What is a teacher of Yin and Yang?

Yin-yang teacher refers to a kind of person who knows some geomantic omen, Yin-yang gossip and five elements numerology. It evolved from Taoism in the early days, and calculated the birth and death of good and bad luck and so on. Most of them refer to feng shui masters, but in some places in Northeast China, professionals engaged in funeral etiquette are also called Yin and Yang masters.

origin

In ancient Maoshan Taoism, Yang, the founder of Shangqing School, and Ge Hong, an alchemist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, practiced here successively. In the tenth year of Southern Qi Yongming, Tao Hongjing, who had been an idle official in the imperial court for fourteen years, suddenly resigned. With the approval of Emperor Wu of Qi, he went to Maoshan to live in seclusion. He lives in Huayang Cave, Jintan and calls himself "Mr. Huayang Seclusion". The predecessor of Maoshan Sect is the Shangqing Sect of Taoism. Tao Hongjing inherited the Shangqing Classics handed down by Yang and others, and carefully compiled more than 200 volumes of Taoist classics, such as the True Patent, the Secret Method of Ascending Truth, and the Map of True Spirit, which specifically described the early teachings and magical powers of the Shangqing School, and made the Shangqing Classics develop. Later, after decades of painstaking efforts by him and his disciples, the teaching theory and organization gradually improved. Later generations took Maoshan as their ancestral home and gradually developed into the later "Maoshan School", which is also another name of Shangqing School with Maoshan as its development center. Since Tao Hongjing, Maoshan Sect has produced a large number of talented people, and its influence is expanding day by day. Maoshan School reached its peak in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and Wang, Pan, Sima and Li Hanguang of Maoshan School in the Tang Dynasty were all highly respected by the imperial clan in the Tang Dynasty. Maoshanzong mainly inherited the true sutra of Dadong in Qing Dynasty, and its practice methods were mainly meditation and chanting. And an alchemist. Master Tao Hongjing himself is an alchemist, and Liang Wudi once took his elixir. From Song Dynasty to Ming Dynasty, Maoshan School merged with other schools and ceased to exist. It is also said that most of Mr. Yin and those who catch ghosts and subdue demons are spells. . .

develop

Speaking of Yin and Yang teachers, most people living in modern society are very strange. After all, as a traditional industry, teachers of Yin and Yang have been dead for many years. Due to the limited and scattered handed down materials, it is difficult for us to have a comprehensive and detailed understanding of this industry. However, if we carefully sort out the relevant historical materials, we can still restore part of the truth of this traditional industry.

In traditional society and modern China, Mr. Yin and Yang are closely related to people's daily life, from high officials and dignitaries to ordinary people. There are many images of Mr. Yin and Yang in traditional and modern literary works such as Jin Ping Mei, The Scholars, A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Yu's Peking Man and Lao She's novel Liu Jia Courtyard. Written in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the book "Clearing Banknotes" is especially true for Yin and Yang teachers in old Beijing.

According to the records, "If there is a funeral for Shi Jing's family, both men and women will ask Yin and Yang to make a list of books. This disaster list is also a voucher for the corpse to leave the city in the future. " (Tsui Hark: Paper Money and Funeral Etiquette in Qing Dynasty, Zhonghua Book Company, 1984 edition) Yin and Yang students, also known as Mr. Yin and Yang, commonly known as Mr. Feng Shui, generally refer to people engaged in funeral, housekeeping, astrology and other work. It is named because its works are related to the world of life and death (yin and yang). Generally speaking, the works of Yin and Yang Shi and the works of Kan Yujia partly overlap. Therefore, some scholars often confuse the two.

In fact, there are still some differences between the two. Relatively speaking, Yin and Yang teachers mainly preside over funeral ceremonies, especially writing disaster sheets. Feng shui experts often play the role of yin and yang while engaging in geographical feng shui investigation. In old Beijing, you will often see the sign of "Geomantic Yin and Yang Geography" hanging in front of Kamen Yu's house (Li Jiarui: Beiping Customs, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, copied by the Commercial Press 1937).

Generally speaking, there are several ways to engage in yin and yang occupations. One is the yin and yang family. Generations of people, old and young, are engaged in this industry, and naturally they have prestige in this industry. Of course, apprenticeship is also an important way. A famous teacher of Yin and Yang always has one or two apprentices around him, who will start their own business after finishing their studies. In addition, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the development of publishing and printing industry, the socialization of related knowledge has been further improved, and some Confucian scholars or people with a certain level of knowledge can engage in this industry by studying classics. It was also from this period that the composition of Yin and Yang teachers became increasingly complicated. As mentioned above, Mr. Yin Yang's core job is to write a "casualty list" for the bereaved. The name "the list of disasters" is attributed to the traditional life concept of China people. The ancients thought that strangers had three souls and seven spirits. After death, the soul disappears. Among them, these seven spirits are called "disasters" and "Sha Qi"). The process of seven souls leaving the human body one after another is called "detachment". "Disaster" has color, and it has height and direction without human body. Of course, most people don't know this. This requires the division of Yin and Yang to calculate, and the calculated result is written on a piece of yellow paper together with the name, gender, age, cause of death and taboo of the deceased. This is the "disaster list".

