Chapter 65 Granted permission to bury his mother

Li Lianying relied on the favor of the Empress Dowager Cixi to do her best all her life, and even her family members followed suit. No matter what weddings and weddings are held at home, they can do it in a grand manner.Among them, the grand funeral ceremony held after the death of Li Lianying's mother was the most solemn.In the countryside, there is a grand funeral, which is called a big funeral in dialect.The so-called big funeral is actually doing everything possible, there is no specific measurement standard or limit, three days, five days, seven days are called for a big funeral, and a month is also called for a big funeral.But usually the surrounding folks will give this ceremony a positioning according to how high the standard is, how grand the ceremony is, how many guests and friends are entertained, and how much money is spent.

Li Lianying's funeral ceremony for his mother can be said to redefine a big funeral, raising the standards unprecedentedly.In short, it means high specifications, long time, many guests, grand ceremony, banquet, etc. The amount of money spent is simply astronomical for ordinary people.It can be described as unprecedented, unprecedented, and unrepeatable.In short, there is no other large family that can be compared with it, and it has caused a great sensation in the rural neighborhoods of the surrounding counties. In the early winter of the thirty-second year of Guangxu (1906), Li Lianying's mother died of illness in the mansion in Cotton Alley in Xizhimen, Beijing.This year Li Lianying was fifty-nine years old.For the eunuch who had no biological flesh and blood, the death of his elderly mother was heart-wrenching and deeply saddening.In the midst of extreme grief, he thought over the ups and downs and ups and downs of honor and disgrace for most of his life, and finally realized that all honor and disgrace are external things, and the most important truth is to live well.No matter how much property there is, it is something outside the body, so Li Lianying decided to hold a funeral ceremony for her mother, so as to glorify the family, and also set an example for her heirs and nephews, and let them have a reference standard after a hundred years.

In order to save the soul of his mother, he invited lamas, monks, and Taoists to chant scriptures. After seven or seven forty-nine days, he parked the coffin in Huguo Temple and hired more than 30 people to guard it day and night. , Three sacrificial matters in the evening.Li Lianying never acts rashly when encountering problems, and always thinks twice before making a decision.If he wants to hold a large-scale funeral ceremony for his mother, he must report to Empress Dowager Cixi first, and then make arrangements after asking for approval.First, to show respect for the Empress Dowager Cixi, and to consider her authority everywhere, and second, to do things well if there is a decree, so that Cixi can make decisions for herself if there are troubles caused by extra problems.

Therefore, Li Lianying reported to the Empress Dowager Cixi with great grief: her mother died of illness, and it was difficult for the servant to repay her kindness. She planned to return home with her coffin in late February of the following year, and held a funeral in March. , It's okay, but it's a wish of a slave to be a son and daughter.Please give instructions to the Queen Mother. Empress Dowager Cixi has always advocated the observance of filial piety. After listening to Li Lianying's report, she was also very moved. She gave her special permission to go and handle it, and rewarded 480,000 taels of silver for funerals. .Li Lianying is not short of money, what he wants is Cixi's decree, with this decree, he can use his hands and feet to make a big deal.Li Lianying hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to thank her.

Although Cixi verbally expressed that she would reward him with 480,000 taels of silver for funeral expenses, based on the financial situation of the Qing Dynasty at that time, I am afraid that she could only pay lip service.But for Li Lianying, who is rich and powerful, he doesn't care. With the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Lianying started specific arrangements.He first sent his fourth brother Shengtai and fifth brother Shitai back to their hometowns, and discussed with the clansmen about the funeral arrangements.When the two brothers returned to Dacheng Manor, they invited the clansmen to make an agreement. First, more than 20 local gentry and capable people were invited from the ten surrounding Jia villages to be in charge of the funeral.Then he told them that now, under the order of his second brother Li Lianying, the funeral for his mother is based on the cost of 500,000 taels of silver. If there is any shortage, they can add more at any time.

