Chapter 250: Simple Folk Customs, Moving Graves and Stringing Caves

Within the borders of Ningxian, Xu Qing and Xuanyu walk and stop along the way, occasionally asking people who has a funeral, hoping to have the honor of performing a ritual, learning advanced funeral knowledge from other places, and incidentally inquiring about the details of the County Magistrate, killing two birds with one stone.

Qianzhou covers three commanderies and seventeen counties. Although these counties and commanderies are under the jurisdiction of one state, the local customs are not exactly the same.

North of Qianzhou, people like earth burials after death, which is no different from Jinmen.

But in other parts of Qianzhou, most locals like "cliff burials."

Xu Qing has heard of this funeral method for a long time, but unfortunately, he has never had the opportunity to come to Qianzhou to see it with his own eyes.

Now he has the eye-blessing.

Xu Qing visited many families before finding a family in a remote village at the border of Ningxian that was holding a funeral.

The local people have simple customs. Hearing that Xu Qing is a master from another place, and seeing the master's attire he is wearing, they immediately have a few more points of respect in their hearts.

In these years, three professions are most respected: one is those who work in the government office, one is those who practice medicine and cure diseases, and the other is the master of the funeral business.

Xu Qing helped perform a ritual in the mourning hall. The family in front of him is not wealthy, and there are no valuable things in the house. The only valuable thing is probably the thin-skinned coffin in the mourning hall.

"Old man, the mountain road is not easy to walk, you must be careful when the funeral procession starts later."

"Little master, just rest assured. Although I can't help much, I can still lead the way."

There are four people in the farmer's family: a woman in her thirties, the woman's parents-in-law, and an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.

The one who died is the male master of the family.

Xu Qing pulled the old man aside to say a few words, then returned to the mourning hall and looked at the middle-aged man standing in front of the offering table.

This person is a local funeral master from Ningxian, Qianzhou. Xu Qing does not understand cliff burials, so the specific process of the funeral procession in front of him can only be presided over and handled by this professional.

"How long does a coffin usually stay for a cliff burial?"

"That's not short, at least twelve days, some stay for two months. Now the weather is turning cool, the host family is not in a hurry, usually it's more than half a month. Like this coffin, it has been parked for more than half a month."

Xu Qing asked curiously: "I see that the rituals that should be done have been done, why stay so long?"

"You came from another place and don't understand the climate of Qianzhou. There is a lot of rain here, and there are many wild beasts and poisonous insects. It has been raining for seven or eight days recently, and the mountain cliffs are slippery, so people cannot climb, so naturally, we have to wait. Like today, the ground has been shaded and dried, and the cliff wall can stand people, so it's time to send the funeral."

The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Others call us cliff burial masters 'Spider-Men'. Do you see that spider spinning a web when it rains? Only when the wind stops and the rain stops will it spin a web and work. Spider-Men are the same."

What is a Spider-Man? It should be known that cliff burials are usually carried out in natural rock crevices or steep cliff walls. This requires the corpse-carrier to carry the person and the coffin on their back when sending the funeral, transporting them separately.

The mountain cliffs are steep and difficult to walk, and the corpse-carrier must have certain rock-climbing skills. Over time, this type of person is called a "Spider-Man."

Xu Qing learned humbly, and the thin, tall funeral master with firm muscles was also very friendly. Almost as long as it was a question about funerals, the other party would answer patiently.

"There is more than one type of cliff burial in Qianzhou, the doorway inside is very deep! You listen to me tell you in detail..."

Xu Qing sat on a wooden stool placed in front of the mourning hall, during which the old man specially brought two bowls of tea.

The middle-aged man talked eloquently, and Xu Qing nodded in agreement from time to time.

About half an hour passed, and Xu Qing had a brand new understanding of cliff burials.

The so-called cliff burial is nothing more than natural caves, artificial caves, and wooden pile supports. Compared with the mainstream earth burial, cliff burial places the deceased's coffin between steep cliffs, but even this burial method has three subdivisions.

One is called hanging coffin burial, which means placing the coffin in cliff wooden piles or natural rock crevices.

The second is cliff cave burial, which uses natural or artificial caves to store coffins, mostly used for family burials.

The third is called cliff mound burial, which places the coffin on a prominent mound or artificial cave on the top of the mountain. Those who chisel holes in the rock layer to frame piles and support them with horizontal wood belong to this type of burial method.

Qianzhou has abundant rainfall, and there are more wild beasts than people. To ensure the integrity of the remains and avoid disturbance by wild beasts and erosion by water and soil, families with some wealth mostly choose cliff burials.

Now, the family where Xu Qing is located is going to perform a "hanging coffin burial." ===== CHAPTER 251 =====