Jurong, Maoshan.
Maoshan is at the junction of Jurong and Jintan, and belongs to the former in terms of administrative division. It is said that in the Western Han Dynasty, there were three Mao brothers who collected medicine and made alchemy here, saved the people and helped the world, and established Taoism.
Later, when he arrived in Qiliang, Tao Hongjing, the master of the Shangqing School, lived in seclusion in Maoshan again, recruited many disciples, and formally established the school. Because of reverence for the sages, the three brothers of the Mao family are respected as the ancestors.
When Maoshan was in its heyday, there were as many as 257 temples, but by the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were only three palaces and five temples left. The three palaces are Chongxi Wanshou Palace, Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace, and Yuanfu Wanning Palace; the five temples are Deyou Temple, Renyou Temple, Yuchen Temple, Baiyun Temple and Qianyuan Temple.
Later, the Japanese ghost war broke out, coupled with the flood of humanity, almost all of them were burned. Until the 1980s, the government allocated funds to restore Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace and Yuanfu Wanning Palace, collectively known as Maoshan Taoist Temple, which belonged to the righteous school.
There is another Kun Dao Temple, named Qianyuan Temple, which belongs to the Quanzhen Longmen School.
It is said that at the northern foot of this mountain, there is a small town called Maoshan Town. The town is 10 kilometers long from north to south and 5 kilometers wide from east to west. It has a very small area and a population of just over 30,000.
In the early morning of this day, many people were still sound asleep, but the gate of Zheng's family, a well-known wealthy family in the town, was wide open and noisy, with many vehicles parked at the gate.
"Chen Daochang, I have to trouble you this time, please take care."
"Be polite, everything should be done."
While talking, I saw a Taoist priest come out of the room surrounded by several people, and a middle-aged man accompanied the good words, and stuffed a thick red envelope in the past.
The Taoist took it, skillfully covered it with his sleeve, and then disappeared, and then took out a paper bag, and said: "This is the time I calculated, you follow my instructions, and you will be fine tonight." But let me put my ugly words before it. It is not a good omen for the deceased to die before the Hungry Ghost Festival. You'd better do another ritual ceremony to eliminate the disaster."
"Definitely, we can trust you!"
"The poor man will take his leave first!"
Several people sent the Taoist priest away, wiped their bodies and went back to the house, and hurriedly dressed and put on mourning. It's not a very formal filial piety, just wear a belt on the head or around the waist, and the clothes are plain.
After that, dozens of people crowded into the room, and a short and small boy was pushed to the front. He was seven or eight years old at most, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a little dazed, and a round porcelain altar in his arms.
"..."
For a while, everyone held their breath, and the middle-aged man whispered: "Happy, what I taught you yesterday, just follow it."
"oh!"
The young man nodded, raised the porcelain altar above his head, and muttered in his mouth: "Grandpa, since you are gone, don't think about it anymore... Your children and grandchildren will pay homage to you, and you will also keep your children and grandchildren safe, healthy, and prosperous."
When the words fell, he used all his strength and fell hard.
"Snapped!"
The porcelain altar hit the concrete surface, and it was instantly torn apart, shattering all over the floor at the door. Immediately afterwards, a woman brought a bowl of boiled sugar water and said, "Happy, drink this up."
The young man swallowed it in one breath, and everyone went out one after another, getting into their cars.
The middle-aged man is Zheng Cheng, and the boy is his youngest son, Zheng Kaixin. A few days ago, the grandpa with the highest seniority in the family passed away, and he is currently organizing the funeral.
As the saying goes: Five miles are different customs, three miles change the rules, not to mention the difference between the north and the south
For example, in the north, on the evening of the sixth day, it is necessary to "shangwang", that is, to burn some paper money at the door of the house, arrange some food offerings, gather relatives and friends, the host will babble, and sprinkle some paper ashes beside the chimney.
Because according to the northern saying, the deceased did not know that he was dead in the first six days, you have to tell him on the sixth day: Ah, you have died, hurry up and go!
Then, the soul of the deceased escapes down the chimney.
But in the south, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, it seems that there is no custom of Shangwang. Only on the first seven mornings, the children throw the altar at the door and drink a bowl of sugar water, which means peace.
Of course, in the past it was necessary to suspend the spirit for seven days, but now it doesn't work, usually it will be cremated within three days.
After a few words, the convoy arrived at the funeral home, and a group of people were busy offering sacrifices again.
Zheng Kaixin didn't understand, if he asked to burn paper, he would burn paper, if he asked to kowtow, he would kowtow... Although the child didn't cry, he was actually quite sad. At this age, he already had the concept of "death".
Grandpa is very good to himself, but he will never see him again.
…
In the funeral tradition of the Xia Kingdom, the first seven is probably the most important day.
It is generally believed that the spirit of the deceased will return home on the seventh day, and the family will have to prepare a meal, after which they must withdraw. If the spirit sees the family members, it will make them worry about each other, and they will not be at peace.