These squires are people from the countryside who have seen the world, and they are all prominent figures in the local area. They usually take care of weddings and funerals, and they are often familiar with such things.However, no one has ever spent so much money, and everyone was surprised for a long time. We always say that it is difficult to do things without money, but we also worry about having too much money. Since they were invited to spend the five hundred thousand taels of silver, they had to handle it according to this standard.Otherwise, according to the usual standard of ordinary landlords, the odds are more than enough.So, a group of people started discussing how to spend the five hundred thousand taels of silver.

Everyone moved out the "Encyclopedia of Funeral Rites" and "Complete Book of Funerals" that had been covered with dust for many years, and implemented them item by item in accordance with ancient rituals. , after nearly half a month of arrangement, I finally made a list.But Li Lianying hadn't reviewed this arrangement, so he didn't know if it could meet Li Lianying's request, so he sent four representatives to Beijing to report back to Li Lianying and inquire about Li Lianying's attitude. Several people came to Beijing, met Li Lianying, exchanged greetings, and hurriedly explained the funeral arrangements from beginning to end.Although Li Lianying was not very satisfied with their arrangement and felt that it was not grand enough, it was not good to refute her face.After he pondered for a while, he said: In the depths of winter, the weather is freezing, and all the folks have to travel all the way to Beijing. You have not stayed at the hotel to rest for a few days, but you come to my place to discuss the ceremony. Yingtai feels guilty and helpless. The time for my mother to hold a big funeral is imminent. Although there are still more than three months to go, many things need to be arranged quickly to avoid unfulfilled wishes.I have to work hard for you, thank you all.All the arrangements proposed by you are quite satisfactory.Just to make things more pompous and decent.Don't be afraid to spend money. If it's not enough, you can add 500,000 taels more, and I'll trouble you to go back and make detailed arrangements.

After hearing this, several people all looked at each other in blank dismay, knowing that they had made a fool of themselves in front of Li Lianying.Li Lianying went on to say: This time my mother will hold a big funeral, the ceremony must be very particular, the momentum must be particularly grand, the funeral must also be done according to the folk customs of Beijing or Tianjin, all the paperwork must be exquisite, all must be made locally in Beijing, and then shipped back Dacheng County.The bearers of all the coffins were also hired from Beijing.In addition, my mother liked to listen to operas before she was alive, so she invited two major operas: one Hebei Bangzi is considered a hometown opera, and you invite it; one Peking opera is invited from Beijing, and I arrange it.The banquet for entertaining guests must be first-class, and the folks who have contributed are not to be treated badly.If during the great funeral, the elders and folks in the surrounding three villages and five miles don't set off fireworks, then it will be considered that we have done a perfect job.For all the tenant farmers and beggars in the manor, as long as they have filial piety and come to mourn and kowtow, they must be treated equally, and they should not be treated lightly. The tenants and beggars who came to stay here should let them feel the kindness of my Li family and the love of my mother.

Also, if my surname Li moves to other villages and other places, I will try my best to bring everyone back, and I will pay for all expenses.In order to pursue the ancestors carefully and repay the ancestors' sinful virtues, during the spirit opening period, the ancestors are sacrificed every day.The road from the door to the cemetery should also be repaired to ensure cleanliness and smooth flow.It can be rammed with wheat straw, and the trees on both sides of the road should be tied with plain silk, and several plain archways should be tied inside and outside the main entrance of the cemetery.As for the specific questions about the funeral procession, we will invite someone from Beijing to take care of it at that time.For other affairs and specific details, you will make arrangements and implement them one by one. Calculated after five installments, it will take thirty-five days. Are you afraid that you will not be able to spend the money?However, one must pay attention to one thing. Although the Li family has some money, it is not considered an official in the court.The most important thing is to let the guests and neighbors who participated in this ceremony eat and drink well. After we finish the work, the villagers will more or less leave some things that can be used for a long time, which can be regarded as a little care for them.Everyone understands what I mean, just go back and make arrangements.When things are done, I will reward everyone.

The four of them finally understood how complicated and solemn the matter they were dealing with was, and they went back to their hometown with expressions of envy and trepidation.After three months of full preparation, things were finally ready ahead of schedule.In the blink of an eye, it was late February in the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), and the funeral period was over. Li Lianying personally carried the coffin to Tongzhou to board a boat, and transported it back to Dacheng by water.Li Lianying did not go with the boat, but went home by land first, checked all the arrangements carefully, and then arranged for the hearse to pick up the spirit.

