What does a ghost look like？

Original understanding knowledge er understanding knowledge is included in the topic # 12 general courses of knowing crows

The biggest difference between Chinese characters and alphabetic writing is that it is not just a recording symbol.

As a kind of hieroglyphics, Chinese characters, which are produced by basic word-making methods such as knowing and pointing things, contain the ancient people’s cognition of everything in the universe at the beginning of its birth.

The simplest example, the word "Sun" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, reflects the ancestors’ knowledge of the sun.

| Oracle Bone Inscriptions-Japanese character

The most direct hieroglyphics, such as Japanese characters, embody simple and direct human cognition. However, the Chinese characters that can be tested for more than 3,000 years have experienced an extremely complicated evolution process. In addition to the most direct cognition, people’s cognition of society, emotion and a series of human world is also included in Chinese characters.

It can be said that the evolution of Chinese characters is the embodiment of Chinese’s cognitive evolution of everything, which also reflects the evolution of ancient people’s thoughts and social culture.

The general course of "Knowing Crows" is "Understanding Chinese Characters One by One". Starting from the etymology, glyphs and meanings of Chinese characters, we can interpret the ancient origins and present meanings of Chinese characters, explore the ancient people’s thinking, wisdom and cognition of the universe and things, and explore the most essential part of China culture.

Today, I also bring one of the Chinese characters related to death: "ghost" to explore the ancient people’s cognition of death and ghost.

In traditional customs, people have many taboos, for example, dying in person. When two people chat and talk about "death", they will probably stop, spit and go to bad luck. However, some people love talking about death, especially telling ghost stories. Some people are willing to listen to it.

For example, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, an emperor who was kind and loved the people and ranked among the "twenty-four filial piety", gathered around Jia Yi at night to listen to ghost stories.

If the one who loves to listen to ghost stories happens to be a scholar, he should be more careful to record the strange ghost stories. Naturally, these unsavoury gossip can’t be included in the positive collection, so "note novels" have become an excellent place to accommodate such wild talk.

These literati have a very strange attitude towards the matter of life and death, as if they can control two sets of value systems at any time.

The "face-saving" thing is Confucius’ disciple style. "I don’t talk about strangeness, strength, chaos and god." Of course, my disciples and grandchildren have to keep their mouths shut. Confucius made it clear: "It is not urgent now to give the deceased knowledge and ignorance, but to know it later. Confucius’ answer to the question of knowing or not knowing after death is calm and mean, and you will know when you die.

| Confucius

Image source: Wikipedia

Of course, some people openly talk about death in a serious way. Wang Chong said in the article On Balance and Death:

"When people die, their spirits ascend to heaven, and their bones return to the earth, so they are called ghosts. Ghost, return also. 」

A ghost is a return, a soul after death. The pronunciation of the word "ghost" is similar to that of the word "GUI". Understanding "ghost" by "Gui" also reflects the ancient people’s romantic cognition of death.

What does the ghost look like?

Wang Chong went on to say that after death, a person looks the same as before, with only the difference of spirit. He used an image metaphor. People live like a bag full of rice grains, full of spirit, people die like a bag, and ghosts are like a tattered rice bag, faded.

This description is one of the most common imaginations of "ghosts" in history. Think about it, ghosts in many horror movies are what they were before their lives plus some strange images.

However, "human-like" ghosts seem too common, and it doesn’t sound enjoyable enough, so people have opened their minds, and the theory of ghosts and gods is full of literati’s "lining"-note novels. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there has been a flood of note novels about ghosts and monsters, and this tradition has not been cut off until now.

In the note novel Wen Jian Yi by Xu Qiuyi of Qing Dynasty, there is a story of Big Head Ghost:

"When I was a public servant, I went to the toilet by the moon in the middle of August, and I was lonely and bored. I said in a poem," The middle of the night is half past midnight. As he pondered, a ghost emerged from the ground, his head as big as a box, and he replied, "Mid-Autumn Festival in August. "Yu rubbed his top cloud with his hand:" The kid is so big. "The ghost replied," Master Xiang is so bold. 』」

| "Smell different words"

Author: Xu Qiuyi Qing Dynasty

This is a ghost story made up by later generations for Yu Qian in Ming Dynasty, saying that he had met a ghost when he was a scholar. This ghost can not only appear in the world, but also has a negative literary talent and is keen on playing against others. Ghosts are also very vivid in appearance, and their heads are as big as shackles. The shackles are containers made of bamboo or wicker. In Surprise at the First Moment, there was also an analogy of "head swelling like shackles".

