Coffins, commonly known as longevity wood, are also called "longevity wood" if they are prepared before death and used after death. The coffin is the final destination for people who strive for fame and fortune throughout their lives, so people often attach great importance to this object. As the saying goes in Beijing: "If you want to be strong all your life, a good house is enough." "House" is the common name for a coffin. Although no one wants to rest here, the coffin is always remembered. There are so many different grades of coffin materials. From the "Four Five Six Fat Stakeout" of dark wood and golden nan to the "dry willow dog meeting its head", although their shapes and qualities are different, their functions of pretending to be human are exactly the same. In the countryside, most people cut down trees and open up the boards to make a coffin after a person dies, so there is a saying that "it's fast, it's slow, it's six people, it's fast", because making a coffin in the countryside must be successful in one day. If seven people are doing it, the hands should be tighter. If eight people are doing it, it should be more relaxed. If six people are doing it, the hands will be in a hurry. All coffins in the city are made for sale. The coffin maker is commonly known as "Xianmu Xing", and there are endless mysteries in it. The common saying of "deceiving people and deceiving ghosts" is absolutely true. From a big point of view, selling it in a gloomy manner with a Chinese oak roof; from a small point of view, "hanging ghosts" and "pulling drawers"... are all activities that make the poor feel sorry for their parents. The coffin shop has another trick when buying tree wood. When calculating the quantity of wood, it must be said: "Small head, small face, four inches down." To calculate the wood square materials: take a section that is more than seven feet long and multiply it by the diameter of the small end of each section to get the number of materials. If the wood section is not perfectly round, calculate from the shortest distance and remove the bark. The large coffin is made of wood shipped from the south, including sunken wood, nanmu, fir, Jianchang flower board, etc. Locally produced materials include yellow cedar, red cedar, pine, river willow, dry willow, etc. In recent years, major tomb owners in the surrounding suburbs have been selling trees, and some coffin shops have taken the opportunity to make a fortune. There is no fixed price for wood, and the market price is only an estimate. A tree with more than one wood is expensive. If the diameter is three inches, it is not enough for one cent of wood, so it is only counted as nine centimeters of wood; if it is nine inches in diameter, it is eight and one centimeters of wood; if it is enough for one foot and one inch, it is counted as half of one wood; if it is enough for one foot and five inches, it is counted as one and half wood. The diameter is more than two inches, so the large coffin is covered with wood, but not a penny of wood is needed, so there is a rule of four inches. If there are only pine trunks in the tomb land, we have to wait for our children and grandchildren to sell it. The single-board coffin is the most expensive, with one cover and one bottom made of only four pieces of wood. A coffin made from a single yellow cypress tree costs at least three thousand yuan. In fact, most coffins are made of multiple pieces of wood, and the seams are glued with fish fat, so they will never crack. The methods of making coffins in Beijing can be roughly divided into three types. (1) Chinese materials. Commonly known as "manzicai", it has the thickest cover and a crescent-shaped head. The two sides are equally thick and the bottom is particularly thick. The ratio is "three, four, five" or "four, five, six". Those that are slightly larger than "345" but less than "456" are called "345 stake out". If it is greater than "456", it is called "456 stakeout". Gloomy or nanmu cannot be used by ordinary people. Beijingers like the fir tree, which is made up of thirteen branches, four on the top and three on the bottom. It is called "Thirteen-Yuan Fir". There are "whole flowers" and "half flowers". The one with the inner growth rings of the fir tree exposed at the front and back is called a whole flower, a large fir is split into two halves, and the one made of thirteen half-open fir trees is called a half flower. In fact, the flowers are all made by craftsmen using small pieces of wood. Otherwise, there would be no such obvious patterns on the growth rings of the fir trees. There is also "fat skin material", which is the semi-circular wood leftover from making large timber, which is glued together to form a coffin for people. There are three small holes called "pinholes" on the lid of the Chinese-made coffin. After the coffin is covered and covered, the cork is plugged in, but most of the coffin lid is left exposed. On the night of "accommodation", the plug is nailed in. It is called "distribution". After being sold, it remains a secret forever, and generally cannot be opened again. (2) Full of materials. Also known as "gourd material". The coffin side is straight down, and the coffin lid is flat and has two slopes. The gap covered by the cover is almost half of the coffin side. A wooden gourd shape is installed in front of the coffin lid, with the front tip pointed and the back flat, and the back flat is equal to the upper flat of the coffin lid, connected by lotus leaves. When the coffin is in the hall, the gourd stretches forward. When it is buried, it is either folded back onto the coffin lid or obtained by the pole puller. The thickness of the cover, bottom and side of the full material is the same, so it is only called three-inch material, three-inch five material... There are no "pinholes" in the coffin. The lid and sides of the coffin are stuck in the opening. There is a small empty slot at the front where the lid and sides meet. A small wooden board is installed inside, and iron nails are used to fasten the wooden board to the lid from the outside. If the iron nails are removed during the night, half of the board will fall into the groove, which is called "lower pin". It is impossible to lift the cover again.
Manchu and Han coffins all have lids, one is for tightness, and the other is for family members to put the lid on after the burial, and only then can outsiders put on the big lid. (3) Good materials. It is roughly the same style as Han material, except that it is thin and portable, making it easy to carry out of Beijing, so it is also called "Southern material". Although the rows are small in size, most of them are made of high-quality wood.