Only in modern times, no one has been engaged in this profession, and at that time, Xiangxi corpse-driving was a kind of technology, and most of the documents about Xiangxi corpse-driving were simple words, which led to a very strong sense of mystery for people.
The southwest of China is mostly mountainous. In ancient times, the traffic was inconvenient, so the people were very poor. Many people have to leave home to make a living.
But when people go out, it is inevitable that they will die. In ancient times, China people had an idea? Deciduous leaves return to their roots? It is very bad to die in another country, so no matter whether the people outside are good or bad, they will leave a sum of money before they die. In case something happens, find someone to move the body back. These corpse-bearers are the archetypes of Xiangxi corpse-driving Taoist priests.
Of course, this body carrier can't be anyone who wants to be. Because for ordinary people, carrying corpses is inherently facing enormous psychological challenges. What's more, the bodies are generally very heavy, and it is mostly a mountain road to return to Xiangxi. Ancient traffic was underdeveloped. If it is summer, it may take two or three days to walk and the body will stink. When the body is moved home, it will rot. Naturally, the client's family will not agree.
Therefore, these corpse carriers are composed of a specific group.
Ancient people believed in ghosts and gods, so people who moved bodies generally could? Psychic? Most of them are Taoist. If you want to be a corpse carrier, the entry threshold is also relatively high. First of all, your psychological quality is very good, because you spend a long time with the body every day, and you may have a psychological breakdown. Therefore, people with tough psychological quality can do such a career.
Secondly, the physical quality is better. If you are often ill and have poor physical fitness, you can't do the work of carrying corpses. After all, you need to travel with your body all year round.
Finally, people should be calm, have a good memory and a good sense of direction, and can't get lost when walking at night. After these screening, there are not many people who can be corpse drivers.
Besides, according to Xiangxi folklore, who wants to be a corpse driver must be at least 18 years old and can't follow the master as soon as he enters? Running? But you have to study at home for several years before you can master certain skills. Running? For example, you must be able to draw spells, know some exorcism spells, and be prepared to never get married.
Because people's understanding of nature in ancient times was limited, there were many things that could not be explained scientifically. At that time, people would think it was the behavior of ghosts and gods, so it was Taoist priests who drove the bodies in Xiangxi in ancient times. The corpse driver will stick some spells on the corpse and ring the bell to recite the spell when walking to avoid being possessed by ghosts.
What is the image of Xiangxi corpse driver in Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television works? Wearing a cassock, holding a bell, and jumping with a group of corpses dressed in Qing dynasty costumes and chanting spells? .
But this is not the case. Didn't those bodies? Jump? Instead of following the master in a rhythmic line? Going? . So in rumors, people also think that these Xiangxi corpse drivers are? Rush? Come back with the body, not them? Moving? Come back.
However, this is not the case. In the last century, the research department of traditional culture in China tried to decipher the corpse drivers in Xiangxi, and collected a lot of information about them. I found that these bodies were not brought back, but were carried back. There are ups and downs when people are carried away, so they are mistaken for jumping off a building.
As mentioned above, in ancient times, transportation was underdeveloped, and it was very difficult to transport corpses for hundreds of miles. If the weather is hot, things are likely to rot. Because of this, these corpse drivers in Xiangxi must dispose of the corpse before carrying it.
They usually have two ways to dispose of the body. For thin people, the internal organs are usually taken out directly and stuffed into plant ash. When the water absorption of the corpse is almost the same, it should be stuffed with Chinese herbal medicine for preservation. Because the internal organs have been taken out and the water has been absorbed, the body will become very light, and at most it will be dozens of pounds.
If the deceased is fat, he will directly cut off and throw away the parts below the shoulders and above the calves, leaving two legs and above the shoulders, and connect these limbs with wooden brackets in the middle to form a human figure and put on clothes. Although it looks like a complete person, it is actually not a whole body.
Xiangxi people will find spells on their heads when they drive away these bodies? Town? Hold them down and put a bamboo pole under the body's arms. Generally speaking, two people carry three or four bodies, so it seems that there are five or six people in a row. Only the first two people and the last two people are alive, with the body in the middle and the leader in front usually the master.
Because they walk in the street during the day, it will look different, and the temperature is generally high during the day, and the bodies are prone to decay, so most of them act at night. The reason why they kept ringing the bell when transporting the body was to tell passers-by that they were the people who transported the body.
People think that the person who carries the body is unlucky, so they will take the initiative to avoid it. Don't be afraid even if the corpse carrier meets a robber on the road, because the robber also thinks this thing is unlucky and won't rob the corpse carrier in Xiangxi.
Because corpses are usually transported far away, the hotels where corpse drivers rest are different from normal hotels. In street parlance, these shops are called ghost shops. And because all their customers move at night, they only open at night.
Different from ordinary hotels, Ghost shop? There are two shelves behind the door. The shelf is used to put the bodies, and the corpse driver rests in another bed in the room.
However, it was later discovered that the corpse driver was unlucky, and no one wanted to get close to such a feature. They began to pretend to dare to eat people, doing some illegal businesses, such as selling arms and drugs, and even some grave robbers dressed as corpse drivers.
After the founding of New China, there were still some corpse drivers. However, with the continuous development of society, the living space of corpse drivers is getting smaller and smaller, and there is no need for inheritance. Therefore, the corpse driver has disappeared in the long river of history.