Is it a rumor or a fact to drive a corpse in Xiangxi?

The theory of corpse driving in Xiangxi is also called wandering souls, walking shadows and walking corpses. It belongs to the Maoshan You Zhu family and originated in Yuanling, Luxi, Chenxi and Xupu counties in western Hunan. Because most of these areas belong to mountainous areas, it is difficult for vehicles to pass, so there is an industry of corpse removal. Generally, when the corpse is not corrupt, the warlock will rush back to his hometown for burial.

A corpse is usually covered with a large black shroud, a tall felt hat on its head, and some yellow paper with spells on it on its forehead, which covers its face. In front of these bodies covered with black shroud, there was a corpse driver with a gong in his hand. The corpse-driver beat the little Yin Gong in his hand and led the group of corpses forward. He usually shouts, "Dust to dust, dirt to dirt, life is so hard. Zombies, zombies, come with me and go back to your hometown. "

Instead of lighting lanterns, the corpse driver shook the mastermind clock in his hand, telling Nightcrawler to avoid it and informing the dog owners to lock them up. If there are more than two bodies, the corpse driver will string them one by one with straw ropes, one every seven or eight feet. There is also a saying that the corpse driver can drive the corpse because he can continue to walk at night like ordinary people, but he can't talk and think. He can obediently follow the instructions of the corpse driver by applying a seed medicine to the nose and mouth of the Yin people's body.

There has been a corpse-driving industry in Xiangxi since ancient times. Learning this industry requires two conditions: courage and good health. Moreover, we must learn from our teachers. Medics never take apprentices in disorder. The apprentice is written by the parents first, and then the corpse driver must interview. Generally speaking, you must be 16 years old and 1.7 meters tall. At the same time, there is a very special condition that you should be ugly. The corpse driver first shows the examinee the sun in the sky, then rotates, and then suddenly stops, so that you can distinguish between east, west, north and south at once. If you can't tell the difference, you can't be hired. Because you can't tell the east, west, north and south at this time, it means that you can't tell the direction at night and can't drive the car. Then, the corpse driver wants you to find something and carry the burden. Because the body is not alive after all, you can't climb steep slopes. The corpsman had to carry on the high slope one by one. Finally, there is an interview, that is, the corpse driver put a tung leaf on the grave in the deep mountain for you to retrieve alone in the dark. Only in this way can you show that you have the courage to be a competent corpse driver. After Sandao Pass, you will have the possibility to be an apprentice to the corpse driver.

And the corpse driver must learn 36 skills to drive the corpse. The first kind of merit is that the dead body "makes contributions", that is, the dead body should stand up first. The second work is "walking work", even if the corpse stops walking freely, the third work is "turning work", that is, the corpse can turn when walking. In addition, there are "downhill workers", "bridge workers" and "dumb dog workers". The "dumb dog skill" can make the dogs along the way stop barking when they see the body. Because dead bodies are afraid of dogs barking, when dogs bark, dead bodies will be frightened, especially when dogs bite, and dead bodies have no resistance. The body will be bitten to pieces. The last kind of work is "rejuvenation work". The better the rejuvenation work, the more souls there will be, and it is especially easy to catch up with the dead body.

Medics are usually at home, just like ordinary farmers, "work at sunrise and rest at sunset." Only when they received the task of driving the corpse, did they dress themselves up and drive the corpse. Although they are engaged in the industry of corpse driving, they are afraid of the term corpse driving. So insiders asked them to drive away the body and said, "Master, please take a walk" or "take a walk". If the corpse owner agrees, he will take out a special piece of yellow paper and ask you to write down the name, date of birth, date of death, gender, etc. of the deceased on this yellow paper, then draw a symbol, stick it on this yellow paper, and finally hide this yellow paper on yourself. The corpse driver's dress is also very special: no matter what the weather is like, he has to wear a pair of straw sandals, a green cloth, a black belt around his waist, a blue cloth cap on his head and a bag of symbols hidden in his pocket. The first thing Master taught his disciples was to draw symbols. This strange symbol is to draw something that looks like words and pictures on yellow paper with red ink. In case of an emergency on the way, he would hang this strange symbol on a tree or a door, and sometimes he would burn ashes and boil water to swallow it.

There is also a saying in western Hunan that "three open, three not open". Those who are beheaded (their heads must be sewn together), hanged and put to death in cages can be driven away. The reason is that they are all forced to die, and they are not convinced. They miss their hometown and their loved ones. They can hook their souls with spells, put them in their bodies with spells, and then use spells to drive them to climb mountains and mountains, or even board a boat and return to their hometown.

Those who died of illness, those who voluntarily hanged themselves in the river, and those who were mutilated by thunder and fire could not be driven away. Among them, those who died of illness have enjoyed their prime of life, and their souls have been hooked to Yan Luowang by ghosts. Spells naturally cannot call back their souls from the gate of hell; The soul of the man who threw himself into the river was "replaced" (that is, the double body was caught) and they may be handing over. If a new soul is introduced and the old soul is irreplaceable, won't it affect the reincarnation of the old soul? In "Ghost Punishment", in fact, Yan Luowang is very disgusted with those who deliberately commit suicide without cherishing their own lives. Even if he didn't do evil when he was born, he generally didn't want to agree to let them be reincarnated immediately, but he couldn't be reincarnated until someone with the same suicide experience came. This may be a long process, so some ghosts who commit suicide will make some unscrupulous people lose their minds and commit suicide! It's the ghost who borrowed salt to find body double earlier.

In addition, people who die from thunder are sinful people, and those who die from fire are often incomplete and cannot be driven away. In fact, this is understandable. According to tantric theory, there are two kinds of people who have no Yin (the transitional period of death). One is a good man whose soul goes to heaven immediately, and he is included in the immortal class. The other is a bad guy whose soul has fallen into eighteen layers of hell, suffered a lot and never got out again. Most people who die suddenly are evil in their previous lives, so there is nothing the performer can do.