Was there really a corpse driver in ancient China? Is the body real or not?

CCTV 10 program "Approaching Science" recently broadcast "The Walking Dead", which unveiled the mystery of "driving a corpse" in Xiangxi.

Moderator: Today I'm going to tell you an almost incredible thing. 1950, Xiangxi was just liberated and the society was mixed. Two PLA soldiers in plain clothes were sent by the army to the local police station to assist in the work. In this mission, they met a strange thing.

As it was getting late, two PLA soldiers stepped up their pace. Several mysterious pedestrians came face to face. Strange to see these people walking in front of me. Their strange costumes and movements aroused the vigilance of PLA soldiers. Xiangxi area in the early days of liberation was extremely complicated, and all kinds of forces were carrying out their own conspiracy activities. These people are mysterious and suspicious. Do they have any ulterior motives?

The PLA soldiers quietly followed the mysterious pedestrians. Everything seemed so strange and horrible that sweat oozed from the hands of two PLA soldiers. Two PLA soldiers followed a mysterious pedestrian to a hotel.

Although the two PLA soldiers suspected that the mysterious pedestrian was ill-informed, the situation was unknown and they dared not take action rashly. After discussing with each other, the two PLA soldiers decided not to startle them for the time being, first reported the case to the police station, and then killed a comeback.

Two PLA soldiers sneaked back to the hotel. The hotel was quiet and the shopkeeper dozed off at the counter.

Under the questioning of two PLA soldiers, the shopkeeper explained what he knew in detail without much effort. It turned out that this group of mysterious pedestrians turned out to be corpse drivers! Walking in front is the corpse driver. And that's the body in the back!

Moderator: By asking the store, two PLA soldiers learned that they had met a group of corpse-driving teams. So is there really such a thing as driving a corpse in the world? Our reporter interviewed an old man locally. She said she saw the body being driven away with her own eyes.

Wu: When I was seven or eight years old, there were many bandits. My family moved to Baiyangling, Fenghuang County. I heard that someone walked home after death, so I ran to see it. I was very scared. I saw the dead man come back, dressed in white, wearing a hat and his hands drooping. When he got home, the corpse driver took off his hat and he fell down. His family bathed him.

Put on new clothes, put them in a coffin and bury him. People who die outside will become ghosts, but when they come back for burial, they will become good ghosts. I saw the victim then. He was pale and emaciated, and he didn't rot at all.

The store's words made two PLA soldiers suspicious. Xiangxi has just been liberated, and all kinds of black forces fish in troubled waters and commit crimes rampant. These people are acting strangely. Are they really chasing the body? Isn't such a mysterious and horrible career an excellent cover for criminal activities? Two PLA soldiers decided to go after it!

Two PLA soldiers began to closely monitor the rooms where mysterious pedestrians stayed. Nothing happened all night, and everything was horribly quiet.

The PLA soldiers suddenly woke up and it was already dawn. The shopkeeper told them: the mysterious pedestrian left early in the morning! Two PLA soldiers asked for directions and went out to the west, running all the way. The well-trained PLA soldiers marched all the way and finally caught up with the mysterious pedestrian who escaped.

After tracking for a day, two PLA soldiers were hungry, thirsty and exhausted. To their surprise, the mysterious pedestrian in front didn't eat or drink for a day. Tired and hungry, the PLA soldiers asked for a room after a full meal, just opposite the mysterious pedestrian.

The sudden visit of the shopkeeper in the middle of the night surprised the PLA soldiers who were already a little suspicious.

After a false alarm, the PLA soldiers let the shopkeeper into the store, and the shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. Two soldiers casually asked the mysterious tenant opposite.

The shopkeeper immediately approached two PLA soldiers mysteriously and chatted cheerfully. From the mouth of the store, it turned out that he also decided that this was a corpse team.

Moderator: Two PLA soldiers followed for another day and got the same information as the first day. Did the two battle-hardened PLA soldiers misjudge?

In Xiangxi, there has been an industry of corpse removal since ancient times, but when and who created this industry? It is said that this is closely related to Taoism. Taoist magic is metaphysics in Taoism, which is divided into magic and divination, and originated from Jiugong algorithm.

