The mainland is a multi-ethnic country, and different ethnic groups have their own unique cultural traditions. Among them, the form of funerary is the most emblematic of core cultural concepts, reflecting both the local people's views on death and their beliefs and morals. In particular, in some ethnic minority areas, their unique funerary culture has aroused the research interest of many folklore experts.
Cliff tombs are one of the most peculiar and oldest forms of burial among the various burial methods on the continent. At the junction of today's Sichuan and Yunnan, such ancient tombs can be seen in the southern region, such as Wuyi Mountain in Fujian and Yingtan in Jiangxi. Historians have confirmed that the cliff tomb is a masterpiece of the ancient Yue and Jurchens in the south, which first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Looking up at the hanging coffins on the wall, I can't help but wonder how the ancients sent these coffins and tombs weighing hundreds of pounds into the underdeveloped ancient cliff caves?
In particular, the hanging coffin site on Longhu Mountain in Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, is even more confusing. Hundreds of coffins are embedded in cliffs tens or even hundreds of meters above sea level, next to steep and rocky peaks, the surface is also very smooth, and what is even more amazing is that at the foot of the rock is the bottomless Luxi River. Looking up from the boats on the river, these caves are dotted with high and low, different sizes, and now too many scholars want to know how the ancients did it, and in 1997, the Longhushan Tourism Group also offered a reward of 300,000 yuan as a bounty to collect folk wisdom in order to solve the mystery.
As soon as the Hero Post was released, it immediately attracted decryptors and scientists from all over the world. The Dragon Tiger Mountain Tourism Bureau also received thousands of manuscripts and letters. Regarding how to send the coffin into the cave, everyone gave full play to their own whimsical ideas and formed various opinions, such as "ladder method", "boardwalk method", "suspension method" and "back mountain tunnel digging method". But the explanation of each argument failed to convince people, and although the relevant departments eventually raised the prize money to 400,000, the mystery was never solved.
In order to find out, scholars and experts from some universities have also set up relevant research groups to observe all the coffin sites in China. Later, Professor Xie Jiangen of Tongji University was inspired by the "crane" used by local farmers, and the old man said that when he was very young, he heard that the hanging coffin was lifted by the crane, and Professor Xie thought of the modern so-called pulley device.
The ancients called pulleys the wheels. Archaeology has found that people in the Shang and Zhou dynasties have mastered this technique, and although the ancient Yue people lived in barbarian areas, it is not excluded that they would use it during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Experts speculate that the ancients may have first installed a fixed pulley on the cliff, tied a rope at one end of the coffin, and then hoisted the coffin to the opening of the cave through the pulley, and then let those who entered the cave beforehand grab the rope on the coffin, then pull it to the entrance of the cave, and finally send the coffin into the cave. Since there are still some medicinal herb collectors who are good at rock climbing in the local area, in ancient times, climbing cliffs to fix pulleys should be something that can be done.
To confirm this theory, the team then conducted bold simulation experiments. Through the experiment, the coffin was indeed successfully pulled into the cave, and the people who tested it immediately cheered. Now in the Longhu Mountain Scenic Area, the semi-hanging coffin has become a special performance program, very exciting, and seems to confirm to the world that the mystery of the hanging coffin has been revealed.
However, there are still many people who have raised this question, that is, why can not find manual drilling marks that can fix pulleys on the cliff, so they think that the "mystery of the hanging coffin" has not been completely solved, and some relevant experts can only helplessly say: With the development of science, the remaining problems will definitely be solved in future generations, but we must also admit that the ancients were too smart!