Why did the ancients take off their shoes when they jumped into the river to commit suicide?

There is such a description in Peacock Flying Southeast: I took off my silk shoes and lifted myself to the pool. Lift up your skirt before jumping into the river, then take off your silk shoes and jump into the river. So why did you take off your shoes when you jumped into the river in ancient times? We can also see these plots in some costume TV dramas. Where did these suicide scenes come from?

First of all, it should be mentioned here that jumping into the river and taking off your shoes in ancient times has its historical basis. For example, in the Spring and Autumn Period, when Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, he left his shoes on the shore. Many people don't believe that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river. But later, someone found Qu Yuan's shoes by the river, and witnesses came forward and said that they saw Qu Yuan take off his shoes, so they thought Qu Yuan committed suicide. Look at the Han Dynasty. Just like the peacock flying southeast, Liu Ye took off his shoes before jumping into the river, and was later identified as suicide. Why?

The reason is that the pool is shallow. If witnesses saw her jump into the river, they would definitely save her, but there were no witnesses, only these shoes. So Liu committed suicide and died. In the Tang Dynasty, there was the same story. Wu Meiniang and Defei walked together, and Defei took off his shoes and jumped to death. Wu Meiniang took her shoes back to court, and everyone else believed that Defarge committed suicide. It can be seen that she still has a sense of history, at least at that time, it was very convincing. Then, someone here asks, why do they take off their shoes when they jump into the river? What is this for? Next, let's take a closer look!

First of all, jumping into the river and taking off your shoes is an act of "knowing your ambition when you die". For the diver, he wanted to tell his relatives and friends that he committed suicide. Not homicide. This can not only show my ambition, but also tell my parents and elders that there is no need to report a missing person. I committed suicide, which is equivalent to leaving a suicide note for my family.

Secondly, shoes were considered as a divination tool in ancient times, because the invention of copper coins was relatively late at that time, and shell divination was more popular but no longer used, so compared with these, shoes were portable and more convenient for divination. Divers will take off their shoes before jumping into the river and use the front and back of the shoes to indicate good or bad luck. Divination will not die out until it gets its own "satisfactory" result.

Third, there were strict requirements for death in ancient times. People who die accidentally (such as killing others or throwing themselves into the river) are not respected, and even can't enter the ancestral temple. This shows how serious this punishment is. On the contrary, those who commit suicide "with clear death ambition" will get more respect and recognition, which will be considered as a more noble act. So the diver left his shoes on the shore to prove to others that he committed suicide, not homicide.

Finally, there is a legend about diving: It is said that if people drown in the river, they will be possessed by water ghosts. Taking off their shoes and committing suicide is equivalent to setting a moral benchmark for themselves. After entering the water, it will not be possessed by water ghosts, and it has the priority to choose reincarnation because of its noble behavior. At the same time, this kind of suicide behavior not only stayed in ancient times, but also existed in modern Japan. Investigators will use whether there are shoes on the shore as the basis for suicide or homicide, which is very useful for them to solve the case.

These are the reasons for jumping into the river and taking off your shoes. No matter what you jump into the river for, I hope everyone will cherish life!