Why is Yinjiang County, Tongren, Guizhou buried in a red coffin?

I come from Tongren, Guizhou. According to friends in Yinjiang, there is a story circulating here. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, there was a family named Cao in the south (formerly known as Yinjiang County). My family is poor, and I have a son who is diligent and smart. He went to Beijing to take the palace exam, and he was a top student in high school. He was awarded the honor of the emperor and invited to a banquet in Wende Hall. The emperor asked about the family of champion Cao. The champion was in a good mood and wrote a poem casually:' A thousand people make friends in the daytime, and all the lights are on at night; A thousand horses return to their nests; The sky is high and bright and turns to dry Kun; The wind sweeps the floor and shoulders the sun and the moon; Eighty people carry water and seventy people cook; Three salt boats went into the river, and one didn't come back. When Wu heard about it, he was all secretly shocked. The banquet was scattered in the temple, and the two of them successively wished: "Cao Xiucai is outstanding in literary talent, with a grand family business, many military forces and full wings. Besides, he is very clever. If his dynasty succeeds, all forces will return to his heart, and it will be a piece of cake to seize the position in the DPRK. Is it not an endless disaster? You should stand up! "The emperor has this idea, don't have to make a' deceives your confusion, evil plot' decree, launched the meridian gate to cut it. When the top scholar Cao was beheaded, the emperor was afraid that "Cao Jiajun" would arise, secretly ordered the Ministry of War, and ordered the Kingsguard to order 60,000 elite soldiers to fight. He also sent an imperial envoy to visit Jones and came to the home of Cao Zhuangyuan. Cao's family lives halfway up the mountain, and sometimes there are clouds. The place name is half cloudy and far away, plowing and weeding. Home thatch, two broken houses, silk thatch roof, four-walled reed poles. Under the eaves in front of the door, ants are swarming and bustling, moving and foraging between nests. Just when I was suspicious, an old man in rags walked out of Chai Men and looked at the house. The wall was empty and the skylight was missing. An old woman is sitting in front of the inner kitchen, working blankly with a forehand grinder. I still don't believe what the imperial envoys saw. I'll ask the local police later. Is there something wrong? A: Sure! Ah, it's strange to be so poor! Try to talk to the old man: An imperial envoy asked, "How old is the old man? "The old man replied," Space is eighty years old. " An imperial envoy asked, "How old is this old woman? "The old man replied," More than seventy. An imperial envoy asked, "What is uncle's job?" "The old man replied," The old woman is blind and is in grinding bean curd. I sell tofu in the morning and evening to make a living. " An imperial envoy asked, "Do you have a salt boat at home? "The old man replied," Sir, how can there be a salt boat? "However, there are three ducks. If one of them doesn't go home to lay eggs, it's not enough to change salt, but also to mix water. " After hearing this, the imperial envoy pondered for a long time, secretly sad, and sighed: It's a pity that Cao is the top scholar, but I am full of articles and die a fair death! Therefore, the imperial envoys already know the truth. I set out to report back to the emperor: "A thousand people hold hands during the day, and ten thousand lamps are lit at night, and ten thousand reproaches are settled. Ten thousand horses return to their nests. Yingmen is the half slope of their home. During the day, farmers near and far can be seen weeding. At night, the grass on the roof is sparse, and the sun and the moon are dotted. There are thousands of reeds on the wall, ants in groups under the eaves, and ten thousand horses return to their nests for food; The sky hangs bright and turns to dry Kun, and the wind sweeps the head and shoulders. Its mother is unknown. Turning the mill to dry Kun is grinding bean curd, and his father sells tofu in spite of the wind and rain. In the morning and evening, the sun and the moon are reflected in his bucket, which means shouldering the sun and the moon. Eighty people carry water and seventy people cook. This is because my father carries water and my mother cooks. Three boats go into the river, and one does not return to the water, which means that the eggs laid by its three ducks are just enough to change salt at home, or they will be irrigated. " The emperor suddenly realized that he had cut down the pillar by mistake and felt remorse! Afraid of the boiling of public resentment, he specially sent a coffin to Zhu Honghuang, the top scholar of Cao, chased him to show his nobility, collected his body and reburied him. At the same time, Qin gave his parents a certain amount of gold and silver, and ordered the local government to provide for them all the year round. Until his death a hundred years later, he still made red coffins for the funerals and funerals of the nobles. The ceremony and burial process includes grasping letters, mourning, offering sacrifices in the hall, mountain burial (clearing coffins, sealing coffins, orienting, burying and covering the earth), and chanting to heaven. In order to remember the future, the adults who gave Qin a gift of Siqiong (Yinjiang) all enjoyed the red coffin burial to mourn Cao Zhuangyuan after their death, and their funeral ceremony continued from then on.