Maoshan Town is next to Maoshan, and has been influenced by generations, so it is naturally more important than other places.
In the blink of an eye, it was evening, Zheng residence.
Distant relatives and neighbors have dispersed, leaving the most immediate group of people sitting in the living room. Zheng Cheng took out the paper bag, opened it carefully, and pulled out a piece of yellow paper with a few words written on it:
It's the second quarter of the hour.
This is the time for the resurrection of the dead.
"Haishi is from nine o'clock to eleven o'clock, right? When is the second quarter?" Zheng Cheng was a little distressed.
"Don't worry about it, just count it as two hours."
The grandma was more relaxed, hugged the little grandson and told her: "Happy, remember! Don't come out for a while, just stay in bed!"
"Hmm, I won't come out!" the child said.
"Okay, let's get ready." Grandma said.
Immediately, a group of people started to get busy.
According to the order of the priest, first arrange the incense, candles, wine and food, then spread a layer of plant ash, take a bamboo pole, and put a sticker money every foot, and stand on the steps of the door—it is said that ghosts will enter the house when they see the bamboo pole. .
Afterwards, boil an egg, put it in an earthen pot and put it in the corner of the room, to bribe the God of Calamity (commonly known as the God of Chicken Feet), so that the ghost can stay for a while. At the same time, you have to prepare a string of firecrackers, and throw them into the house after Haishi, and you can only go in after the explosion.
After it was done, grandma asked a group of people to go back to the house and they were absolutely not allowed to come out.
To be honest, they didn't know if what the Taoist said was true or not, and they didn't know whether there were ghosts in this world. They only know that it has been passed down from generation to generation, just like Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Spring Festival, it has become deeply ingrained in the local people.
The Zheng family's yard is very large, on the second floor, grandma, uncle's family, aunt's family, eldest son and daughter-in-law, and Zheng Cheng and his wife brought Zheng Kaixin.
The child curled up on the bed, sandwiched between the parents, excited and curious, asked: "Mom, will grandpa come back?"
"Don't ask nonsense, go to bed quickly!"
"But I can't sleep."
"Then squint!"
Zheng Ma's attitude was very vague. She answered yes, but she didn't quite believe it; she answered no, and she was not very sure. While patting the child, she asked, "Hey, what time is it?"
"Eight fifty."
Zheng's father was playing with his mobile phone, so he didn't care about it. His father died for seven days, and the period of grief has passed. Now it's time to follow the procedure. His wife paid more attention to him than him, and said: "Turn off the lights, it's time for Mom to tell you, stop playing."
"Oh, shut up, shut up!"
He had no choice but to put down his phone and ask his wife to turn off the lights.
In an instant, the courtyard was pitch black and eerily quiet. The people in each house didn't know what they were doing, and there was no sound at all. Zheng Ma hugged her son, guessing in her heart, it should be nine o'clock, right
She listened nervously, but nothing happened.
After a while, she thought again, it should be nine fifteen, right
"Hoo..."
"Crunch... crunch..."
This time there was movement, but it was the son's slight snoring, and the boring sound of her husband turning over.
In this way, the three of them lay down for a long time, except for the occasional dog barking from the neighbor's house, and the passing vehicles outside, there was no abnormality. She couldn't help being funny, it really was a superstition!
"Well… "
After lying down for another quarter of an hour, Zheng Kaixin suddenly moved his body, woke up and said, "Mom, I want to pee."
"Be patient."
"oh!"
"..."
"Mom, I can't hold back anymore, I'm about to urinate!" He squeezed his piss in various ways, a small one, pointed and hard in his underwear.
"Then go!" Dad Zheng said impatiently.
"It's not over yet!" The wife refused.
"What's the matter, go, don't wet the bed!"
Husband didn't care, Zheng Ma thought about it, and she seemed to be fine, so she said, "Go, come back after using the toilet."
"Um!"
Zheng Kaixin jumped out of bed, pulled his shoes and ran out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. After swaying happily, he walked back.
When he walked to the aisle, he took a glance with his bladder in a strange way: the aisle leads to the living room, the living room leads to the door, and the door leads to the yard... This straight line is dark.
The food and wine have not been touched at all, the ashes of plants and trees are intact, and the earthen pots in the corner of the house are also neatly placed.
He shook his head and fled back to the bedroom. Physiological problems were solved, with parents guarding the left and right, the child felt warm and stable, and soon fell asleep again.
…
"Well, why is it so bright?"
After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Zheng Kaixin grunted suddenly, only to feel a light shining in front of his eyes. At the same time, the body becomes light and soft, as if soaked in water, being pushed up by the buoyancy force little by little.
This state is very strange, he doesn't even know whether he is dreaming or waking up, opening or closing his eyes.
In a daze, I saw that the light gradually dimmed, and a black figure appeared instead. The figure was getting closer and closer, his face was clear, it was his grandfather.
