What are the requirements for becoming a qualified corpse-driver?
When the reporter asked this question, the legendary last corpse-driver Tian Tiewu smiled and replied calmly, there are at least two points that look like me, that is, he is brave and in good health.
In fact, there is a third point that is, if you look ugly,
If you look ugly, it will be difficult to get married, and it will be difficult to miss home and have offspring. Only by being peaceful and doing this job that everyone is taboo.
After hearing about the last corpse-driver in Xiangxi , the reporter took a lot of effort to find Tian Tiewu, who was hidden among the people.
However, today's era is already very advanced, and corpse-driven has long been useless. Therefore, Tian Tiewu has another identity on the surface, that is, , the leader of Zhijiang Wunuo's unique skills performance troupe, , who usually specializes in performing various unique skills in Xiangxi.
He can perform other unique skills, but he has never had the chance to perform the corpse-driven skill.
Why? Because driving corpses requires real corpses, but in today's civilization era, where did he get the corpses?
And since that's the case, how could he prove that he was the last corpse-driver?
Before was found a way to demonstrate , Tian Tiewu first told a story to the reporters, and many people in their local area knew about this story, which also established Tian Tiewu's last corpse-driver, which was the legendary corpse-driver story about his uncle.
- Source of driving corpses
It was in the summer of 1939, and Tian Tiewu's grandfather took Tian Qizhang and hundreds of soldiers from his hometown to Hubei to fight against the war. As a result, the war was particularly fierce, and more than 80 people died in one battle.
Before leaving, Tian Qizhang promised to take them all back, but it was not easy to transport dozens of corpses back to Xiangxi thousands of miles away. So Tian Qizhang found his eldest son, that is, Tian Yilin, the eldest uncle of Tian Tiewu.
That's right, Tian Yilin is a famous local corpse-driver. He brought several wizards to drive the bodies of dozens of fallen soldiers back to Xiangxi from Hubei. It was circulated in the local area for a while, and many elderly people knew about this.
And my uncle Tian Yilin is a master of Tian Tiewu.
It was under the influence of my uncle that Tian Tiewu had developed a strong interest in Xiangxi witchcraft since he was a child.
In fact, my uncle has never dared to teach him directly about the corpse-driven technique , but he accidentally played with him from the side and asked him if he was interested.
Seeing that Tian Tiewu was indeed very interested, my uncle finally taught him this unique skill, so Tian Tiewu accidentally mastered the final unique skill of this skill.
After he grew up, he realized that his learning is is actually a unique skill that has been passed down for thousands of years.
Every skill has a long mysterious culture, such as the corpse driving technique, and its origin can be traced back to the ancient times thousands of years ago.
According to legend, in ancient times, Miao produced a very amazing leader, that is Chiyou.
This person is the leader of a tribe in the south. He is said to be half human and half beastly and can fight wars.
In order to grab territory, he led his army to the Yellow River basin, and fought with Huangdi and Yandi .
It is in this battle that the corpse of the zombie was born unexpectedly.
It is said that the war was very accumulated at that time, and the sky was dark and the earth was dark, and the sun and the moon were gone. Chiyou's army eventually suffered heavy casualties and was defeated.
However, it is easy for living people to go back, but the dead bodies are difficult to take away. Chiyou couldn't bear to let his brothers bury them in a foreign land, so he told his wizard that these are our brothers, so he can't leave them alone. You see if you can do some tricks to bring them all back.
So the wizard stood in front of the corpses all over the ground, chanting a spell, praying to the gods to start doing things, and at this moment a magical scene happened. Just after the wizard prayed, all the corpses that were originally lying on the ground stood up all at once.
They followed Chiyou's high "tale" and returned to the south in a majestic and orderly manner. It was at this time that the corpse-hunting technique began to spread, and the best developed part was the Xiangxi region.
Due to the long history, no one can prove whether this is a legend or a history, but it is undeniable that The history of corpse driving in western Hunan is indeed very long, and corpse driving has a great relationship with the local environment and culture.
Xiangxi is located in a remote area with barren land. The people living here are often poor and difficult to make a living, so they can only go to Sichuan or Guizhou to make a living.
However, because they do not have any culture and skills, they have very limited things to do, such as collecting herbs and hunting, and they can only barely make a living.
At the same time, many places in Sichuan, Guizhou and other places were not developed earlier, and poisonous snakes and beasts often appear. Collecting herbs and hunting can actually be considered a high-risk industry, and you will lose your life if you are not careful.
But in the western Hunan region, it is particularly important to return the corpse to the hometown. No matter where you die, you must be transported back to your hometown for burial.
