We can often find some funeral customs of ancient people in many archaeological studies. These have different customs in different periods. And just recently, in an ancient tomb from the Northern Song Dynasty, it was discovered that There is a "Crossing the Immortal Bridge". This name may still sound unfamiliar. Many people don't know what the "Crossing the Immortal Bridge" is or what it means. So let's learn about it together today. What is its purpose and why does it appear in ancient tombs? What is the relationship between this immortal bridge and the owner of the tomb? Let’s take a look. 1. Why did the ancient tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty discover the Immortal Bridge?
According to China News Service, it was learned from the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology that archaeologists discovered the Yangtze River in Nanfentang Village, Batang Town, Ningxiang City, Hunan Province. During the rescue excavation of the Jiawan ancient tombs, an Eastern Han Dynasty tomb and a Northern Song Dynasty couple's tomb were discovered. Among them, the tomb of couples buried together in the Northern Song Dynasty has a more special "Xianxian Bridge".
In Yangjiawan, Nanfentang Village, Batang Town, Ningxiang City, Hunan Province, archaeologists are excavating a tomb of a couple buried together in the Song Dynasty. There is a small window between the two tomb chambers, commonly known as "Crossing the Immortal Bridge" , expressing the ancient people’s good wish to renew their marriage in the next life.
"Crossing the Immortal Bridge" is the product of the ancient concept of "things die as things live". The couple were together when they were alive, and they will be together when they die. There is a hole in the middle, imagining that two loving souls can lie in it and chat. In ancient times, "Crossing the Immortal Bridge" entrusted the blessing of rekindling the marriage after the death of the couple. 2. The story of folk funeral customs of crossing the Fairy Bridge
The people who followed the monks across the Fairy Bridge were all men. The female descendants always knelt on the other side of the Fairy Bridge during the entire process of crossing the Fairy Bridge. The conjecture about the Immortal Bridge may be related to the Chinese Taoist concept that the Naihe Bridge is the only place where ghosts must pass through after going through the journey of the Ten Halls of Yama before preparing to be reincarnated. However, it is not known why it is not done by Taoist priests but by monks chanting sutras. Or maybe this It's just a custom.
It is said that the old-fashioned Immortal Bridge was built very skillfully in the past. It seems that it should be built with the Eight Immortals table and stools. If so, it would be more laborious for the monks and relatives and friends of the deceased who followed the Immortal Bridge. of. The current Xianqiao looks like a steel frame structure, which is made up of a number of steel pipes to form a bridge shape. There are exactly twenty steps, and wooden boards of the same length are laid on each step as the bridge deck. It looks like a bridge. Piles and bridge decks are all available. It's just that the entire bridge is quite narrow, and people walking on it can't help but feel a swaying feeling. The bridge is also quite high, so it may be a bit intimidating for people who are afraid of heights. This may be to highlight the difficulty of crossing the Fairy Bridge.
Before starting, you should put a few paper lanterns under the bridge and two pots of food on the top of the bridge (the specific meaning is not clear) knew). At the front of the team were several monks wearing monk robes, one played the flute, another played the erhu, and another held a small flag (with some awkward words written on it), followed by: The eldest son (carrying a sacred altar), the eldest grandson (carrying rain boots), the second son (carrying a blue baggage, I don’t know what’s inside it), and so on, all the descendants and nephews. As the leading monk recited the Buddha's name loudly, the process of crossing the Immortal Bridge began. Every time after passing about two steps, the monks would stop and chant sutras, and the voice was quite melodious, accompanied by the sound of flute and erhu The sound and the harmony of the chimes and cymbals nearby. The scriptures are probably similar to the Great Compassion Mantra. At this time, the men behind will stop and wait solemnly, waiting for a verse to be read, and then the whole team will take two steps forward. When they reach the top of the Immortal Bridge, the monks will spread the prepared bowls of food to the surrounding spectators. People started to grab these food. It is said that eating these things will bring good luck and good luck. After walking the entire twenty steps, you will reach the other side of the Immortal Bridge, and then you have to start back from the other side and walk back again. The process of going back again is roughly the same as the previous one. During the whole process, the female descendants always had to kneel on one side. They just moved to the other side of the fairy bridge and knelt in a different position when turning back.
After crossing the Immortal Bridge twice, the monks will bow and bow. I guess it may be for the undead.
After this process is over, there is another interesting thing. I heard people say it is called "crossing the formation - bumping into the monk". That is, the monks lead the descendants who follow the Immortal Bridge to shuttle between the bridge and the bridge piles. During this process, the descendants have to try to bump into the monks with their bodies. It is said that the more bumps they have, the more blessings they will accumulate. many. 3. What is the meaning of "Crossing the Immortal Bridge"?
"Crossing the Immortal Bridge" appeared in the tombs of different caves in the Western Han Dynasty. There is a passage or earth hole dug between the two tombs, which means that the tomb owner and his wife can continue to communicate in the underworld. This phenomenon can be regarded as a product of the transition from different caves to the same cave. However, after the tombs were buried in the same cave, some tombs still retained this setting, and it lasted for thousands of years until the Song Dynasty.
Although it has a beautiful meaning, there are not many tombs with "crossing the fairy bridge" for couples to be buried together. The excavation of the Yangjiawan ancient tombs has provided important archaeological data for the study of the history, folk customs, and burial customs of the southern region during the Northern Song Dynasty.
In addition to "crossing the fairy bridge", the ancients also had a custom of breaking mirrors, which originated from the idiom "breaking mirrors to reunite". The so-called mirror-breaking custom is to divide a complete bronze mirror into two halves and bury them in two tombs of the husband and wife respectively. This has been revealed as early as the Neolithic Age.
In the 1950s, archaeologists excavated ancient tombs in the Shaogou area of ??Luoyang, Henan. In a tomb where a couple was buried in the same grave but in different rooms, half a broken mirror was unearthed from the wooden coffins in the two tombs. Together, it was a complete mirror of the Four Gods. Since then, more have been unearthed in Huaining, Anhui, Chenjiadun Tang tombs in Yushan County, Jiangxi, and local Song tombs.
From archeology, scholars speculate that the bronze mirror should have been an item used by the couple during their lifetime. After the couple passed away, the living people consciously broke the artifact that they had used together during their lifetime and buried it in two separate places. In the tomb, its purpose is to communicate the connection between the deceased and convey the good wishes of the couple to continue being husband and wife in the afterlife.