it is said that there is a special way to realize this extravagant hope-this is "driving the corpse", a legendary spell that can drive the corpse away. If you enter the word "corpse" in the search engine, most of the search results will point to a specific place name: Xiangxi. The legend of the corpse driver in Xiangxi is closely related to the Miao nationality. According to legend, thousands of years ago, Chiyou, the ancestor of Miao nationality, led an army to fight against the enemies along the Yellow River. After the war, the troops need to retreat to the rear. After all the wounded were carried away, many dead soldiers were left on the battlefield. Chiyou couldn't bear to throw the bodies of his compatriots into the wilderness, but there weren't enough people to carry all the bodies away, so he begged the army strategist to let the dead return to their hometown. The strategist had a plan to let Chiyou help Jeff lead the way in front. His magic made all the bodies on the battlefield stand up, and Chiyou followed the high-spirited Jeff and returned to his hometown in a proper way. This is the earliest legend of corpse driving. At first, the legend of the corpse driver was only circulated in Hunan and Guizhou, and later it was gradually known to outsiders. In recent years, with the popularity of tomb-robbing novels, corpse-driving has become a topic that is often mentioned, and some taboos and rules about corpse-driving are also widely circulated, such as "three drives and three don't drive" (those who are beheaded, hanged, and die in a cage can drive, those who die by hanging their necks in the river, and those who are damaged by lightning can't drive), and the legend of "corpse-driving hotel" ("corpse-driving hotel") The image of the corpse driver ringing a bell and holding a pile of corpses to remind Nightcrawler to avoid, informing the dog owners to lock up the dogs and throwing paper money all the way has appeared in many people's nightmares. So, what is the truth about the corpse drive in Xiangxi? In this article, we will learn several common explanations of corpse driving, and understand why this custom only appears in Xiangxi. There are many explanations about the corpse. Generally speaking, there are the following kinds: the mysterious legend mantra of corpse driving, which thinks that corpse driving is a magic of Maoshan art, and even lists detailed practices in some books and legends. For example, it is mentioned in some materials that the mage should use cinnabar (a kind of cinnabar, produced in Chenzhou, western Hunan, which is now Yuanling, with the best quality, so it is called cinnabar) to put it on the forehead, vest, heart, palm and feet of the deceased, put it in the ear, nose and mouth to seal the three souls, then use spells to hold it down, tie it tightly with five-color cloth, and protect the neck of the corpse with spells. With spells, the corpse will stand up. It is said that before liberation, there were shops selling spells in Chenzhou, which were also collectively called Chenzhou spells. Of course, I can't find it anymore. The legend of the corpse driver provides an explanation, which is more in line with the performance of the film in the Taiwan Province electronic newspaper Machamp Rebellion. This explanation is that the corpse truck vertically fixes the corpse on two bamboo poles and transports the corpse like a sedan chair. The specific method is to put bamboo under the armpit of the corpse and tie the arm tightly to the bamboo pole. The body wore a shroud with a wide robe and big sleeves and covered the bamboo pole. At night, it looks like a group of zombies with straight hands. Besides, bamboo is a tough material. When carrying heavy objects, they will shake up and down due to the bending force of bamboo poles, and even the upright bodies seem to jump. Indeed, this shape is very similar to the zombies we see in zombie movies. However, in CCTV's TV program "Walking Around China", Mr. Wu Xianyou, a member of the Political Consultative Conference of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, claimed that he had seen the corpse driver being driven away at 1963. The corpse driver did not jump forward with open arms, but lowered his arms and walked like a living person. Moreover, the mage who drives the corpse is not always two people. Many times, only one person leads the way and is responsible for scattering paper money along the road. It is also a common saying that the legend of the corpse driver comes from the experience of two PLA soldiers at the beginning of liberation. In this statement, the corpse driver actually takes turns to carry the corpse on his back, puzzling under the cover of night and wide robe sleeves. However, this is really heavy manual labor, which is beyond the ability of ordinary people. Moreover, this method requires higher requirements for corpse preservation. Legend has it that corpse removal is a kind of "commercial fraud" activity. Professor Lu Qun from the College of Literature of Jishou University mentioned this method of transporting corpses in his book "Driving Bodies in Western Hunan". The corpse driver dismembered the body and put his head and limbs on his back in a box, while the odd behaviors such as throwing paper money, carrying lanterns and traveling in the middle of the night were just a cover-up. Similarly, this method also requires high anti-corrosion technology. Mr. Shi Zhecun mentioned in an essay: "In the past, there were not only highways for cars but also Guantang Road in Xiangxi. There are mountains and deep valleys everywhere, and the jungle is dense. It's hard to walk, and it's even harder for cars and horses to pass. If someone dies in another place, it is impossible to transport the coffin back to his hometown for burial. Therefore, the only way is to ask Zhu Youke to take the deceased home. " For a long time, the traffic difficulties in western Hunan have been considered as a necessary condition for the development of this special industry. In addition, local cultural customs have also played a role in fueling the flames. The local people believe that there are four main reasons why there will be no corpse industry in other places. First of all, there is no hotel for corpse drivers anywhere else. Secondly, passers-by walking at night don't know how to avoid the gong. If they rush to watch the fun, they will be scared to death. Third, in many villages, there is no road outside the village, and it is bound to pass through the village. Bodies are not allowed to enter the village in most places, but many villages in western Hunan are around the village. Finally, the residents along the road don't know how to drive the corpse, and they can't ask them to lock up the dog as soon as they hear the gong. Both the corpse driver and the corpse may be bitten by a dog. In Xiangxi, there are no such