terrace in hell from which the dead can see their homes

terrace in hell from which the dead can see their homes

Wangxiangtai, originally refers to the ancient garrison did not return or exiled in other places to look at their hometown and climb the high platform, may be man-made, may also be formed naturally. Later, with the maturity of the Taoist concept of ghosts and gods and the introduction of the Buddhist hell system, Taoism gradually changed the wangxiangtai from a real building to an illusory existence, and it became a place where the ghosts who entered the hell could see the situation in the Yang family, sometimes referring to the underworld.

origin

In ancient China, there was a legend that Bao Zheng, the first upright official in folklore, was appointed the king of hell after his death.

It is said that Bao Zheng was the king of hell in the fifth hall at first, because the first Hall of hell was the closest building to the sun. When entering the first hall, the ghosts did not drink Mengpo soup, and the ghosts were still sentimentally attached to the life of the sun and their relatives. Therefore, some ghosts often went to the famous mountain of the underworld to look back at the scene of the sun, but they could not see it . In the agony of yearning for relatives but not meeting each other, many ghosts cry in the dark at night, their voices are tragic and make people cry. Bao Zheng, as the first Hall of emperor Yanluo, was kind-hearted and compassionate. After hearing about this, he moved his heart with compassion. He ordered the ghost to build a watchtower and moved it to the side of the temple of emperor Yanluo, allowing the ghost Cao to look at his hometown and relatives. Therefore, wangxiangtai, also known as "homesick ridge", has become a window for ghosts from the underworld to look into the sun and a holy place for living people to connect with the dead. Later, because Bao Zheng was too compassionate and pitied to death, when he was in charge of the first hall, he repeatedly released the ghost to return to the sun and stretch the snow, and was demoted to the fifth hall. The commander called the great hell and sixteen little hell, and the wangxiangtai also moved with him.

structure

According to the ancient legend, the structure of wangxiangtai is quite strange. It is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Its surface is like a bow and its back is like a bow string. Except for a stone path, the rest are full of swords and swords, which is very dangerous. Standing on it, you can see five continents and four oceans.

Usefulness

As the saying goes, "if you don't eat human food in one day, you will cross the boundary of yin and Yang in two days, and arrive at wangxiangtai in three days to see your relatives cry.". Before the ghost went to the underworld to report, he was very concerned about his relatives in the world. Although the ghost was strongly urged and denounced by his death, he forced himself to watch his hometown. At last, he looked far away at his hometown and cried, and then he went to the "Underworld" wholeheartedly. It is "the ghost on the lookout tower is in a hurry, looking at the two lines of tears.". His wife and children Nestle beside the coffin, and his relatives and friends gather in the funeral hall. "

legend

Legend one

Once upon a time, every night, at the top of Fengdu famous mountain, there were some ghosts crying there. The crying was earth shaking and made the whole Prefecture restless.

The king of hell was very upset when he heard the ghost crying every night. So Zhong Kui, the ghost marshal of Xuanping, went to the hall and said, "Ai Qing, do you know why ghosts cry at night these days?"

Zhong Kui replied, "I've just come back from killing ghosts in the sun. I don't know yet."

"The king of hell said:" Gu Ling you go to check, all those who go up the mountain to cry will be decapitated Zhong Kui was ordered to leave.

That night, Zhong Kui came to the top of the mountain with his sword. In the hazy night, some ghosts gathered at the edge of the cliff and wailed loudly. One by one, they were listless, sad and absent-minded. It was really hard to cry, as if someone had died. Puzzled, Zhong Kui raised his green sword and cried out: "in the middle of the night, why do you come to the top of the mountain to cry for no reason?" Who knows those ghosts heard, but more heartbroken, cheeks tears, cry more sad.

Seeing this, Zhong Kui couldn't help feeling heavy. Pointing to a weeping ghost who bowed his head and sobbed, he asked, "Why are you so sad and tearful?"

The ghost cried: "report back to the master, the villain was a farmer. Because his wife was ill, the villain went to the market town to get medicine and was killed by a thunder in a muddle."

"Life and death have a destiny. Don't complain."

"Villains don't complain about heaven, they don't complain about earth, they only complain about their own life. I finally married a daughter-in-law. After three years of love, yin and Yang separated. I don't know if she's cured. It's really worrying and sad to think about it. " "A couple can't leave a loving couple for a hundred days. You think your daughter-in-law is human When Zhong Kui put down his sword, he hesitated and was in a dilemma: if he wanted to punish these crying ghosts, they would do nothing wrong for a reason; if he didn't treat them, he would cry annoyingly. He pondered for a long time and went away with his sword.

