Over the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, my country’s population has grown from "40,000 million" to 1.4 billion people. With the increase in population, the number of deaths each year has also increased. According to statistics in recent years, more than 9 million people in our country will die each year, which is equivalent to nearly 25,000 compatriots leaving us every day.
At the same time, this also means that almost 20,000 funerals are held every day in various parts of our country. Although cremation is very popular now, the more traditional funeral method of earth burial is still used in many places. In the funeral, many people may have seen such a scene:
Before the deceased’s coffin is left for funerals, the family’s specialists must carry out a "wrestling" process. The so-called "wrestling" is not just a basin, but also bowls, tiles and other pottery. When you fall, you have to fall as much as possible, and then the deceased can officially go to the funeral. So where does this custom of "wrestling" come from?
＞＞The origin of "wrestling"
"Wrestling pot" is also called "wrestling tile", and the name of the whole ceremony is called "ding old pot". There are two main sources. One said that the broken bowls and basins would follow the dead to the underworld and become the utensils of the dead under the spring. In ancient myths and legends, the underworld and the sun are two planes of the same world, and the life of the dead after death is actually the same as that of the living.
Therefore, when the deceased dies, the earthenware basin shall be broken and "sent" to the other side for the deceased to continue to use as a tool for cooking and eating. It ranges from burning paper money and offering sacrifices to as large as the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum, all for this purpose. As the number of people "wrestling the pot" slowly increased, it later became a process in the funeral customs and continued.
Another argument is related to Fan Li, a famous scholar in the pre-Qin Dynasty. Legend has it that Fan Li has a wonderful pottery-making technique. When he saw the suffering of the people, he was moved with compassion and passed this pottery-making technique to the people, helping the local people get out of poverty.
In his later years, Fan Li began to think about whom he should teach in his entire life. So he took out a pottery basin, gathered the people together, and asked them: "You said, after I die, who should I give this old basin to?
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And the people around them talked about it, some said it was dedicated to the king, some said that it was offered to people to remember Fan Li, and so on. But Fan Li was dissatisfied after hearing this. At this time, a young man stood up and said, "People are there, and people go. Ask me to say, I just throw this old pot!"
After Fan Li heard this answer, he felt very happy and let the young man inherit his mantle and legacy. Before Fan Li's funeral, the young man threw the old basin left by Fan Li. Since then, countless people have started to imitate the young man's behavior, and the custom of wrestling has emerged.
＞＞The exquisiteness of "wrestling"
Wrestling basins are usually broken before going to the funeral due to the influence of Fan Li's stories. And the person responsible for wrestling is usually the eldest son, grandson or nephew. In short, it must be the closest to the deceased. If it is not your own family but another family member to wrestle, the meaning is even equivalent to that the wrestler can Inherit all the inheritance of the deceased, so there are strict requirements for the identity of the wrestler.
When throwing a pot, it must be broken as much as possible. On the one hand, it means "Susui (broken and broken) is safe"; on the other hand, the more broken the pot is broken, the more intact the pot can go to the deceased under Jiuquan. Used.
The basin is also particular about it. There are holes in the bottom of the basin in many places. Seven holes are the most common. This has something to do with Zhuge Liang. According to legend, when Zhou Yu died in 210 AD, Zhuge Liang also came to express his condolences. Some people in Soochow took the opportunity to get rid of Zhuge Liang. They dug 7 holes in the bowl of burning paper money in advance, and placed explosives under the bowl. The fuse is put into the basin through the hole in the basin. Once Zhuge Liang is put into the basin before it burns, it will detonate the explosive and kill Zhuge Liang. As for why there are 7 holes, it corresponds to the "Big Dipper Seven Stars", which means to remove Zhuge Liang by the power of the stars.
But Zhuge Liang was able to pinch it, and asked Zhao Yun to put a brick under the basin in advance, so that the fuse of the explosive could not touch the fire, so he broke the plan of Soochow. Therefore, the basin of seven holes has become a symbol of Zhuge Liang's magical calculation, and dropping the basin of seven holes at the funeral also has the meaning of blessing. As for the brick, it also has the magical effect of eliminating disasters in the town house. After the pot is thrown, the bricks in it will be put back home, which has the reputation of "borrowing bricks" and so on.
Conclusion:
It is precisely because there are so many legends and historical stories that wrestling has gradually become a fixed process of funeral rites in our country, and it is still used by many people today. Although it seems that this behavior is a bit "superstition", in fact it contains one of the simplest emotions of our Chinese nation, that is, respect for the dead and respect for filial piety. This is also called "wrestling". The reason for "filial piety".