"..."
Zheng Kaixin wanted to yell, and he did, but he didn't make any sound. And grandpa walked up to him with a kind face, but he didn't speak.
Grandpa paused for a moment, then stretched out his hand, as if stroking his grandson's head, then turned and disappeared.
"Happy! Happy, what's wrong with you?"
"Happy, don't scare mom... woo woo..."
Just talking about the Zheng family's house, it's a mess right now!
Zheng Kaixin fell asleep, and suddenly yelled and waved his hands, and then turned into crying, and kept saying: "Turn on the light! Turn on the light!"
Mom and Dad were startled, shaking and shaking, but they couldn't wake up. Grandma and the others were alarmed and ran downstairs in a panic. All kinds of noises were in a mess for a while.
"Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights!"
"Happy... woo... happy..."
Zheng's mother also cried, and Zheng's father was so anxious that he kicked the wall. Only the grandma was stunned, and suddenly scolded fiercely: "Damn old man, what are you doing touching the child if you have nothing to do! What are you doing touching the child if you have nothing to do!"
"Mom, you said Dad is back?"
When Mama Zheng heard this, she suddenly raised her head and stared straight at her mother-in-law, extremely intimidating. Grandma stifled, and quickly comforted: "No, I'm talking nonsense! Don't worry, the child is hysterical, and he will be fine in a while, and he will be fine in a while!"
In this way, everyone was at a loss, some said to send to the hospital, some said to find the Taoist priest, and some said to boil sugar water. In the end, even the neighbors ran over, but it was a pity that they were useless.
Fortunately, after about five minutes, Zheng Kaixin gradually stopped crying and regained consciousness. It looked like nothing had changed, except that her eyes were swollen like peaches, and she said in a daze, "Mom, what's wrong with me?"
"Woooo... It's okay, it's fine!"
Zheng's mother didn't care about explaining, she hugged her son and cried again.
…
"Ah! I won't go in, I won't go in!"
Zheng Kaixin scrambled and ran out of the house. Her mother chased after her and said angrily, "What are you doing? Come in with me."
"I won't go in! Someone died there, I won't go in!"
The child hugged the iron gate, his face turned pale, and his body trembled tremblingly.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
The mother's face turned pale, and she raised her hand to slap her across the face, cursing, "What do you know, you little bastard? You didn't look at anything!"
"It's true, it's really dead, mom, mom..." The child was already crying.
Zheng Ma wanted to scold again, but she saw her cousin pull out, leaning against the door frame and said, "Oh, I said I'm happy, I'm always nice to you, right? Why are you cursing us?"
"It's nothing, sister, the kids are just playing around!" She quickly explained.
"Just kidding? Hmph, that kid was touched by the old man, and we all know about it. Maybe, he opened some kind of yin and yang eyes, tsk tsk, I can't afford such a capable nephew, so let's not come here in the future... Bang !"
The cousin closed the door.
"..."
Zheng Ma pursed her lips, took the child's hand, and led him home step by step.
It was noon, and lunch had just been prepared at home. When grandma saw them coming back, she reluctantly greeted them, and they all went to the dining room to eat.
During the whole process, the atmosphere in the family was heavy, and no one said a word. Zheng Kaixin was even more depressed, almost buried his head in the bowl, not daring to look at his relatives.
After the first seven days, he became strange. Everywhere I go, I either say that someone has died, or that it is unlucky, or I will go crazy and yell... Who cares
In just a few days, half of Maoshan Town spread, saying that the boy from the Zheng family was touched by a ghost and went crazy.
This is how people are, in the face of strong pressure, sometimes it is easy to let go of family ties.
"I discussed it with my mother, and I will send happiness up the mountain tomorrow."
Zheng's father was chewing his rice, and said something out of the blue.
"Send it up the mountain? What do you mean?" Zheng Ma was taken aback.
"I have communicated with Daoist Chen. He said that the child's yin energy has entered his body, and staying at home for a long time is not good for ordinary people. He is very interested in taking him as an apprentice, and he can just give some melons and fruits every year as a filial piety."
"Zheng Cheng! Do you still have a conscience?"
Zheng Ma turned the page immediately, and said, "That's your own son! Are you willing to send him to become a monk?"
"Don't quarrel with me, he is so crazy, what can we do? Even if we don't dislike him, what will we do when he grows up? Go to school, fall in love, find a job, get married, who will fancy him? Instead, It's better to let the Taoist priest discipline and discipline, maybe it will be fine."
"you!"
Zheng Ma's eyes turned red, and she turned to grandma, "Mom, is this what you mean?"
"The Taoist priest on the mountain has powerful mana, so he has a better solution than us. After healed, we will bring it back, isn't it the same?" Grandma said.
"well… "
Mama Zheng seemed to be crying, but she held back, half-smirking: "Happy is my son, whatever he becomes is my son! You don't want him, I want him!"