There are probably not many people who are clear about the technology and theory of writing a disaster list today. In the folk, The General Theory of Sanyuan compiled by Liu in Ming Dynasty is often studied by Yin and Yang students as an introductory book. Speaking of the General Theory of Sanyuan, it is actually a book that discusses people's residence, marriage and funeral. In the second volume of this book, Yuan Yuan Dinko, the knowledge related to writing a disaster list is recorded in detail. For example, regarding the time, direction and height of disasters, there are corresponding calculation procedures according to season, age, sex and animal sign. For people who want to engage in this industry, as long as they master the formula skillfully, they can generally cope with abundance. After the opening of the division of Yin and Yang, most of them have their own hall numbers. Although this industry is a bit creepy to outsiders, its hall number name is quite unique. According to Mr. Chun, a folklorist, in the early years of the Republic of China, the famous teachers' halls of Yin and Yang in Beijing were Yishantang in Tuer Hutong, Boshou Hutong in Xicheng Hengjie, Guilin Hutong in Yangfang Hutong and the Hutong in Shibei Hutong. The owner often prints his library number on a yellow note three inches long and two inches wide as a mark.

When someone comes to invite you, take this sign back and stick it at the entrance of the funeral home according to the sex of the deceased. When Yin and Yang teachers come to the door of the deceased, they can know the gender attribute of the deceased in advance according to the different brand positions (Ordinary Spring: Wedding and Funeral Customs in Old Beijing, Beijing Yanshan Publishing House, 1996 edition). Under normal circumstances, Mr. Yin and Yang usually go a few hours after the funeral. The intention of doing this, in the jargon of Yin and Yang, is to be afraid that the poisonous gas of the dead will not be exhausted. "In fact, I am worried that the deceased has not swallowed his last breath and brought bad luck to the other family. When Mr. Yin Yang arrives at the home of the deceased, he often salutes the deceased first, then examines the palm, head, face and limbs of the deceased, and looks at the prescription prescribed by the doctor, asking about the cause and time of death of the deceased, and finally writes a list of disasters based on this (see Confessions of Yin Dai Hongquan, Beijing Archives Collection: Case of Sending Yin Dai Hongquan to the Third District on the Right, file number: J65438+). In the eyes of modern people, I am afraid that this series of hermaphrodite behaviors will inevitably become superstitious and funny. However, in the eyes of the ancients, all this is self-evident. In the eyes of traditional people in China, the casualty list is the core of the whole funeral activity, and there is no room for any mistake. Because the casualty list not only determines a series of activities such as when the deceased is buried and when he is buried; More importantly, it is also related to the future of the whole family and the prosperity of future generations. If the living violates the list of disasters indicated by Yin and Yang at some point, they may face the danger of "heavy mourning" (death again). So old Beijingers believe in Yin and Yang.

In view of this, since the Qing Dynasty, the government began to entrust Yin and Yang students with spying on people's seclusion. Generally speaking, Yin and Yang students often refuse to write a casualty list and report it to the government if they find that the bodies are different before issuing a casualty list. However, relevant data show that the knowledge of forensic medicine born of yin and yang is often obtained by experience, which is inevitably too simple. In addition, it is difficult for the government to seriously implement the spirit of being responsible to the government and the deceased. Under the temptation of traditional ethics and money, Yin and Yang students sometimes turn a blind eye and perfunctory things. There are many such cases in the dusty archives of Beijing Archives. For example, Duan Qingxian, who was born in the family of Yin and Yang, wrote a list of disasters for Xu Shi, Jiang's dead wife who lived in the outer right fourth district, and found that Xu Shi committed suicide by taking poison. Seeing something strange, Duan Qingxian wanted to get away. Unexpectedly, ginger is both hard and soft. If he doesn't write a list of disasters, he won't leave Jiang Zhai. Finally, Duan Qing showed all kinds of helplessness and had to give in. Obviously, if this matter is not found by the police, it will go away. (Collection of Beijing Archives: The Case File of the Unknown Death of Jiang's Wife, Xu Shi, sent by the Division Table of the Right Four Districts Outside the Police Station, with the file number J181-0/9-41512). In the early years of the Republic of China, the Beiyang government stipulated that damaged written documents should be taken to the Health Bureau in exchange for burial permits. This shows that this list is tantamount to a "death diagnosis". According to the custom of old Beijing, most disaster reports should be taken to the cemetery for incineration after they are written. Therefore, it is difficult for people to see what the disaster list looks like. In the Beijing Archives, there are still several disaster sheets in the early years of the Republic of China. According to the materials, it can be roughly divided into two categories. One sheet is relatively simple to make, the size of the sheet is one foot square, the paper is rough, and the description of the brush is still clearly visible. There is also a more exquisite one with a cover and the words "book list". On the second to fourth pages of the disaster list, the responsibilities and precautions of Yin and Yang are clearly printed. At the end of the disaster list, there is also a disaster couplet, which is used to report the case to the police station in exchange for the burial permit. Obviously, the latter was issued by the Beiyang government during the Republic of China. By contrast, although the latter is exquisite and elegant, it is obviously higher than the former in terms of fees.