difficulties. In addition, this is also related to the local Miao doctors. Xiangxi was the territory of Chu in ancient times, and the witch originated from here. Witch doctors have the same origin since ancient times, and Miao medicine is also a wonderful flower in Chinese medicine, which has its own uniqueness. It is mentioned in some information about corpse removal that before corpse removal, the corpse should be treated first, and the most commonly used method is "fumigation", that is, the corpse and powder are put in a big barrel and gradually heated with fire to play the role of anticorrosion, sterilization and dehumidification. The formula of this powder has been lost now, but it is speculated that it should contain common preservatives such as cinnabar, wine and spices. The best cinnabar is in Xiangxi. When heated, cinnabar will be reduced to mercury, which is the most commonly used anti-corrosion material in history, second only to gold and jade. For example, in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu Yue written by Zhao Ye in the Han Dynasty, "(Wu Wang) died in He Lu and was buried in the northwest of China, named Tiger Hill. ..... Around the mound pool, the water depth is more than ten feet. Triple, pour mercury into the pool, and the pool is sixty steps wide. " In other words, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, people began to use mercury extensively to embalm corpses. We have reason to believe that medicine and specialty products in Xiangxi have also played a certain role in promoting the development of such a secret industry. However, this activity is now extinct, and there are not even photos left. At present, the last recorded sighting was in 1963, and it has not been reported since then. According to the local people, the rumor about corpse driving was only heard before liberation, but hardly heard after liberation. The disappearance of this activity may be related to the following three factors: first, when we cracked down on superstitious and illegal activities after liberation, we cracked down on such activities very hard. In addition to its mystery, it is also because some smugglers often disguise themselves as corpse teams to smuggle. Secondly, folklore requires special conditions to be a corpse driver, and there will be no children or daughters. Under the traditional concept of "unfilial, unfilial, unfilial", only those who are desperate will choose this line of work. At the same time, the technology of this industry is inherited from the mentoring relationship. As time goes on, this skill will inevitably be lost or even cut off. Finally, one of the conditions for corpse removal is traffic difficulties, and with the improvement of traffic conditions, the market of this industry will gradually shrink until it dies. Generally, the day before the execution in autumn, relatives and fellow villagers of guests on death row, and even good people who are kind and kind, will gather some money to buy all the goods for their old company (usually Tsing Yi and Red Dress). On the day of execution, the old company, assistants and helpers all have to wait outside the court. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the knife and axe fell and the death row head fell to the ground. As soon as the beheading officer left the charity ceremony, the red veteran immediately recited the mantra, and the assistant helped sew up the beheaded dead guest's head. Now Tsing Yi veteran cinnabar (the best cinnabar) is placed on the forehead, chest, left and right palms, and foot of the deceased, and each place is held down by spells, and then tied tightly with five-color cloth strips. According to legend, these seven places are places where the seven orifices enter and exit, and they are sealed with cinnabar spells to keep the seven souls of the dead. After that, some cinnabar will be stuffed into the ears, nose and mouth of the deceased, and then blocked with spells. According to legend, the ear, nose and mouth are the places where three souls go in and out, so as to stay in the body of the dead. Finally, cover the neck of the deceased with cinnabar, stick spells on it and tie it tightly with five-color cloth strips; Then put a bamboo hat on the deceased (as a cover). When everything was finished, the old man in red read a spell and shouted "get up!" " Hakka dead bodies will answer and stand up ... The corpse driver in the transportation process is a mage wearing a cassock. In front of these bodies covered with black shroud, there is a living person who is called "corpse driver" by the locals. No matter how many bodies there are in Xiangxi, he will drive by himself. No matter what the weather is, you should wear a pair of straw sandals, a green cloth gown, a black belt around your waist, a green cloth hat, a gong in your hand and a bag of symbols in your pocket. The mage is not behind the corpse, but leads the way in front of the corpse, without playing lanterns, because he is beating the little Yin Gong in his hand, leading the group of corpses forward, shaking the mastermind clock in his hand to let the nocturnal people avoid it, and informing the people with dogs to lock them up. If there are more than two bodies, the corpse driver will string them one by one with a straw rope, one every seven or eight feet. When walking in the dark, the body will wear a tall blanket hat on its head and some yellow paper with calligraphy will hang down from its forehead. There is a "corpse inn" on the way to drive the corpse. This mysterious "dead inn" only lives in dead bodies and corpse drivers, which ordinary people can't live in. Its gate is open all year round. Because behind the two door panels, it is where the body stops. The corpse driver rushed to the "corpse shop" before dawn and quietly left at night. The body leans neatly against the wall behind the door panel. When it is difficult to walk on rainy days, I will stop in the store for a few days and nights. Two or three days before the coffin is buried at the destination, inform the families of the deceased in advance, prepare clothes and coffins, and put clothes, hats and shoes on the deceased immediately when the "deceased" arrives, and put them in Shoumu. This burial process is entirely undertaken by the "corpse driver", and no one is allowed to insert and watch, just as the corpse is not allowed to peep when it is "carried out of the coffin" at the time of departure. It is said that at these critical moments, when a stranger approaches a corpse, he will be in danger of "shocking the corpse", and the burial process must be in the middle of the night. Everything is arranged, that is to say, the deceased will be buried before being claimed. Recommended encyclopedia of breasts, sexual health and common sense, encyclopedia of adolescent slimming and buying a car, encyclopedia of lottery photography.