Li Fugui is certainly not in a hurry to die, he has not lived long enough, and in the past two years he has given birth to a new son, and feels that the whole person is much younger.
He was simply afraid that he would be burned by Li Tiezhu in the future. For an old-schooler like him, of course he wants to be buried in peace.
After entering the ground, he still has to bless the backstage of his children and grandchildren, can he be blessed if he is burned to ashes?
He doesn’t know, and he’s not willing to try.
WeChat friends forwarded the article said that people are conscious for a few hours after death, burning should be very painful.
After eating, Li Fugui took the oldest two and the oldest three to go around the mountain, and asked the two to help him identify cypress trees, which he wanted to buy to make coffins and do it himself.
The most abundant trees in the mountains are pine trees and cypress trees, but there are not many cypress trees that grow well.
As for Li Tiezhu’s side, they only had time to eat after everyone had finished eating.
Throwing a dam feast was an extremely hard work, hard for the main chef, and even harder for the helpers.
Because while the chef does the technical work, the helpers do all the physical work.
After dinner, they can’t rest, they have to clean up the table, wash the dishes and pots and pans, etc. After that, it’s already three o’clock, and then they have to start preparing the ingredients for the dinner.
After the busy dinner and clean up is already nine o’clock in the evening, this is not over, but also to prepare the next day’s steamed vegetables.
The good thing is, you don’t have to stay up all night today.
At eleven o’clock in the evening, Li Tiezhu and the artists returned to the old family “mansion”, and Li Fugui three brothers drank for a while.
In the yard of the house, there are three big cypress trees, Li Tiezhu understood as soon as he entered the house.
So, when Li Fugui said that he wanted to make a coffin, Li Tiezhu did not say anything else, Li Fugui grew up extremely favourite Li Tiezhu, now, Li Tiezhu is also the same to the old man tolerance.
Li Tiezhu ate peanuts and said, “I’ll go buy you some more nanmu! Nanmu cypress together.”
Li Fugui was overjoyed, “Then no cypress, pure nanmu, and these cypress for Lao Er to make a square (coffin).”
This person na ……
Li Fugui drank his wine and hitched a ride up the stairs, went to the attic and rummaged through the boxes, and finally found thumb-thick ropes, green steel wood lifting poles, and a wooden mortar and pestle.
Chen Chi Chi and others were dumbfounded, what is this stuff? Going to pick corn?
Nie Yao gave a thumbs up, “Big Brother Li is professional!”
Li Fugui tried the lifting pole and it was still sturdy, saying, “That’s for sure, otherwise, you guys think I just came back for a dry meal ah?”
Li Tiezhu also knew what Li Fugui was going to do, worried: “Your waist ……”
Li Fugui waved his hand: “These two years to raise a good, or else give birth to iron eggs?”
Auntie Liu, who was with her baby, said, “Bah!”
Li Fugui heatedly smiled, “Hey …… don’t worry! Tomorrow when carrying the coffin, I will occupy the light head, they bear the weight, I murmur, mainly is the leader shouting the horn. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do that! The head of the village, the old old, dead dead, young and do not understand, the old nine can only ask me to come back.”
When he was young, Li Fugui was one of the top lifters in the eight villages in the ten miles, and like the stonemasons, blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, etc., he was a professional in the countryside. Two people lifted pigs, four people lifted sedan chairs, eight people lifted coffins, sixteen people lifted stone, Li Fu Gui’s most glorious time led the village thirty-two lifters, to repair reservoirs for the big project lifted half a tonne of keel stone.
In this kind of mountain, the lifters are more powerful than any machinery, they can cross the mountains as if they were walking on the ground.
Li Tiezhu couldn’t help but say: ”The further we go, the fewer carriers there are, maybe they will disappear. Old man, when you hang up, I guess there won’t even be any lifters left.”
Li Fugui froze, this was a big problem.
Tiezhu would do it, but I have never heard of a son lifting his old son…….
The next day, five o’clock.
Li Tiezhu and Nie Yao brought the cameraman to Laojiu s house to visit the old man in mourning.
The other few were not interested, so they slept at home, after all, they were exhausted yesterday.
In fact, Li Tiezhu was not willing to come, but he was afraid that the old man’s back would be out of order during the lifting process, so he had to get up early and follow him here.
When the programme was played here, a rare voiceover was used:
“The programme team was allowed to film the ceremony of the deceased’s ascent to the mountain after seeking permission from the host family. Funerals in Southern Sichuan are quite distinctive, with many rules and very elaborate, and the most distinctive are the casket carriers and the trumpets they shout, Li Tiezhu’s father, Li Fugui, is one of the most famous local casket carriers.”
On the last night of the coffin, the family members stayed up and gathered together to keep the spirit of the old man for the last day.
By four or five o’clock in the morning, the beginning of the withdrawal of the spiritual hall, followed by the viewing of the remains, but also the deceased and the family of the last meeting in this life.
You can touch the body but do not drop tears on the body, to help people will again check the body has not been fixed in the middle of the coffin to the dead nose and toes prevail nose and toes to the two sides of the coffin board distance is the same before, with tiles and paper money to the body head and feet firmly fixed, and then covered with a few layers of life quilt, and so the family are finished looking at the coffin will be nailed.
After covering the coffin after the yin and yang master will be mourning, yin and yang gentleman to lead the family in turn around the coffin, each hand holding a piece of incense, turn around and bow a bow, followed by the yin and yang master read the dirge:
“Woe my father, the sun on the sky, woe ah woe ah, born I have to work …….”
After the funeral and then to invite the funeral, also known as open road, to the mountain gods land please open the road, which is in preparation for the funeral, please funeral yin and yang will use a large rooster practice, and then before and after the coffin on the point of the chicken crown blood sticking to the chicken feathers, the chicken will be tied to the coffin.