Although Mr. Yin Yang has considerable economic income, his social status is not high. On the one hand, it is related to China people's taboo on "death" and related things; On the other hand, it is also inseparable from the illegal behavior of Yin and Yang teachers who often spy on the privacy of ordinary people and take the opportunity to extort money. In old Beijing, Mr. Yin Yang is often called "dog Yin Yang", and his social image can be imagined. This ambivalence peculiar to China people is really interesting.

For a long time, in addition to serving the royal Yin-Yang students (also known as "astronomical students"), in the traditional folk, Mr. Yin-Yang's working status was almost completely spontaneous and decentralized, and the state did not have a strict supervision mechanism. However, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, especially after the founding of the Republic of China, with the gradual establishment of the police system throughout the country, the state's control over life-and-death related matters became more and more strict. At the same time, under the great influence of scientism, some advanced people attacked Mr. Yin Yinsheng on the grounds of "lack of scientific knowledge" and "Yin Yinsheng often lends a list of damages to bereaved families for extortion" and strongly appealed to the government to ban it. Yin-yang teacher, an industry that can be traced back to the Yin-yang family in the pre-Qin period, began to face the comprehensive norms of modern countries, and since then it has flourished and declined.

19 13 In September, the Beijing Municipal Government took the lead in issuing the Official Letter of the Health Department of Shi Jing Public Security Department on Banning the Rules of Yin and Yang Delivery and Midwives. The official letter stipulates that if Mr. Yang is employed, he must fill in his name, age, place of origin, address, apprentice, years of employment and the number of expenses, and report it to the alarm hall; The official letter also lists matters needing attention for Mr. Yin Yang's practice, stipulating that Mr. Yin Yang must pass the exam and obtain a business license; In his career, a teacher of Yin and Yang must never "support comrades, conceal favoritism" or "pay bribes to sell books". In case of sudden death (abnormal death), you must truthfully report to the police department. (Beijing Archives Collection: Official letter of the Health Department of Shi Jing Police Department on the prohibition of intersexuality and midwives, with the file number of J181018-00222) In addition, the police department took the list of bereaved families to the Health Bureau in exchange for an opportunity to improve the burial permit, and sent police officers to the deceased's home from time to time to check whether the death of the deceased was related to the disaster. It is in this process that the police station found many untrue situations. But whenever a similar situation is found, most police departments are "looking for money" and are good at it.

Crimes such as "opening a list" will ban yin and yang students. In the 1920s, the Beijing municipal government even banned new employees from starting businesses. As a result, fewer and fewer people engage in yin and yang.

1927, the government stipulated that the funeral list would no longer be used as the basis for obtaining funeral permits. In case of funeral, just hold a doctor's prescription and report the death directly to the Health Bureau. Since then, although the division of Yin and Yang is still employed, it is limited to dealing with folk customs and habits. By the 1930s, relevant statistics showed that there were not many people engaged in the Yin and Yang division in Peiping, and most of them were elderly people. Due to the limitation of materials, it is really difficult to accurately evaluate the number and distribution of Yin and Yang teachers in China in 1930s and 1940s. However, this situation in Peiping was a glimpse of the employment situation of Yin and Yang teachers in the whole country, at least in major cities.

If we say that compared with big cities, the Beiyang government and the National Government have relatively weak dominance over rural areas, so that the Yin-Yang division may still have some living space in rural areas, then after the founding of New China, the state and the government gradually promoted the new funeral civilization from top to bottom, from urban to rural areas, which triggered the last "position" in rural areas to be gradually lost by the Yin-Yang division. Of course, in recent years, some Feng Shui masters have been active in some towns and villages, but compared with the Yin and Yang masters in the traditional society, they are very different in their work contents and procedures.

With the passage of time, the teacher of Yin and Yang, an industry closely related to people's daily life in the past, has finally quietly withdrawn from the historical stage after experiencing earth-shaking social changes. At the same time, many related memories related to this industry, such as ripples on the river, are slowly disappearing in the cracks of history.