Before the opening ceremony on the first day of March, those who arrived at Li's manor in advance, in addition to celebrities from all walks of life and gentry who had contacts with the Li family in Beijing and Tianjin, also included Li Lianying's friend Ruan Zhongshu, Yuan Shikai's eldest son Yuan Keding, and Li's family in Beijing. Relatives and friends who are officials, etc.Because Ruan Zhongshu is a Juren, he is the person with the highest reputation among the guests, so Ruan Zhongshu will be the master when opening the spirit.Because Yuan Keding and Li Fuwang were kowtow brothers, they were called grandchildren, dressed in linen and filial piety, and accompanied by Fu Ling.County Magistrate Zhao of Dacheng County also brought a few horses to express condolences. Li Lianying was very unhappy because he had not come to report beforehand. Ma Bian looks after the carriages and horses of relatives and friends.Yuan Shikai chose to send 300 horses for this large-scale ceremony, and placed them four or five miles south of the Ziya River to patrol and guard the funeral. The mourning hall is located in the middle of the hall.There is an incense table in front of the spirit, and a golden incense burner about a foot in size is placed on it, and the incense is lingering all day and all night.The offerings on the table include dried and fresh fruits, four-season cakes, big eight pieces, small eight pieces, etc.The sacrificial table of delicacies from mountains and seas is changed every morning, noon and night.The walls of the hall are even more hung with elegiac couplets and banners of princes and ministers of the capital and celebrities from all walks of life.The pillars in the courtyard were originally red, and they were all wrapped in white silk and black gauze.The golden plaque in the gate hole was temporarily removed, and a black plaque on a white background with the words "major event" was hung.The main gate, the ritual gate, and the three gates are all open, and you can look directly at the mourning hall while standing on the street.Inside and outside the courtyard, all the trees are covered with white sacrificial flowers.The filial men and filial daughters of the Li family, and even the younger generation of relatives and friends, all wore white hats, white filial gowns and gowns, and white cloth shoes on their feet.Only Mother Li's nanmu coffin is painted with maroon lacquer on the ground, with golden lacquer flowers on it, five blessings holding longevity on the forehead, a cluster of lotus flowers behind it, peonies with gold leaves on the coffin lid, and flowers and plants of the four seasons on both sides.Every night, inside and outside the mourning hall, in front of and behind the house, lanterns and torches are all brightly lit.The sudden addition of so many wreaths, white cloths, and endless burning incense, inevitably poses a fire hazard.Therefore, in order to prevent the fire, the Li family added dozens of people to watch at night. In terms of transcendence, in addition to the lamas invited from Beijing to recite scriptures, there are also monks and Taoists. It is really a big gathering of Buddhism and Taoism.They make altars, ashrams, walk on golden bridges, silver bridges and other sacrificial activities to save the dead.Every morning before the opening of the spirit, the sharp guns and cannons are fired, which can be heard in all neighborhoods and towns.The gong and drum troupe and the veteran troupe will play in front of the spirit.In addition, specially invited local clappers and Beijing operas sing to each other every morning, and there are also three or four groups singing small operas with gongs and gongs.The mat shed is set up outside the soil fence, and the two rows are opposite to each other, forming an alley, which is symmetrical on the left and right.During the day, it is used to entertain guests, have feasts and rest, and at night to hire handymen and beggars for accommodation.Within thirty-five days, relatives came to express their condolences, and those who listened to the play and watched the excitement were crowded with people. According to the local customs, the banquet for entertaining guests is really top-notch. It is called thirteen bowls, that is, four cold dishes and four small bowls. In addition to whole chicken, whole duck and whole fish, there are elbows, meatballs, eight big pieces, poke knife (that is, eight white meat), soup, etc.There are three banquets in the morning, noon and evening every day, with at least forty or fifty tables at a time, with eight people per table.About 120 tables of dishes are prepared every day, and when the weather is good, there will be more than 200 tables of banquets a day.In short, no matter those who are mourning or those who are listening to a play or watching a show, they can all be seated.Li Lianying was very considerate. In order to take care of the elderly, weak, sick and disabled who could not go out, eight large vats were buried on both sides of the front