Then, eight carriers came up to set up the lifting pole, long and short vertical and horizontal one on top of the other, and finally, the weight was equally divided among the eight carriers.
Li Fugui personally presided over, and brought eight carriers in place, each carrier shoulder carrying a section of the lifting pole, holding a one-metre-three wooden mortar and pestle, that is used to support the lifting pole when resting, after all,……, the coffin can not fall to the ground.
At this time the sky just dawn, yin and yang master put a bowl of water to the family members no one drink a mouthful, and took a wood chopping knife in the coffin lid knocked a few times, please funeral completed, to go out to the mountains.
South Sichuan area, the old man died and carried to the burial process is called on the mountain, to complete the work is mainly to carry the craftsmen.
Before he started, when he was testing his strength, Li Fugui’s face was not right.
It’s a disaster!
Last night should not be with Ha woman whole flower work le …… waist pole pain!
This is absolutely not lift.
Fortunately, Li Tiezhu in the side to watch the fun, this child is Li Fugui hand raised, he will be iron columns will be lifting people on the mountain is also will be, at least than several other non-professional lifting craftsman dependable.
Li Fugui called Li Tiezhu over: “I’m suffering! My back hurts.”
Without saying a word, Tiezhu took over the old man’s lifting pole, and Li Fugui instructed him to say a few more words.
Carrying the craftsman while lifting also shouting the horn, the horn can be fast or slow, according to the road is flat or steep and change, this is a kind of according to the command of the meaning of the horn, need to accumulate experience.
Auntie Liu, who was also in the crowd watching, blushed inexplicably.
The funeral procession to help people with the spirit house and all funeral goods in the forefront, all the way to spread paper money, paper money on the insertion of a stick of incense, this is to give the land Lord of the road money, but also all the way to set off firecrackers, followed by filial son and eldest grandson wearing mourning carrying a spirit plate and old paper altar, walking in front of the casket, followed by family members and other funeral personnel.
Li Tiezhu has not lifted, but from childhood is also clear, immediately shouted up the opening number with his voice:
“The former ancient people put the words, build the Great Wall Qin Shi Huang, when the number of old Zhang carries the craftsman, brought out the apprentice to do this line.”
The other seven carriers shouted, “Hi-Zo!”
This is where the programme narrator re-enters:
“Carriers, an ancient profession with a history of more than 2,000 years, is exiting the stage of history, and Li Tiezhu is perhaps the youngest carriers. Li Tiezhu is perhaps the youngest of all the carriers. The South Sichuan Carriers’ Horn has been selected as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage site. The rugged country roads in southern Sichuan, with many curves and narrow surfaces, are very inconvenient for traffic, so many people co-operate to exert themselves as a whole, and use the principle of mechanics to evenly break down the weight of the object being lifted onto each person’s shoulder by means of tools. From a minimum of two people developed to a number of people, up to a maximum of one hundred and twenty-eight people in formation, the object carried weighs up to two tonnes, and the combination of strong physical labour and folk songs, to shout the horn to unify the action and coordinate the pace, which produces the lifting of the horn.”
Li Tiezhu led the chants, “Hi Zuo!”
All the carriers called out, “Hi-Zo Hey-Zo …… Hi-Zo!!!”
Accompanied by strong and neat footsteps, the coffin was lifted up and carried by eight people through the download curved bamboo forest path.
The leader chanted, “Say go!”
Crowd call: “Shout and come!”
Leader of the chorus: “The sky is bright and shining!”
Crowd: “The ground is a cesspool!”
Leader of the chorus: “There’s a bag in front of us!”
Crowd: “The foot in the back is raised!”
Although Li Fugui temporarily withdrew, he still walked in front of the coffin-carrying team and was responsible for reminding Li Tiezhu of the terrain and controlling the rhythm.
Overall it went quite smoothly, not that Li Tiezhu performed well, but the host family chose a pretty good road, no particularly difficult road except for a hill, so there wasn’t much of a challenge. You have to know that there are coffin carrying teams that have to climb cliffs, cross one-wood bridges and other special roads.
The carriers rhythmically make the coffin rock up and down while shouting a horn, and the flower stand and rooster on the coffin nod along with it, and the coffin will rest its feet after walking a certain distance, which is called hitting the ground.
Every time it stops, firecrackers will be set off, and the mourners will kneel down until the carriers start to get up, and the coffin will not be able to fall to the ground from the coffin to the burial, until it is carried to the grave.
Pop-up:
“The original rural funeral is so lifted?”
“The mountainous areas are the most difficult, Xichuan lifters are notoriously powerful.”
“The programme group has put its heart into it ……”
“The horn is still kind of nice to hear! No wonder it can apply for heritage.”
“Oh Exempt Primitive Man has been made into a Chinese folklore culture programme, praise!”
“I told you that Li Tiezhu is from a musical family, now you believe it, right?”
“Don’t tell me, nowadays not many rural people under 40 years old know how to sing the labour-carrying bugle.”
“There are many different kinds of work-carrying horns, and they are sung differently depending on what they are carrying.”
“I just specifically paused to go listen to Li Tiezhu’s version of ‘Happy Birthday to You’, hmmm ……”
“Hahahahaha ……”
“God-like!”
“Li Tiezhu: Art comes from life.”
Half an hour later, the funeral procession arrived at the grave that had been fixed long ago.
Leader ode: “Say go!”
Crowd call: “Don’t yell!”
Leader Song: “Come when you shout!”
Crowd call: “Carry them when they come!”
“Hizo hezo-hezo-hezo-hezo-hezo-hezo-hezo-hezo ……”
The sound of the horn went from high to low until it stopped.
Corresponding to this, the coffin was perfectly parked inside the chamber without a hitch.
