China's geography is diverse, with plains and mountains. Among them, many special caves have been formed in the high mountains and valleys in the south, and the shape is long and narrow, which is implied to be the cave of the gods. These caves have accumulated the wisdom and life wisdom of their ancestors, and carry themLongevityand the yearning for spiritual practice.
The southern caves are different from the round caves we see in film and television works, they are mostly in a long and narrow form, twisting and winding, and contain a mysterious atmosphere. This form of cave is more like a secret place hidden in the depths of the mountain, giving people a distant and magical feeling.
Many emperors and royals in history, after gaining power, were no longer satisfied with this, but pursued a higher goal - immortality. They began to pursue the path of cultivating immortals, seekingLongevityand the elixir of immortality. At the same time, after the rise of Taoism, the concept of immortality was also integrated into it, and caves were regarded as places for cultivators to practice, and some caves became places to worship gods.
Under the influence of emperors and literati, some caves also became places to worship gods, and people often placed statues of gods at the entrance of the caves to offer incense. This pursuit of sacredness makes the cave more and more magical, and it has become a place that ordinary people cannot easily offend. For this reason, these long, narrow and treacherous caves are also known as "fairy caves", implying places that hide magical powers and aura.
In contrast, the cave has another lesser-known alias - "coffin crack". This name is similar to that of the ancientsThe concept of life and deathNian is related to the customs of the elderly, although it sounds eerie, but it is ancientLifestyleA direct manifestation of this.
In some impoverished areas, especially those with complex terrain and inconvenient transportation, there is a phenomenon of "abandoning the elderly", that is, abandoning the elderly over 60 years old in the mountains and forests, leaving them to face a difficult life or death alone. This was due to the lack of property, overpopulation, etc., and the cave became a kind of place to hide the elderly.
In order to allow the elderly to have a relatively quiet place to spend the rest of their lives, some children will enclose the old man in the cave, and put a brick at the entrance of the cave every day when delivering food, and over time, the entrance of the cave will gradually be closed, and eventually become a natural "coffin". Although this practice may have been considered a way to maintain family resources at the time, it was still fundamentally inhumane and frightening.
However, there is another explanation for the coffin sew, which is closer to what people doThe concept of life and deathThe pursuit of thought. The ancient Chinese believed that human life is condensed by the aura of heaven and earth, and that after death, the soul will return to heaven and earth and become a part of all things. Therefore, people use the cave as a place to worship the gods, so that the soul can become a member of the gods. Such a concept is integrated into the ancients' thinking about life and death and their yearning for immortality.
To sum up, the saying "everyone in the world loves the fairy cave, I don't know that it is also known as the coffin seam" contains ChinaCultureThe deep heritage. The fairy cave and the coffin crack also represent people's pursuit of aura and immortality, respectively, as well as those of the ancientsThe concept of life and deathRemembrance and bereavement customs. Although these terms are in modern timesSocialare no longer commonly used, but they are still ChineseCultureA part that is worth reflecting on and savoring.