Wu Shuguang, deputy editor-in-chief of A General History of Miao Nationality in Jishou University, Hunan Province: We should look at Taoist magic in this way, because witchcraft originated very early, and it can be said that magical magic is greatly influenced by witchcraft, from "witchcraft" to "morality". Our Taoism, witchcraft and Taoism are very close. Sometimes we see many stories and sayings in witchcraft. Some people think that witchcraft has learned something from Taoism. This statement is the other way around. In fact, Taoism has learned a lot from witchcraft. If we must distinguish between the two, it should be like this, because witchcraft and Taoism both originated in the south and are centered on the territory of Chu. If there were many things in Zhuangzi, there were records at that time. Then the witch culture has been passed down and naturally inherited what ancient Zhuangzi knew. So now that we have read Zhuangzi's book,

After learning some stories about Zhuangzi, I found many important points when I went to see the witch. We believe that whoever inherits culture should inherit Tao from witches, not from witches, because witches have not been sinicized in their development. I take the Miao nationality as an example, so I won't say anything else. There is a lot of witchcraft in other people's homes.

In the guest room, the eloquent shopkeeper is still talking. It is said that to engage in the industry of corpse-drivers, one must have two conditions: one is courage, and the other is good health.

Zhang Shunxin, Propaganda Department of Fenghuang County, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province: There are three conditions for corpse drivers. Not everyone can be engaged in the profession of corpse driving. First, this person who can drive a corpse needs special courage, so what can be done to test whether courage is big or small? For example, after a person dies, he is buried on that mountain, and an object is placed on this grave. In the evening, in the early hours of the morning, Master asked his disciples to go to the cemetery to get this thing back. As we all know, most timid people are definitely afraid to go. This is the first condition and one of them. Second, the corpse driver is healthy, because the corpse driver asks for one night. Walking at least 50 kilometers, a person has to carry something. If you walk more than 50 kilometers a night, this is a standard, so it is not affordable for ordinary people. He didn't go alone, he had to take something with him. The third condition is that the corpse driver is ugly, which means that a very handsome person can't. I want to find some ugly images that make people look terrible, so these are the three requirements of the profession and practitioners.

Wu: The medic has no offspring, no brothers and sisters. I know a medic. He is the only one in his family. After he recognized this road without descendants, it was clever and smooth to do such a thing, so many people didn't want to take this road, otherwise everyone might be corpser.

Two PLA soldiers were puzzled by the store and had a strong curiosity about the corpse. When did the occupation of corpse driver begin?

According to legend, thousands of years ago, Chiyou, the ancestor of Miao nationality, led troops to fight the Yellow Emperor tribe on the Yellow River until the corpses were everywhere and the blood flowed into the river. They had to retreat after the battle. After the soldiers carried all the wounded soldiers away, they looked at the bodies all over the ground. Chiyou said to the strategist around him, "We can't leave our brothers who died in battle. You can use some magic to get these good brothers back to their hometown. " So the strategist stood among the corpses on the ground, recited a spell, prayed to the gods and began to practice. After the strategist's practice, all the bodies lying on the ground immediately stood up and walked politely south with "Jeff" held high by Chiyou.

Wu Shuguang, deputy editor-in-chief of the General History of Miao Nationality in Jishou University, Hunan Province: After this era, the Miao nationality has a great process of advancing northward to the Central Plains. After the Central Plains arrived in the Yellow River Basin, the Yellow Emperor came from the west. There is another one in the south, Yan Di and Huangdi Chiyou, representing the three imperial tribes in the patriarchal era, which formed a relatively big struggle in the Central Plains. Chiyou was defeated in the ninth war. After the defeat, he retreated to the south and then returned to the two lakes basin. After Chiyou retreated to the south, after the defeat, the route he returned, and the soldier's body itself was preserved by a man named "Kuafu". Some of the people in charge of handling it said that it was his back, and some said that it was coming. In this case, it is possible to deduce what we are saying now.

Moderator: The research results of many experts and scholars show that the Miao nationality was the first nationality in China to invent weapons, criminal law and witchcraft. Among them, corpse driving, as a folk custom, is a part of witchcraft. Then, in the mysterious Xiangxi, why is there witchcraft of corpse-drivers? The realistic reasons have a lot to do with the geographical environment in western Hunan.