door of Li's house. The meat in the vats was always full, and there were always baskets of steamed buns. Neighbors in the village can come and take it away at any time and eat it at home.Alcohol is free to drink without restriction. When the villagers saw this, they all smiled and said to Li Lianying that he would spend a lot of money now.Li Lianying was very happy to hear that, and felt that he was being respected by others for saying so.So he said, now is the time when there is a shortage of people, and it is inevitable that some neighbors will not be able to make ends meet, and Li Lianying has relieved the urgent needs of the villagers. An old man who personally participated in this grand ceremony recalled that when he was nine years old, he lived in his grandfather's house in Li Jia Village, and his uncle was one of the chief funeral directors invited.He and his third uncle filled the house with water jars two or three times a day. Except for drinking a lot of wine every day during the period, at the end of the final funeral, there was still a jar of wine in his grandfather's house that could hold seven dans of water.Pork is available at any time. A large pond that can hold three or four hundred pigs has been dug outside the village. There are always a large number of live pigs in stock, and four or five carts are sent to various places in the county every day to buy them.In order to ensure the quality of pork, each pig must be more than 150 catties.Within a few days, all the live pigs around the county town were sold out, and they were bought in Qingxian, Jinghai, Wen'an, Hejian, Renqiu and other counties farther away.For a time, the price of pork soared, and the people who raised the pigs were very happy, and they had no worries about food and clothing for a year.The kitchen is also a temporary mat shed. The chefs of the red case alone invited more than 200 people to line up and cook meals every day. The scene is very spectacular.The work of steaming steamed buns was specially contracted to Bian Zhuangzi and other three villages, so that the whole village was full of smoke all day long, and it was very lively. In fact, at the beginning, people didn't know that people could sit and eat while watching the excitement, and things didn't go as expected.According to the current words, the advertising effect is not obvious.Three to five days after the opening of the spirit, almost all relatives and friends from far and near came, but not many people from the surrounding villages came to eat and drink.Li Lianying felt that their work was not done properly, so she was furious, saying that the fourth brother was not popular, otherwise why didn't the villagers come! The general manager of the affairs hurriedly persuaded him to excuse Li Lianying's fourth brother, saying that 300 pairs of horses were guarded around the manor, armed with guns and ammunition, and the guards were heavy.Li Lianying just woke up like a dream, and quickly let Yuan Shikai's guards rest during the day and come out to patrol at night. In order to make the funeral grand and lively, fireworks were set off four times during the funeral.In order to ensure the supply of fireworks for the ceremony, more than a dozen veteran artists worked there for more than three months from the preparation to the end of the funeral.The firework crafts at that time were exquisite and unique. In addition to firecrackers and fireworks with different characteristics, Li Lianying also asked them to develop new iron tree silver flowers and story baskets at a high price.Among them, in the story basket, there are squirrels eating grapes, flat peach meeting, celestial maidens scattered flowers, Zhu Bajie carrying his wife on his back, Monkey King crossing the Flame Mountain, etc.It was released four times during the mourning period.In addition to the release of the spirit and the night before the funeral, there are two releases in the middle.Dozens of story baskets in various poses and with different expressions are set off every time, and the expenditure alone amounts to more than 10,000 taels of silver. In addition, there is paperwork. It is impossible to calculate how many pieces were produced.In addition to inviting all the paperwork craftsmen in Dacheng County, many skilled craftsmen were also hired from Tianjin and Beijing, and it took a total of three months.On the day of the funeral, on both sides of the five-mile-long road from the gate of Li's house to the cemetery, one side by one, and try to ensure that the same is not repeated, it has become a great spectacle in Dacheng County. There are also several archways built on the avenue from the gate of Li's house to the cemetery. The one standing at the gate of the cemetery is the most spectacular. It is all made of pine and cypress branches, silk flowers, gold foil, and silver foil. In the fairyland of ghosts, on the banner to the north it is written that the fragrance will last through the ages.All the big characters on the plaques are