Why did Zhuge Liang put seven grains of rice in his mouth after his death?

People in the Han Dynasty have paid great attention to the form of funeral, paying attention to the deceased as a person, and the extravagant style of gold and jade clothes has emerged between princes and princes. It is recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty that after death, family members must give him a bath and change clothes, and put the deceased in a coffin with rice in his mouth. This "meal", as the name implies, is to let the deceased take food on the road. However, rice doesn't have to be in your mouth, and some royalty will use jade pearls instead to show their dignity. Sometimes, the emperor gave Zhu Yu as food to his ministers, which was a great honor, because only nobles could use jade at that time.

After Zhuge Liang's death, seven grains of rice were not recorded in the official history, but in the romance of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, Zhuge Liang could not borrow his life. In order to make the Shu army get away with it, he told Yang Yi before he died that he could not send out mourning for the time being after his death, and soldiers were not allowed to send out mourning. Instead, he made a big niche where Zhuge Liang could sit.

Zhuge Liang did this to ensure that his general star would not fall. In the consciousness of the ancients, emperors and generals all had corresponding astrolabes. Star watchers can spy on the fate of the corresponding people through the state displayed by the stars. When this person's Star Light is dim, this person may be seriously ill; When the star fell, it was obvious that the man had passed away. Sima Yi is a master of astrology. Zhuge Liang was afraid that the stars would fall after his death. Sima yi can see the flaw, so he must find a way to temporarily keep his star position still. So Zhuge Liang used seven grains of rice in his mouth and a lamp at his feet to control his general star to confuse Sima Yi.

Why seven grains of rice? Zhuge Liang was proficient in Taoism before his death. The number 7 is very important in Taoist magic. Seven days is a cycle of the moon. The familiar Big Dipper is also a very important constellation in astrology. In addition, people in China believe that the first seven souls will return after death. Luo Guanzhong used this number to make Zhuge Liang more mysterious. Rice is the common sense of the ancients to ward off evil spirits. The ancients believed that rice was the essence of grain, influenced by the aura of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and the moon. It is also said that Zhuge Liang ordered people to put rice in his mouth, which means that he can still eat and live. In this mysterious way, the light of the general was extended so that Zhuge Liang's death would not be revealed. Zhuge Liang really devoted himself to Shu.

In fact, it is not the first time that Zhuge Liang manipulated his own fuses iconic to confuse Sima Yi. On one occasion, Sima Yi was observing the celestial phenomena when his face suddenly lit up. It turned out that he saw a red meteor falling from the east and just landed in the Shu camp. Sima Yi thought Zhuge Liang was dead and was very happy. But he calmed down and felt something was wrong, and concluded that Zhuge Liang was luring Sima Yi to send troops.