However, these people went to other places because their families were poor. Where can they have money to hire cars and people to transport bodies? At this time, driving the corpse seems economical and suitable.
2. The secret to corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corpse driving corp Is there really a magical magic in this world that allows corpses to walk on their own?
Judging from appearance and appearance, Tian Tiewu is indeed a burly and bold man, but no matter how the reporter asked, he never refused to demonstrate the magical corpse driving technique, and he said there was no way, and he really couldn't act.
However, in this case, won’t no one know the secret of the corpse-driven technique?
At this moment, Wu Jianhong, director of the Tourism Bureau of Zhijiang County, rushed over after hearing the sound. Under his persuasion, Tian Tiewu finally let go and promised to show everyone his skills and was willing to show off a corpse driving on the spot.
However, before the demonstration, there is another story to know.
That is a true story that happened in the 1950s in the last world, and it is also the only record that someone has seen the real corpse driving with his own eyes so far.
In early autumn in 1950, in the just-liberated Xiangxi area, two PLA soldiers put on makeup and put on plainclothes to reconnaise the security situation in the local area. As a result, on the way, they found a group of mysterious suspicious people.
I saw this group of people arranged in sequence, wearing hats and long robes, walking very strangely, and they seemed a little sneaky, but the people in front of them were ringing the gong from time to time, which made a lot of noise.
This is very strange. Are you trying to hide your eyes or make a big fuss? Is there anything shameful about it?
The two PLA soldiers were very vigilant and followed them quietly. They found that what they encountered was the team of Xiangxi wizards transporting corpses.
The one who walks in front and calls the gong to lead the way is the corpse-driver, and the ones who follow behind are all corpses.
These corpses were wearing white clothes and hats, jumping and jumping, and could follow the corpse-driver for a long time. If the two warriors had not been trained in many battles, they would have been exhausted and could not keep up with them.
But how could the corpse walk by itself? The two PLA soldiers were puzzled, so they boldly found the leader of the corpse-driver. After asking carefully, they understood the principle.
It turns out that this corpse driving usually requires at least two corpse driving maker, namely the master and the apprentice.
After gathering the corpses, the master will line up the corpses in order, pass them through their armpits with bamboo poles, then fix them with straw ropes, and cover them with a robe.
After completing these preparations, the master and apprentice lifted the bamboo pole one after another and started driving the corpse. It seemed that the corpse in the middle was like walking.
Because the bamboo pole passes through the armpits, the corpses look like they are holding hands flat. At the same time, because the bamboo pole is tough and elastic, the corpses sway up and down under the action of gravity. In the eyes of uninformed people, they are jumping forward and jumping.
It looks like this, it is very common to drive corpses. Isn’t the so-called corpse maker just two porters?
Is the fact that simple?
The answer is of course no. There are many difficult aspects to explain. For example, if the corpse is so heavy, how can two people just pick it up? And how do they keep the corpse from rotting?
The records at that time end here are completely over, but Wu Jianhong and Tian Tiewu answered these questions respectively.
Wu Jianhong analyzed that cinnabar is produced locally in Xiangxi, so the corpse-driver is likely to use cinnabar to treat the corpse with anti-corrosion.
There are also mostly Miao people in western Hunan. Some of the herbs they plant are also very magical. It is said that if you apply these herbs and smoke them, the corpse will die without rotting.
There is another detail, that is, corpse-drivers do not accept the business at all times. They usually go out to work in the autumn and winter seasons.
The reason is also very simple, it is that the weather is cold in autumn and winter, and the corpses are not prone to rot. In addition, some special Miao herbs, the corpses will die and not rot in a short period of time.
According to Tian Tiewu, his uncle's corpse-driver used herbs, but as for what herbs it was, this is a secret in the industry and he really cannot tell him.
But after saying so much, it is not enough to be true. After some preparation, Tian Tiewu finally agreed to give the reporters a live performance.
Of course, there is no corpse, so some members of the performance troupe can only be played by them.
3. Finally decrypt
3. In order to follow the master's legacy during his lifetime and keep the secrets of this industry, Tian Tiewu said that only part of the process can be reproduced.
, and corpses are usually carried out late at night, so Tian Tiewu deliberately chose the time at night, and the location was chosen in a small wood in the village.
After all the equipment was ready, Tian Tiewu came on stage with various tools.
The first necessary tool he took out for corpses was the talisman. What is this for?
Tian Tiewu's answer was shocking. It turns out that the biggest practical effect of this talisman besides the so-called exorcism, is actually to prevent the corpse from being bitten by flies and mosquitoes.
