When Zhuge Liang died, why did he have seven grains of rice in his mouth?

This is because in ancient times, the number 7 represented the unfathomable. 7 days is the reincarnation period of the moon, and usually the soul will come back seven days after death, so Zhuge Liang took 7 grains of rice in his mouth when he died, in fact, to hide the fact that he was no longer there.

According to superstition, after death, people should have something in their mouth that can prove their identity and status, Zhuge Liang is a scholar, so he contains rice.

Answer: Zhuge Liang's official position before his death belonged to the scholar class, and the rice was in line with the ancient funeral etiquette; The ancients believed that seven was a yin number, and seven days after death was the night of the soul, and the ancients attached special importance to seven; Pray that the star will not be extinguished, and continue to guard the rivers and mountains of Shu Han to prevent chaos.

After Zhuge Liang died, he had seven grains of rice in his mouth so that the stars would not fall.

In fact, this statement originates from the 114th chapter of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhuge Liang borrowed his life to no avail and died of illness in Wuzhangyuan, but in order to let the Shu army retreat, he made a will, ordering Yang Yi not to mourn after his death, make a large shrine (kān), let his body sit in it, and take 7 grains of rice in his mouth, and light a bright lamp under his feet, and the army was quiet as usual.

According to Zhuge Liang's words, if you say so, the stars will not fall. We all know that the ancients' stargazing was very developed, and Zhuge Liang was even more adept at using stargazing.

Causes of rice

There are stars in the sky, and if you have seven grains of rice in your mouth after death, it has the meaning of eating like a normal person.

In addition to the saying of eating like a normal person, there is also a saying that the ancients were very particular about what people contained after death, the Son of Heaven contains jade, the princes contain pearls, and the doctor contains rice, and Zhuge Liang is a scholar, so it contains rice.

In Zhuge Liang's own words, holding seven grains of rice in his mouth is a spell that can keep his soul, ensure that the stars representing him in the sky do not fall, create the illusion that he is alive, and achieve the purpose of covering the retreat of the Shu army.

When Zhuge Liang died, he had the meaning of seven grains of rice in his mouth, and the ancient folk custom of holding something in his mouth could ensure that the deceased had a certain amount of property among the people after his death. In order to confuse the enemy army and create the illusion that he is still alive. This is also done only to avoid extravagance.

Introduction

Zhuge Liang (181 - October 8, 234), the name Kongming, the name Wolong, Langya Yangdu (now Yinan County, Shandong Province), the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, an outstanding politician, military strategist, inventor and writer in ancient China.

Zhuge Liang went to Jingzhou with his uncle Zhuge Xuan in his early years, and after Zhuge Xuan's death, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong. Later, Liu Bei invited Zhuge Liang to join Sun Quan of Eastern Wu to defeat Cao's army in the Battle of Chibi, forming the momentum of the Three Kingdoms, and seizing Jingzhou. In the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), he captured Yizhou.

Then he defeated Cao's army and captured Hanzhong. In the first year of Zhang Wu (221), Liu Bei established the Shu Han regime in Chengdu, and Zhuge Liang was appointed prime minister. The latter lord Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, and Zhuge Liang was named the Marquis of Wuxiang and led the Yizhou pastor.

Be diligent and prudent, handle political affairs in person, and reward and punish them strictly; Alliance with Soochow to improve relations with various ethnic groups in the southwest; We should implement the policy of tuntian and strengthen war preparedness.

Zhuge Liang as Liu Bei's henchman, he was far-sighted, witty, during the period of helping Liu Bei, along the way to the disadvantaged Liu Bei to be able to compete with Cao Cao, Sun Quan for the position of the world, but it is a pity that Liu Bei's business has not been completely successful, and he died on the wayAnd Liu Bei handed over Adou Liu Chan, who couldn't be helped, to Zhuge Liang before he died. And Zhuge Liang regretted that he could not fulfill the last wish of the first emperor before he died, and when he finally came to the Northern Expedition, he finally ended his life, but what is very puzzling is that why did Zhuge Liang have seven grains of rice in his mouth when he was dying?

As we all know, Zhuge Liang "knows astronomy and geography", when Liu Bei was still alive, he assisted Liu Bei wholeheartedly, and it was precisely because of Zhuge Liang's advice that Liu Bei came to a very high position, in fact, all this is not only because of Zhuge Liang's strategyWhat's more is that this person is very good at analyzing things, many times he only needs to pinch his fingers, and he knows what is about to happen, so Shu can do a good job of "the right time, the right place and the right people" when fighting!

It's just a pity that he finally met Sima Yi. Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang should be regarded as the same kind of people, and this person is also good at clever calculations, so after Sima Yi came out, Shu was repeatedly frustrated militarilyIt is precisely because of the appearance of Sima Yi that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was unsuccessful seven times, until the last time, Zhuge Liang calculated that this may be his last Northern Expedition, and this one is likely to go and never return, but Sima Yi is a very powerful person, if he is not eliminated, then it will be difficult to have this opportunity in the future.

