introduction
"The husband has a long history, and the deep roots are lush", from Bai Juyi's "Epitaph of Li Shi, Wife PeiJun of the Assassin History of Haizhou", a famous realist poet of china's Tang Dynasty, and from this poem also derived "long history", which is often used by people to describe the idiom with a long history of Chinese culture. In this long-standing culture, the colloquialisms are one of them, they are all the life experiences summed up by the working people in production and life, most of them are catchy and easy to remember.
01
Today, I want to tell you a saying called: "It is better to stay in the wild and deserted graves than to live in ancient temples at night." What does this sentence mean, and what is its deep meaning? Why did the ancients think that ancient temples were more terrible than deserted tombs? In this regard, experts said that modern people will not suffer losses after listening to it, and it is still applicable today.
Temples, in Chinese culture, originally referred to places dedicated to ancestors, and shrines dedicated to gods after the Han Dynasty were gradually called temples, such as the Land Temple and the City God Temple. Later, with the introduction of Buddhism to Our country, temples in most cases contained the meaning of Buddhist temples. But in any case, the temple is inseparable from the gods in the heavens and the sages of the ages, and it is a very sacred place in the hearts of the world, and it will naturally be sheltered in it, and all evils will not invade.
▲Recent photos of ancient temples
Looking at the deserted tombs corresponding to the temples, they are generally the graves of those who do not know the owner of the tombs and their descendants, mostly from the time of war, famine and plague, and the large-scale death of people has led to the bodies of many of the deceased without family members to claim, so they have to be hidden in the wilderness at will. Because the tombs are not worshipped, after a long time, the grass will become deserted graves, and the direction of this kind of land is rarely inhabited, so it is even more gloomy, so that few people go, so the cycle repeats, and this kind of place becomes the birthplace of ghost legends.
▲ Photo of the deserted cemetery
But if this is the case, why did the ancients leave the saying to future generations that "it is better to live in a wild grave than to live in an ancient temple at night"? What was the reason why they felt that such a sacred and solemn place of worship of ancestors and gods was even more terrible than a deserted grave like a mass burial post? In fact, the reason why the ancients thought that the ancient temple was more terrible than the deserted tomb was because of personal safety considerations. "It is better to stay in a wild and desolate tomb than to live in an ancient temple at night" does not mean that you should not live in the temple at night, but mainly highlights an "ancient" word.
02
The so-called "ancient temple" must be a temple that has been built for a long time. It is true that when these temples were first built, whether they were dedicated to ancestors or gods, someone must have taken care of them carefully. However, with the passage of time, or the decline of the owner's home, or the temple's location has experienced war or natural disasters, most of the ancient temples have fallen into disrepair and have not been cleaned. The building materials of these ancient temples will inevitably be eroded by wind and rain and become no longer strong, and there is a great possibility of collapse.
▲ Photos of dilapidated ancient temples
According to records, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, was in his hometown of Zhongli County, Haozhou (present-day Fengyang County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province), when he was still alive, he was hunted down by the local government, and in order to escape, he had to disguise himself as a beggar and escape from Fengyang City and hide in an ancient temple outside the city. However, Zhu Yuanzhang happened to meet the officers and soldiers who came to arrest him in this ancient temple, and was quickly surrounded. Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was desperate and about to be arrested, the ancient temple suddenly collapsed, and many officers and soldiers were smashed to death on the spot, and he escaped by chance. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang escaped the disaster because of this, this incident still left a serious shadow in his heart, and later he respected it whenever he passed by the ancient temple.
▲ Zhu Yuanzhang stills
03
In contrast, although the deserted tomb is the legendary place of the hundred ghosts at night, people's imagination alone is enough to make themselves involuntarily fearful, not to mention being in it, but then again, the fear that people feel when they stay in the desert tomb will not cause any substantial harm to people, because ghosts are after all a false existence. The ancient temple is completely different, once it collapses, even if the people inside will not be smashed on the spot, they will be buried in it and finally die of thirst and starvation, and few people can be spared.
▲ Photos of dilapidated ancient temples
From this point of view, although the deserted tomb makes people feel fear and danger at the thought of it, in fact, there is no threat, but the ancient temple that seems to be safe and can also shield the wind and rain will have a fatal crisis at any time, just like a ghost with a huge mouth of blood basin, waiting in the dark for the person who went to spend the night, and then taking the opportunity to swallow it in one bite. Therefore, after witnessing such a situation countless times, the ancient talents summed up the saying "It is better to stay in the wild and deserted tomb than to live in the ancient temple at night" for posterity.
epilogue
Just as the so-called "gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall", this is also as Mencius said in "Mencius Dedication": "It is the one who knows the fate, not standing under the rock wall", not to mention that living things have the instinct to seek profit and avoid harm, just from the experience of the ancients, we should indeed stay away from dangerous places like ancient temples, preferring to stay in the cemetery of the wilderness ridge, rather than rushing into the ruined ancient temples that have fallen into disrepair.
Resources:
"Haizhou Assassin Shi Pei Jun's Wife Li Clan Epitaph"
Mencius