in thin gold style, with powerful strokes, all inscribed by Li Lianying himself. It can be said that the entire funeral period was a super luxurious lineup.However, the most daring and spectacular day is the day of the final funeral and sealing of the coffin.The ceremony on this day is very particular. According to the folk customs, the deceased is sent to the road first, and a sitting money is placed on a chair (sitting money is a thing made of paper money tied into a human shape, which represents the soul of the deceased), and some paper figures and paper horses are placed in front of it. Cars, boats, sedan chairs, etc., after the filial sons kowtow to worship, these things are burned, implying that the souls of the dead will be sent to the west, and they will go to the fairyland of Yaochi to meet the queen mother. After that, the coffin was lifted to pull the hearse, and the coffin of the deceased was buried in the ground.The hearse is made by masters hired from the bar room in Beijing. Four cart wheels are used to tie the bars to the top and connect them, and then lay wooden boards on which a special coffin base (also known as coffin bed), the top of the coffin is covered with a large embroidered cover of red satin, and an altar is specially set up in front of the coffin. .Both sides are full of paper-made boys and girls, each standing in a big blooming lotus, holding a lantern in one hand and a dust whisk in the other.The female relatives of the deceased sat in front of and behind the coffin cover, and the hearse was pulled in turn by ten young and strong filial sons and 190 bearers specially hired from Beijing. The custom is called pulling the hearse. The funeral procession walking in front of the hearse was also huge.At the front of the procession is a carriage, pulling paper money and wheat bran, and throwing money while walking. This is to spread money for the dead, so that the dead can walk safely and securely.Then there are sharpshooters who walk and release, and then there are ten guiding flags and five pairs of gongs, which are knocked while walking. It is composed of ten people, and the above are considered to be the vanguard.Behind are forty pans, umbrellas, covers, and buildings, which are carried by deacons.Next are six colored palanquins in colorful pavilions, each carried by eight people, and below that is a guard of honor composed of forty Xueliu, all hired boys aged fifteen or sixteen, each holding two Xueliu Willow branches pasted with white paper), followed by monks, lamas, Taoist priests and drummers, followed by a soul sedan chair, which contained the soul card of Li Mu (that is, the god master), and was also carried by eight people. .Next are the vehicles of relatives, friends, filial sons and other female relatives, all following behind the hearse.The entire funeral procession was one kilometer long from head to toe, and marched mightily towards the cemetery. In order to make the hearse run smoothly, dozens of people were hired to repair the entire road leading to the cemetery for more than a month. Three days before the funeral, the entire road was soaked with water, covered with wheat straw, and rubbed several times with a loom. all over.The 300 pairs of horses sent by Yuan Shikai had arrived at the cemetery ahead of schedule, each with white flowers on their chests, standing with guns, and guarding the periphery of the cemetery.Before the hearse enters the cemetery, guards of honor are lined up on both sides of the cemetery's Yonglu. Dutiful men and filial women, shoulder to shoulder, kneel on both sides of the Yonglu, waiting for the hearse.At this time, eight sharp guns were fired continuously, and after twenty-four rings, firecrackers were fired again, and finally, amidst the sound of mourning and music, the hearse slowly approached the tomb along the corridor. After the coffin was buried, it was immediately buried with sandstone.At this time, all the paper jobs brought in were also burned one by one.Because there are so many paper jobs, it took an hour just to burn them, and half the sky was red.Three days later, craftsmen were hired to renovate the cemetery.Mother Li's coffin was buried very deep, nine feet above the ground, and a three-foot-high wall was built around it. The roof was sealed with cement, and flowers and trees were planted around. After Li's mother's funeral, Li Lianying was not in a hurry to return to Beijing, but stayed at home for a while. After the accountant settled the funeral and reported all the expenses to him, Li Lianying made a summary of this grand ceremony. conclusion is complete.And accompanied by my fourth brother Shengtai and others, I went to every house to see it.He was very happy when he saw that almost every household had a stockpile of dried steamed buns and a tank or two of liquor.Because he planned it this way from the beginning, and now that everyone has saved something, he is also very happy, thinking that the villagers can finally survive this sluggish spring.