The saying that ghosts have very big heads is very popular. There are also ghosts with similar faces in "Harmony Duo" by Shen Qifeng of Qing Dynasty, and an article in "Old Face Ghost" records:

"My teacher, Mr. Zhang Truman, set up an account in Dongting Dongshan. Yan Aiting and Qian Xiangyi did not enter the Ci Hall, and they were educated under the same roof. One night, under the lantern, a ghost poked its head in the sparse tree. At first, it was like a dustpan, then it was like a kettle, and then it was as big as a car grapefruit. Eyebrows are like brooms, eyes are like bells, two cheekbones are high and thick, and five buckets of common dust are piled up. The teacher smiled, took the book "Orange Membranes" and said, "Do you know this word? "Ghosts are silent. The teacher said, "If you can’t read, why pretend to be such a big face to people? "After two fingers to play its surface, ring like a leather. Because he laughed, he said, "You are so thick-skinned, no wonder you don’t save trouble! "Ghosts are ashamed, and the meal is as small as a bean. Teacher Gu’s disciple said, "I said he was dressed like this, but he was a faceless man and came here to fool around. Take the sabre and cut it, and it will fall to the ground. Pick it up, a penny. 」

| "Harmony"

Author: Shen Qifeng

Publishing House: People’s Literature Publishing House

Publication date: 1985

It says here that when I was studying with Mr. Zhang Truman, I once met a ghost. He described it very vividly, like a close-up movie. The ghost’s face will gradually grow bigger. At first, it looks like a dustpan. After a while, it will be as big as a pot. After a while, it will be as big as a wheel. Ghosts also look strange, with eyebrows like two brooms, eyes as big as bells, cheekbones towering into the sky, and dust on them.

This ghost is not as smart as the ghost seen by Yu Qian, and he doesn’t know any big characters, let alone any knowledge. He was laughed at by Mr. Zhang Truman for having no goods in his stomach, and he felt ashamed and suddenly became smaller.

Ghosts in these two stories are all ugly with big faces and big heads. Such descriptions are very common in many notes and sketches. Why is the theory of "big head ghost" so popular?

In Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wenzhong, ghost characters have appeared. The lower part has different shapes and looks like a person standing or kneeling.

If the word is believed to be human, then their similar upper parts all bear a huge head.

| Oracle Bone Inscriptions-Ghost Word

In Xiao Zhuan, the ghost’s glyph was added with a swastika on the basis of its original shape. There are different opinions on the meaning of the word "Yi", but the meaning is not good. "Everything is done wrong, five mistakes" said that "Cang Xie’s works are also called" the self-ring "and" the back "are called" the public ". ",it is generally said that" what you do is to seek personal gain for yourself, which is the first article of private.

"Shuo Wen Jie Zi" said, "Well, it’s treacherous. Treacherous and evil are not good words.

Words with the shape of "ghost" can’t get rid of such bad luck.

The traditional form of the word "ugly" is "ugly", which is a pictophonetic character, unitary is the sound side, and ghost is the shape side. It seems that the ugliness of ghosts is deeply rooted in people’s hearts by using the word "ghost" as the symbol of "ugliness". Now people describe something as ugly and strange, and they will wrinkle their noses and say, "just like a ghost."

It sounds interesting to explain the appearance of ghosts by ghost glyphs.

To see what a ghost looks like, you can slide the picture below to the right.

▼ Special note: Please be prepared before sliding the picture!

Just being humorous with schoolmates, you see, the word "ghost" is not only a literal symbol, but also contains Chinese’s rich spiritual world.

Other Chinese characters are also so comprehensive.

Besides ghosts, what other Chinese stories do you want to hear? You don’t need to look it up yourself, just click "Understand Chinese Characters One by One".

"Know the crow and understand the Chinese characters one by one", each episode of the video program takes the development of a Chinese character as the outline, uses the ancient research methods, existing rich materials and scientific cognitive attitude to disassemble interesting Chinese characters inside and outside the classroom, see their ancient appearance, listen to their meaning changes, or think about their scientific common sense today and understand their cultural origins.

Chen Yinque, a great historian of modern times, once said that "every word of interpretation is a cultural history". The culture mentioned here covers everything, including astronomical phenomena, social history and ways of expressing ideas, and can also be extended to literature, art and political philosophy. A small Chinese character is our window to see through culture.

If in the classroom, the study of words stops at writing on paper, memorizing pronunciation and reciting the meaning of words. That "understanding Chinese characters one by one" provides a richer, more diverse and more imaginative learning method, leading you to wander around the ancient and modern times and travel around the world.

Those Chinese characters that you are used to often have surprising explanations.

Can the word "smelly" express fragrance?

Everyone can call me?

Is "soup" just plain water?

What is the connection between "home" and pigs?

A long history of "haze"

Is it "good" to be naughty?

……

In the boundless sea of Chinese characters, "understanding Chinese characters one by one" selects "the most interesting Chinese characters", and selects "the Chinese characters you must know" from textbooks and teaching materials, and so on.

Take two minutes to enjoy the evolution of Chinese characters for thousands of years;

One Chinese character, one program, one video, and an overview of many famous sayings;

Understanding Chinese characters is the first step for us to understand China.

Original title: "What does a ghost look like? 》

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