It turned out that the body and other parts were wrapped in advance, but the face could not be wrapped, so the corpse-driver came up with a way to cover it with a talisman.
On the one hand, the talisman can give people psychological calmness, and on the other hand, it can be used in practical use. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
Next, Tian Tiewu took out the second thing, a large black bamboo pole. What is this for?
The answer is also very simple, that is, it is used to lift the corpse, and it must be painted black so that ordinary people cannot see clearly in the dark. At the same time, it must also pass under the corpse's arms, so that the corpse will become a monster that raises hands and seems to be able to walk away by itself? What is the purpose of
?
Tian Tiewu also couldn't explain the principle, he only knew that this was a wonderful way to balance weight.
When the corpse is arranged on the bamboo pole at one time, the corpse-driver carries the corpse one after another. Due to the toughness of the bamboo pole and the treatment of the corpse, the corpse can form a special fluctuation, thereby reducing the weight to the greatest extent, causing corpse-driver to lift several or even dozens of corpses.
Of course, this requires the height of the corpse-driver. The corpse-driver must be tall, but not too tall, so that the corpse's feet can be off the ground, but not completely off the ground, so that the corpse's driving will proceed smoothly.
So, how many people are usually needed to drive corpses?
Tian Tiewu said that there are no clear regulations on this, but it is generally necessary for four people to meet the minimum standard. Among the four people, the one who walks in front is the lighter, also known as the guide . As the name suggests, he has to walk in the front and choose the most suitable road for the corpse to pass, and then light a light at a distance to guide the road for the team behind him.
As for the ones that follow are corpse inducer and corpse holder , that is, the ones who are responsible for carrying the corpse one after another, and the last person is used for rotation.
Such a few people can rotate with each other and keep going overnight, which can maximize the efficiency of chasing corpses.
Usually, a distance of one or two hundred miles can be completed in a few days, from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m., and walking thirty or forty kilometers in one night can be said to be very fast.
This is the whole process of driving the corpse.
In Tian Tiewu's narrative and performance, the mysterious veil of driving away the corpse is gradually unveiled.
However, the reporter still has two questions to ask. first. Tian Tiewu is the only one who drives the corpse craftsman now. If there is only one drive craftsman, can the corpse craftsman be carried out? How to do it?
Tian Tiewu was a little embarrassed about this, but he still gave the answer quickly.
He said that this situation is relatively rare, but it can be done if it really needs to be done, because there is another wild way to drive the corpse, that is, to remove the corpse from large pieces, except for the head and limbs, straw is used instead of everything else.
If the body is gone, the body will become much lighter.
However, driving corpses is to make the soul return to its hometown. Chinese people also pay attention to a perfection, and this kind of wild approach is rarely used.
Next, the reporter asked the second question: sometimes it lasts for several days and nights. How does the corpse-driver make the corpse not rot or even stiff?
This point was actually mentioned before, and Tian Tiewu also explained that it is to use a mysterious herb.
But this is the biggest secret in the corpse-driven industry, and even if he knows, it must not be circulated.
But speaking of this, the secret of driving the corpse has basically been revealed.
After all, it is just a life skill that people in the old era were forced into by the living environment.
When used to explain it with modern science, driving corpses seems to be able to explain the past.
Medically says that nervous system does not directly rely on blood supply, so after a person dies, even if the blood circulation stops immediately and the brain loses consciousness, spinal nerve center does not immediately lose function.
At this time, through some stimulation, such as herbs, elixirs or special sounds and movements, part of the functions of the spinal nerve center, such as balance ability, can be maintained for a long time.
The so-called driving corpse may be exploited.
Nowadays, in this era, the corpse driving has long lost its space for activity and can only be performed on the stage as a performance.
This is not a bad thing. It means that the poor era has gone forever. People's lives are getting richer and richer, and they no longer use this sad way to return to their hometown.
However, Lao Tian said that he would still pass on this technology to his apprentice.
He believes that this is not a feudal superstition, but a symbol of the times, a memory hidden in people's hearts.
Although the corpse-driven technique in western Hunan appeared due to the ancient traffic barriers and economic backwardness, it actually represents the beautiful wish of the people of western Hunan to return to their roots.
I once heard this saying: The ghost we are afraid of is actually people that others can never see even if they miss each other day and night.
No matter how terrifying and gloomy the corpse-driven technique is in the legend, its starting point always has a hint of Chinese warmth:
It is just a group of people who want to go home and people who send their souls back to their hometown.
