Egyptian book of the dead (translated into English) refers to the tomb documents of ancient Egypt, which were excavated by archaeologists in pyramids or other tomb sites and their contents were verified. It dates from the New Kingdom period (about 1550 BC) to about 50 BC. If the Egyptian original name of the tomb literature is translated literally, it is called "the book to the future" or "the book to the light", and its function is to be buried with the dead, so as to help them tide over the difficulties in the underworld and get eternal life smoothly.
The book of death was written by an ancient Egyptian priest. In the early days, it was painted on tomb walls, coffins or utensils, not on papyrus. The history of ancient Egypt lasted from 3200 BC to 343 BC when Persia conquered Egypt. * * * experienced the pre-dynasty (before 3050 BC), the early dynasty (3050-2686 BC), the ancient kingdom (2686-2 BC181year) and the first middle period (21-2 BC/kloc-0) The second middle period (BC 1690- 1549), the new kingdom (BC 1549- 1069), the third middle period (BC 1069-653) and the post-dynasty (BC) Among them, the oldest book of death can be traced back to the early dynasty in 3000 BC. There was only one kind of paper herb in the new kingdom period, which became more popular in the third middle period, and gradually had a standard format and similar content, but there was no fixed version. Contemporary ancient Egyptian scholars believe that there is no authoritative version of the book of death, because some tomb owners will ask priests to write the book of death themselves, so there are many different manuscripts in the existing paper book of death, some of which are accompanied by illustrations depicting the dead and their afterlife journey in addition to words. The latest record used in the book of the dead is BC 1 century. It was not until Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire that it was seen in Egyptian funeral etiquette.
From the Book of Death, we can see that the ancient Egyptians gave a very clear answer to the eternal mystery of what to do after death. The ancient Egyptians believed that in order to preserve the body by mummifying after death, the vitality "stuck" in the grave must be provided with food and incense, while the soul "Ba" left the body (the shape of the human head and the bird's body), and after many difficulties and tests, the dog god "Anubis" (a fierce dog with an upright dog head or sharp ears) guarded the underworld. Come to Osiris, the Lord of the underworld, and conduct a "successful trial", that is, put the heart at one end of a scale and the feather of Matt, the goddess representing justice and justice, at the other end. If the balance is maintained, the dead will be judged as good people; If Libra falls to one end of the feather, it is judged as a villain. If a good man passes the test, he can take a solar boat to the road of resurrection and live a beautiful life in the afterlife like this life; The heart of the wicked who failed the trial will be taken out and swallowed up by the monster "amit", and the deceased will not enter the afterlife. Amit's shape is the head of a crocodile, the upper body of a lion and the lower body of a hippo, which combines the three fiercest animals in Africa.
The most important part of the book of the dead is a spell about how to deal with the difficulties in the afterlife. There are 192 groups of documents recorded in various versions, including the names and characteristics of the gods in the underworld, the methods of preserving their bodies and souls, how to protect themselves in the face of evil forces, and the guidance of passing various tests in the underworld. The two most famous spells are responses to "satisfactory trials". Its content is to remind the dead that they must swear that they have not committed any of the 42 crimes before being tried in front of Osiris, and then they will be tried with satisfaction. In fact, if Libra falls to one end of the feather, there are still spells that can be excused; But if the result remains the same, it will be judged as a villain. There is no essential difference between the crimes listed in the book of death and the moral precepts of traditional religions. Including: don't do evil to people, don't abuse livestock, don't commit crimes in sacred areas, don't spy on ugly things that you shouldn't know, don't disrespect God, don't kill and order people to kill, don't slander slaves, don't make anyone suffer, don't cut down on food in the temple, don't damage cakes sacrificed to God, don't steal sacrifices from the dead, don't sexually abuse children, and don't take milk from babies' mouths.
At present, the most popular version of the book of death is probably written by the official history "Ani" (about 1250 BC), and the "satisfactory trial" in the book is presented in quite detailed pictures and texts. Before the dead Yani and his wife came to Osiris, Yani's heart was placed on Libra, compared with the feathers on the wings of the goddess of justice Matt. In the painting, Anubis is adjusting the accuracy of the balance. Thoth, the god of crane head wisdom, holds an ink pen and a pottery plate to record the measurement results. The ape squatting on the pillar of Libra is also Thoth's incarnation. Facing Anubis, our "Ka" stood, while our "Ba" stood, watching the whole ceremony from a distance as the head bird. On the left is the Yani couple anxiously watching the ceremony, with a jury of 12 gods at the top of the picture; In the lower left corner of the picture is amit, a crouching monster.
The Book of Death reflects the ancient Egyptians' views on life and death, religion and morality. However, due to its long history, ancient Egyptian scholars have many disputes about how to correctly interpret it. Taking the negative expression of "don't ……" as the declaration of moral precepts is of course the same form of expressing moral statutes in the ancient religious traditions of the East and the West. The Ten Commandments of Judaism and the Five Commandments of Buddhism are similar examples. Postmortem judgment is also the same element of world religions, but the ancient Egyptian religion is older, retaining a simpler way of presenting religious morality and laws, and the punishment for violating morality is more vivid, but it also contains the characteristics of witchcraft religion, that is, bribing or pleading with gods through sacrifices and spells can be exempted from punishment, and there is still room for compromise and operation behind strict moral laws. If the book of death is combined with the huge funerary objects and mummies found in the pyramids, the ancient Egyptians have a contradictory complex of caution, fear and expectation about death.
The ancient Egyptian dynasty, which lasted for more than 3000 years, ended with the conquest of Alexander the Great (332 BC). Since then, Egyptian history has entered the period of Greek and Roman rule, and religious culture has been gradually influenced by foreign conquerors, Greek and Roman polytheism and Christianity. In the 7th century, people from the * * * Peninsula were introduced into the * * * religion, which completely changed the belief culture of the Egyptians. So far, most Egyptians believe in * * * religion, and a few Christians and Jews are scattered among them, while polytheism in ancient Egypt only leaves towering and spectacular pyramids and temples for people to mourn. It was not until the Europeans invaded Egypt in the19th century that the ancient polytheism, which had long been forgotten by the world, was rediscovered. But apart from the value of historical archaeology and sightseeing, the fantastic religious world presented in the book of death has nothing to do with modern Egyptians!