However, bad luck, Zhuge Liang could not defeat Sima Yi before he died. So during the last Northern Expedition, he died of hatred with seven grains of rice in his mouth, and lit the sky lantern with his feetIn fact, he wanted Sima Yi to find out that he had died when he was watching the celestial observations, and then attack them on a large scale, and this method did hide from Sima Yi, and finally the Shu army retreated safely to Hanzhong.

As long as it comes to the Three Kingdoms, there is no one who doesn't know Zhuge Liang, even children know it, it can be said that he is a household name, and Zhuge Liang in Romance is even more divine, not only knows astronomy and geography, but also is proficient in the way of governing the country, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is an all-round talent in today's words. Zhuge Liang has not yet come out of the woodwork, and has set a strategy of dividing the world into three parts. Death does not let Sima Yi feel at ease, dead Zhuge scared Zhongda to death, according to legend, Zhuge Liang asked for seven grains of rice in his mouth after his death, why at this time?

As for why seven grains are put in the general, the approximate number "seven" has a profound cultural meaning in China's funeral rites. The seventh half of the lunar calendar is the mid-year festival, also commonly known as the "ghost festival", which is the day of the night tour of the hundred ghosts in ancient times, and the folk of our country have always had the custom of burning incense and candles on both sides of the road. In Taoist beliefs, the importance of the Big Dipper.

Zhuge Liang asked people to put seven grains of rice in their mouths after the death of others, and they could use the power of the Big Dipper to suppress the souls that were about to dissipate in their bodies. So that you can keep the stars alive.

It is also to make money available to the soul when it passes through the underworld. During the Han Dynasty, Wei and Jin dynasties, people had great respect for the dead, and even now there is a saying that "death is great", one is the biggest thing about death, everything must stand aside, and the second is that the dead are the most respectful people, and no one is allowed to offend the dead. In the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, there was more "death is like life", that is, the dead should be treated with the same respect as they were during their lifetime, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was also influenced by this concept to a certain extent, Zhuge Liang had rice in his mouth, and it was also the respect of the living with him, and more importantly, Zhuge Liang wanted to use the technique of "Liuding Liujia" to keep the star from falling after his death, in case Sima Yi saw through the facts.

The number "seven" has a profound cultural meaning in our country's funeral rites. The seventh half of the seventh month of the Yellow Calendar is the Midyear Festival, also commonly known as the "Ghost Festival", which is the day of the night tour of the hundred ghosts in ancient times, and the folk of our country have always had the custom of burning incense and candles on both sides of the road. In addition, the "first seven" is to be done seven days after death, as it is said that the deceased will return home after seven days, and the family will need to prepare a meal for the deceased.

After that, you have to perform the corresponding ritual every seven days, and you can do it for 7749 days before you can surpass the soul of the deceased. Putting seven grains of rice is also borrowing the ancient and mysterious cultural meaning behind the number "seven" to set off Zhuge Liang's unfathomable profundity!

Legend has it that before his death, Zhuge Liang had a request to bring his body back to Nanzheng for burial and put seven grains of rice in his body's mouth. The exact reason for this request has not been recorded exactly, but there are some possible explanations for Jean Kei. First of all, some people think that this legend is from an ancient ** "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", so it is a completely fictional story.

However, this legend is also considered by many historians and literary critics as a historical event that may have authenticity. Secondly, some people believe that this legend is related to Zhuge Liang's belief in Buddhism. There is a concept in Buddhism that says "seven days of hunger, hail, sail and hunger", which means that after a person dies, his or her soul will go through seven stages of hunger and suffering before finally gaining a chance to be reincarnated.

Therefore, after Zhuge Liang died, putting seven grains of rice in his mouth may have been to help his soul get through these seven stages. Third, another explanation is that this legend may be related to Zhuge Liang's moral concept. It is said that Zhuge Liang despised those who pursued honor and power excessively, and once taught his protégé to say:

I am not proud of what I get, but the people say that I am able to judge things, and that I will be hungry when I do things. Therefore, some people believe that this legendary seven-grain rice represents Zhuge Liang's modesty and frugality. In addition to these explanations, there are some other extensions of this legend, such as the legend of the Seven Stars Dynasty and the theme of seven emotions and six desires.

Either way, the legend has become a classic in Chinese culture, providing a deeper understanding of Zhuge Liang.

In ancient times, there was a saying that the prince contained jade, the princes contained pearls, and the doctor contained rice. There is a folk saying that after death, people have rice in their mouths, which means that he still eats like a normal person, and can keep his star from falling, which makes Sima Yi not sure whether Zhuge Liang is dead or not, so he does not dare to fight a battle without a score.

In fact, in ancient times, funerals were made up of a hierarchical system, the general emperor had jade in his mouth, and the general scholar doctor had rice in his mouth, Zhuge Liang, as a scholar, should have rice according to the etiquette system, so he asked for rice after death in accordance with the etiquette system. The term "seven grains of rice" is seven days, and the cycle of the moon is seven days, which is what we often call a week. It was in order to allow the Shu army to retreat safely that Zhuge Liang made this kind of deception.