"Doctors do not go through the teacher, fang does not attack the ancients, and every time they see the dead and come back to life with robbery." ——Zhang Dai, "The Legend of Lu Yungu"
Doctors with a high level of proficiency can often bring a dying patient back to life, although the things that can be revived are rare, but they may not exist, so people often have illusions about the resurrection of the dead. At the same time, we find that after a person dies, they have to stop the body for three days, why is this? In fact, this is not because of superstition, but because of scientific evidence.
Everyone wants to live forever, in the vast universe, human beings are very small, we are like ants, even if we can do a lot of things, but in front of everything in the world, it is a grain of dust. Throughout the ages, people have never stopped pursuing the elixir of immortality, hoping that they can prolong their lives.
As early as the "Huainan Zi", it was recorded that Qin Shi Huang had supreme power, and even if he was a great figure, it was difficult to escape the death of old age and illness. In order to be able to continue his inheritance, Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu to find the elixir for him, but Xu Fu took away a group of people and belongings, and once they were gone, some people said that Xu Fu fled to Japan, and Qin Shi Huang eventually died of illness, making his big dream empty.
Even if people know that death is inevitable, few people can have an open mind about death, and most people will fear death and fear endless darkness. For the living, it is often to send mourning to the deceased to hold a grand funeral. There are many rules for funerals, and special yin and yang masters will be invited to preside. In addition, people often say "the first seven", which means that after 7 days, the body can be buried after the soul is returned, and some places need to be buried for three days.
The ancients believed that after the death of a person can only be buried 7 days into the ground, the deceased burial process, the family should call a very solemn burial procession, let the deceased scenery burial, in order to comfort their spirit in heaven. It is reported that when Qin Shi Huang died, because it was summer, and did not die in the palace, so after 7 days, Qin Shi Huang's body had already decayed, and everyone around him could smell a strange smell. After Qin Shi Huang, people shortened the moratorium to three days.
Why did the ancients stay in a corpse for three days? In fact, it is related to ancient medical techniques. Ancient medical conditions are far less advanced than modern ones, and many healers cannot make correct judgments about people's bodies, so many people often have suspended animation. If the body is stored in the morgue for three days, it will allow the healer and relatives to make a correct judgment, so as not to bury the person who is in suspended death, causing irreparable mistakes. The so-called suspended animation means that a person's vital signs are very weak, and his various conditions show that he has died, but in fact, there is a weak breath, so the general means cannot find out whether it is life or death.
Ancient healers had no way of judging whether it was suspended death, and there were many quacks, so relatives often buried the deceased three days after death. If there are signs of survival within three days, accidental death can be avoided.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Bian Que often traveled to various countries and cured many difficult patients. One day, Bian Que came to the kingdom of Yu, where the prince died the day before yesterday, and everyone was ready to bury him in the ground. After Bian Que listened, he was very anxious, and came to the palace to claim that he was a doctor, at that time, no one paid attention to Bian Que, thinking that he was fooling around, and then Bian Que told the guards that if he did not believe it, he could see if there was residual heat in the prince's legs.
After the gatekeeper reported the matter to the emperor of the Kingdom of Yu, he discovered that the prince still had these vital signs, so he allowed Bian Que to heal. After that, Bian Que found that the original prince had just fainted, and the prince was bloodless, unconscious, and his qi and blood were disordered, as if he was dead. Under the rescue of him and his disciples, the prince was brought back to life. After this incident, people thought that Bian Que could bring the dead back to life, affirming his superb medical skills. To this day, we find that Bian Que is not able to revive the dead, but he discovered that the prince was suspended from death and used his medical skills to save his life.
If Bian Que had not appeared, perhaps The State of Yu would have buried the prince in the soil, causing a tragic ending. After Bian Que, three days of moratorium became the rule. Whether it is ordinary people or high-ranking nobles, they must follow this ritual.
At the same time, three days of morgue can also give the living a reaction time. When the living come to the human world, they will experience many of the cold and warm of the world, and they will also have their own relatives and friends. When the deceased leaves, it will be difficult for those around them to accept. After all, "the dead go, the living hurt", the living have endless mourning for the dead, and can only make up for their inner regrets through the scenery burial.
"Life is like a dream, a statue is still in the moon." ——Su Shi, "Nian Nu Jiao Chibi Huaigu"
Life is like a big dream. In just a few decades, we can witness the warmth and coldness of human feelings. Even though people have been pursuing immortality and science is constantly improving, we still can't break the boundaries of life and death. For us, we must cherish every day.
Resources:
Zhang Dai's "Biography of Lu Yungu"
Su Shi "Nian Nu Jiao Chibi Huaigu"