I live in Yinjiang County. There is a legend here that to be the first, a student named Cao won the top prize in high school. The emperor asked him about his family background, and he said, "The sky is high and the clouds are light, and the dry Kun turns, and the wind sweeps the building, shouldering the sun and the moon." The emperor was shocked. This is a great treason. He ordered people to kill Cao's first prize on the spot. Afterwards, the emperor felt something was wrong and ordered people to find the truth. I just learned that Cao Zhuangyuan said that his family lives on a hillside, with his parents, and wears the moon day and night. Fortunately, he worked hard and returned to the court to present the emperor. The emperor also regretted it, but what he had done was irreparable, so he ordered that the champion Cao be buried in a red coffin and that the Cao family be buried in a red coffin after their death. Later, the Yinjiang people followed the example of the Cao family and buried them with red coffins after their death. Over time, this

In fact, from the beginning of the imperial examination in Sui Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty, although we Yinjiang people were officials in the imperial court, for example, the inscription of the Summer Palace was that Yinjiang people were strict, and they were successful educators and calligraphers in that dynasty, but no one ever won the top prize. So why do Yinjiang people make up such beautiful lies? This is related to the unique natural conditions of the Yinjiang River.

Yinjiang River is located at 32 degrees north latitude, and Fan Jing, a 5A scenic spot, is located in Yinjiang River, which is very suitable for people's health. Yinjiang is not only the famous hometown of calligraphy in China, but also the hometown of longevity, with many centenarians. In our Tujia people's view, people's longevity is given by heaven, so they have awe of nature. When people die, they should be buried in peace, but they should also be integrated with nature. Using a red coffin is to treat this sad thing as a happy event, so that the souls of the deceased are closely linked to the land where they were born and raised. This is not only the custom of Tujia people in Yinjiang, but also the custom of 7 million Tujia people in China.

In China's history and culture, red coffins are actually exquisite and can be enjoyed in imperial power, but they are rare among the people. Red represents auspiciousness and happiness, so red coffins represent longevity coffins, which can only be enjoyed by people who are old and very old, usually over 80 years old and died of illness. In fact, I also know that red coffins can be enjoyed.

As we all know, there are several colors of coffins, the most common ones are red and black, and most people use black coffins. The coffin that died of old age is black with red head, that is, both ends of the coffin are red, and other places are black, which represents the sadness of the deceased's death. Red represents the death of the deceased at an advanced age, and some places are all black, representing a sad atmosphere.

Primary color coffins are colorless and are generally used by minors and unmarried young people. Generally speaking, these people died abnormally at an abnormal age. It is unlucky for a white-haired man to send a black-haired man. Therefore, the careless burial with wooden coffins can not be carried out in the traditional way of old people's death, but in the way of abnormal death.

Now let's talk about the unique red coffin burial in some areas of Guizhou Province. In fact, this burial method in Guizhou is also related to tradition. This one originated in the Tang Dynasty and was written by a local scholar named Cao. After the scholar in high school, the emperor gave a banquet to celebrate. After three rounds of drinking, the emperor casually gave the scholar a question, and Cao Shusheng answered it perfectly without thinking. Only in this way can people around the emperor feel pressure.

Worried that he would be replaced by the top scholar in the future, he advised the emperor that he was too smart and capable, and he might become a future trouble of rebellion in the future. The emperor himself felt that the champion was too powerful and talented, and worried that he would not be able to control him in the future, so he accused him and pulled him out and beheaded him directly, but the emperor did not inquire about the champion's family, and people around him made up a profound statement about the champion's family.

The emperor thought that after killing the champion, the people in the champion's family would rise up and rebel, so he made preparations in advance and sent a man to his hometown in Guizhou to inquire about the news. Who knows, when he came, he found that the champion's family was poor, and only his parents made a living by farming, and he didn't know that his child had been killed. He also expects his children to serve the court in a prominent way. The informant told the emperor about this situation, and the emperor regretted it and killed a useful person himself.

So in order to make up for his mistake, he buried the killed champion with a royal funeral, and after Cao's parents died, he buried the champion's parents with a royal funeral and a red coffin funeral. This red coffin funeral was handed down like this. In fact, it is not only to commemorate this event, but the most important thing is that it has far-reaching influence, and it has entrusted every old man with a long life. Every family can cultivate people like Cao Zhuangyuan.

Respect local customs

There is a Summer Palace in Beijing, and these three words have a lot to do with this red coffin. You can see the origin of these three words.

It should be shiny, after all, I have to sleep in it for a long time. I'm from Yinjiang.