Not far away, I saw a pale, red and swollen female ghost, banging her head against the rock wall, crying loudly at the same time. Zhong Kui couldn't bear it any longer. He came forward and asked, "Why are you crying here?"

"I miss my daughter."

"Where is your daughter now?"

"In the sun."

"The feeling of flesh and blood, the essence and blood are connected, there is nothing you don't want." Zhong Kui nodded and felt pity.

He carried his sword on the mountain for a long time, and asked several crying ghosts. These ghosts either miss their children or their parents. When they came to the underground, they were depressed and didn't think about food and tea because they missed their hometown and relatives. They heard that the cliff at the top of the famous mountain could see the sun from afar, so they took advantage of the dark night to run up the mountain one after another. Who knows that yin and yang are separated by a piece of paper, and let them look through the autumn water and cry. In addition to the vast sea of fog, where can they see the shadow of their relatives? So I couldn't help crying.

After hearing this, Zhong Kui felt very unhappy. He was struck by a stone. He thought: since that day, he had bid farewell to his parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, went to Chang'an for an exam, and met the traitor Lu Qi. However, he was angry. He committed suicide in the Jinluan hall, and was granted the title of exorcism by Emperor Xuanzong. When he came to Fengdu City, he went all over the world to kill demons and demons. Ten years later, he didn't see him I don't know what happened to my family. That day, my father sent himself to the ten mile hillside, told me a thousand times, and left with tears. Maybe he was still looking forward to his news! Think of this, not from dejected, tears wet lapel.

"Marshal Zhong, the ghost sneaks out of the gate of hell and wants to escape back to Yangjian. The king of hell orders him to be taken to you for treatment." A kid reports.

Zhong Kui came back to see two ghosts escorting a young ghost standing in front of him. The ghost's face was haggard. When he saw Zhong Kui, he was not afraid. He just looked down and cried.

Zhong Kui asked: "why do you want to run away?"

The ghost replied, "I'm going back to Yangjian to see my parents."

"Since you are a ghost, why do you miss the world?"

"My parents are nearly 70 years old. They have a son in their middle age. It's hard for them to raise my only daughter. They raise my son and raise my daughter to die. Unexpectedly, the white haired man gives the black haired man away. When I die, my parents still don't know how to cry. You know, I'm only 28 years old. "

"The law of Yin Cao is strict. You escape from the gate of hell without permission. Aren't you afraid of being punished in the underworld?"

"As long as I can see my parents, I'd like to go to hell." Then he began to cry again.

Zhong Kui suddenly felt very sad, as if something was biting his heart. He waved his hand and said: "you go..."

When the two ghosts looked at it, they felt puzzled and said, "she should be severely punished for violating the law of Yin. If the emperor of Yin knows..."

Zhong Kui said, "I will go to Yan Jun to explain myself." After that, leave quickly.

When Zhong Kui came to the emperor's palace, the king of hell saw that he was sad and didn't understand. He asked, "Why are you depressed when I send you to kill ghosts?"

Zhong Kui handed over his sword and said, "long live, I'm not competent. Please send another God."

King Yama said: "Ai Qing came to visit Yin Cao. He always worked very fast and conscientiously. He killed demons and Demons and made great achievements. He never played the retreat drum. What's the matter today?"

"Your Majesty, it's really hard for me to comply this time. I'm willing to be punished for my humble duty."

"What's the dilemma that Ai Qing encountered?"

Zhong Kui burst into tears. When the king of hell saw this, he was even more perplexed. For some reason, he stepped down from the throne and lifted Zhong Kui up with both hands. Wen Yan said, "Ai Qing, if you have something to say, I will not blame you."

Zhong Kui wiped his tears and said in a trembling voice: "those ghosts who come to the hell cry bitterly because they miss their relatives in the world. They are all born of their parents. How can they be merciless? I can't bear to start my humble duty, so I have to ask long live to remove me from the position of Marshal Pinggui. "

Yama listened and was silent. In the evening, he took off his official robe, put on his casual clothes, and went to the cliff to investigate. When he saw that Zhong Kui's words were true, he felt impatient and restless. For several days, he was silent and did not think about food and tea. Seeing this, the judge was very worried, and suggested: "if we can let the souls of the underworld meet their relatives in the world of Yang..."

As soon as Yama's eyes brightened, Mao Sai suddenly opened up and said with great joy, "you're right. If you want to let them see their relatives, it's not enough for them to miss them!"

Yama immediately summoned the local officials and generals to discuss and decided to build a "wangxiangtai" to let the ghost of the Yin Cao look at his hometown and relatives.

From then on, the cry of the ghost disappeared. At the top of the famous mountain in Fengdu, there was a watchtower beside the temple of the son of heaven

Chinese PinYin : Wang Xiang Tai