In the upper reaches of Yuanjiang River in western Hunan, the place is barren, and the poor often go to East Sichuan or East Guizhou to collect medicine or hunt for a living, and also do some small businesses. There are many mountains in those places, where miasma is very heavy, falciparum malaria is often prevalent, and the living environment is extremely bad. Except for the Miao people in western Hunan, foreigners seldom go. None of the people who died in those places were rich, and the traditional concept of transporting the bodies back to their hometowns for burial was deep. However, on the rugged mountain roads thousands or hundreds of miles away, it was difficult to transport them by vehicles or stretchers even if they had money, so someone created this strange economic way to transport the bodies back to their hometowns. And this strange custom is also popular in western Hunan.

Zhang Shunxin, Propaganda Department of Fenghuang County, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province: Xiangxi is a place where the Central Plains culture and the southwest witch culture meet, and the two cultures meet here, resulting in a Chu witch culture. So we say that people in this place are blind dates with God, and people here believe in both God and witchcraft, so witchcraft is a typical cultural symbol here. For example, if a person can't understand a thing, he will use some witchcraft methods to resolve it.

After seeing off the shopkeeper, the two PLA soldiers were even more puzzled: how did the corpse driver drive the corpse? They decided to follow up the problem.

Last night, the store owner's horror rendering made two PLA soldiers have a lingering fear. They dare not get too close and follow mysterious pedestrians far away.

Another day of tracking, still nothing happened. The innkeeper sent food, tea and a urinal to the mysterious pedestrian. It is said that the corpse driver should guard the dead from going to the toilet at night.

But will the dead really be driven away by the living? This key problem makes two PLA soldiers still doubt that this mysterious group of pedestrians is not a kind person. They may be illegal activities of criminal gangs. With such a creepy team, everyone you meet will scramble to avoid and cover up their illegal activities.

Two PLA soldiers decided to take action tonight no matter what! After a few minutes, the door inside finally opened. Two PLA soldiers came in.

It's a corpse! The PLA soldiers began to question Gong Drummer, who walked in front, and the man confessed his name and the name of the deceased. Nothing suspicious? The PLA soldiers searched the house carefully again, but still found nothing unusual.

Moderator: Because of their professional sensitivity, the two PLA soldiers always suspected that the mysterious pedestrians they met were criminals. However, logically speaking, the use of the crime of corpse driving must be preceded by corpse driving and then criminal activities. It is the horrible effect of autopsy that makes criminals see the available ways. So, what is the real corpse driver? Can the body really walk on its own? Is the corpse driver really so good?

Wu: I saw with my own eyes that after the death of an old man, her family couldn't find her silver flowers and birds, so I asked the corpse driver to spray a mouthful of water on her. She stood up and sat down again. Without saying anything, she pointed to the place where the silver ornaments were hidden, and the family found her silver ornaments.

Ma Facheng: After finding the soul of the deceased, please ask the corpse driver to bring it back. I can still be with my family for two years. Can't talk, can't eat, can't move, and will die in two years. My family died early, so I took this road when I was very young. My father never drove a corpse. But once, he brought back a person's shadow. It was the soul of the deceased who came back and shook it and left. My father died early, and I learned all other kung fu, except this one.

After the PLA soldiers returned to the guest room, they began to wonder: Can the dead really walk? Can you walk this far? What is the explanation for all this?

Suddenly, the PLA soldier had an epiphany. He remembered a detail he saw during rounds: Can the dead still eat the chopsticks he just used? Two PLA soldiers immediately rushed to the window of the mysterious pedestrian to observe secretly.

As the night deepened, there was a lot of snoring. There was no sound in the room where the corpse driver lived, not even the sound of sleeping. At dawn, two PLA soldiers quickly followed. The search last night gave them great courage.

The PLA soldiers saw the face of the man who knocked on Gong in front, and there was another detail that made him more vigilant! This is the face of a young man. And last night it was a man in his forties!

Two PLA soldiers took out pistols and escorted the mysterious pedestrian to the police station. What's the secret of driving a corpse?

Zhang Shunxin: After death, it is impossible for a corpse to walk. It has no life. No matter how powerful this witchcraft is, he may have used some special Miao medicine to keep fresh and prevent decay. I think it's entirely possible. This can be proved by modern medicine. This kind of antiseptic Miao medicine can be carried out, but it is impossible for a real zombie to stand up and walk after being enchanted by the corpse driver.

The PLA soldiers took the mysterious pedestrian to the police station and began interrogation.

Zhang Shunxin: At night, you saw a zombie walking. It's so exciting. In fact, through some research, I feel that there are actually two situations in this corpse drive. The first situation is that people die somewhere else.

The time of death is not long, it may be a day or a morning, and the distance is very close. The corpse driver will come at once, and when he arrives, he will carry the body back.

After the trial, the PLA soldiers were convinced that the mysterious pedestrians were the corpse squad! So, will the corpse driver really drive the body away?

Zhang Shunxin: In the second case, there are many corpse drivers, and all of them have gone. Then remove the head, hands and feet of this person's body, tie a delicate scarecrow with straw, or wrap it with local palm bark. After the package was wrapped, all the bodies were disposed of on the spot. After coming back, one of the most important things is an organ. When you come back, when the body comes in, put it on the sign in the morgue. During this time, all the family members should avoid and not watch. I think it is an organ.

So the corpse driver will wash it when he comes back, right? Why don't you get dressed? Think about it after putting on makeup. As soon as this dress is put on, I'll take this hand away from here, away from here. When you take off your clothes here, then your hands are there, your feet are there, your head is there, you put on makeup and lie there, but you can't see it here. What about people in his industry? He must have a way. If it's a woman, it's bigger here, because a mature person is bigger, so he will be fatter, because he will know the body, waist circumference, bust and ass before driving, right? He will measure these three dimensions.

Moderator: The two PLA soldiers finally uncovered the secret of "driving the corpse" they saw. It turns out that the so-called corpse removal is actually just a cover-up. Walking in front with lanterns is the corpse driver. Later, his apprentice put the rotting corpse on his back and put it in his clothes together. Because of the long journey, the corpse driver and the apprentice took turns to carry it. So the PLA soldiers saw two corpse drivers. But then we will ask another question, how can we keep our body from rotting after a long journey?

Wu Shuguang: They must have mastered the medicine that is neither rotten nor hard. They still mastered it, such as adding a certain amount of cinnabar, especially mercury, or fumigation with mercury, which will be toxic to the whole body. In this case, its anti-corrosion level will be more perfect, and it will become a protective film that can be transported here. As for some people, they leave their heads, hands and feet, put a straw bag in it, or hollow out their internal organs. In any case, its head and feet should be preserved. If it is not preserved, it will rot after a long time. I think the process of transportation is secondary, and the difficulty lies in preservation.

Corpsers accept the business of corpsers in different seasons, usually in autumn and winter, because corpses tend to stink and rot in other seasons. But even in autumn and winter, the body will rot after a long journey. What strange magic does the corpse driver have to keep the corpse from rotting?

Ou Quanfu: People do not rot after death. I heard it from my grandfather a long time ago. I haven't done it either. I fumigated with herbs, put people in a steaming bucket, and put anti-inflammatory and bactericidal herbs on it. After fumigation, the body will not rot for a long time.

Wu Shuguang: I don't know how Dr. Miao dehydrated the corpse as a corpse driver. But we see many phenomena that can be dehydrated. Bacon, for example, must be dehydrated. If you don't dehydrate, you can't add salt

It uses salt and pepper to pickle meat. 1987, one of my grandfathers died, and so did my master. After his death, according to birthdates' calculation, he had to wait 15 before he could go up the mountain, which happened to be a hot day. What should I do? Later, I invited many of his disciples to do it. After that, I stayed there for nine days. On the ninth day, I saw that the brothers and sisters often changed his quilt and brought him some water. Moreover, the old man is getting drier and drier. He won't swell like ordinary people after he dies. He is not swollen.

Moderator: It turns out that the so-called mysterious corpse driver is just a China who died in a foreign land and wanted to find his roots. His family hired the corpse driver to transport his body back to his hometown. However, the witchcraft tradition of Miao nationality in western Hunan adds a mysterious and strange color to it out of thin air.