Chapter 36 gossip sedan chair

The "sedan chair" is an ancient means of transportation. Although there are only a small number of people who have ridden it, even if it appears occasionally, it is just a glimpse of it in TV movies and folk cultural relics exhibitions. At the beginning of Taiwan's recovery, in Kaohsiung County's Meinong, Guangxing, Nanlong, Longshan, and Qishan areas where the Hakka people live together, it is possible to see weddings in the countryside using sedan chairs.This kind of sedan chair is nothing more than woven reed mats, painted in blue and red, with a piece of red silk hanging on the top of the sedan chair, it can be regarded as a wedding sedan chair for a bride.Although the sedan chairs are crude and shabby, they flash across the windy and green fields in the waves of wheat, which is quite old-fashioned. It's a pity that this kind of wedding sedan chair is rarely seen in the countryside now.

Speaking of wedding sedan chairs, the layout and style of the sedan chairs in the south are quite different from those in the north. The Ningbo-style sedan chairs in the south are the most elegant.The sedan chair itself is very skillful in painting and engraving with glue and lacquer, and the jewels and pearls are shining with glaze, but it is a pity that it is too heavy, and the bearers are some untrained fools. They take a few steps to rest and shout loudly. The newcomer Mingzhu Cuiyu sat in the sedan chair, feeling dizzy, and the suffering she had suffered was unspeakable.The wedding sedan chairs in the north are generous and elegant, not gorgeous, especially the wedding sedan chairs in Beiping have two different styles.The wedding sedan chairs used by ordinary people are mostly red embroidered sedan chair enclosures, with tin roofs and red silk, with tassels hanging from all sides, and delicate flower balls are hung on the four corners of the sedan chairs.Instead, the families of the officials used bright red tweed sedan chairs. Although there were no silver decorations or colored powder on the sedan chairs, the poles of the sedan chairs were painted black and shiny, and the reins were wrapped with fresh cinnamon sand, so they were very neat and tidy.The people who carry the sedan chair are all well-trained masters, and their clothes are neat and uniform. In summer, they wear red tasseled reed hats, and in winter they wear cloaks and crowns. In winter and summer, they all wear blue driving clothes, white cloth handles, black trousers, and white socks. Sprinkle your shoes, walk in unison, and practice floating lifts steadily. If you don’t reach the ground, you are only allowed to change shoulders, and you are not allowed to get off the sedan chair. Sitting in the sedan chair is much more comfortable and quieter than sitting in a Ningbo sedan chair.But there is one thing, there is no place to hang your legs in the sedan chair, and you have to sit cross-legged after getting on the sedan chair. Fortunately, northerners are used to operating cross-legged on the kang since childhood, and sitting cross-legged in the sedan chair does not seem to be too hard.But when Miss Nanfang came out of the pavilion in the north, she was asked to sit cross-legged in a sedan chair for an hour or two. When the wedding sedan chair arrived, the bride's legs were sore and numb that she couldn't get out of the sedan chair.

The sedan chairs used for weddings from south to north are all rented from Xijiao Shop. According to Wu Yaqin, the president of the Shanghai Ningbo Association, "There is a fellow from Ningbo who came from a wealthy family. I thought it was unlucky to rent a sedan chair for weddings and marriages, so I ordered a sedan chair myself. It is said that the cost of the sedan chair was more than 100 mu of land at that time. After the wedding ceremony, he donated the wedding sedan chair to the Ningbo Association for the wedding ceremony. People must be vying to borrow it. But after half a year, no one from the same village borrowed it for use. After careful research, no one would dare to pay twice as much as the bearer's labor. It's gone."

It is the so-called eight-carrying sedan chair, as the name suggests, there must be eight people carrying the sedan chair.According to the custom of the Qing Dynasty, military officers rode horses and civil servants sat in sedan chairs every morning. In the Tongguang period, there were glass-covered carriages, and everyone changed to horse-drawn carriages for comfort and speed.At the same time, due to the large number of people using official sedan chairs and the high cost, some people used mule carts instead. Therefore, in the last years of Guangxu, it was rare for pilgrims to ride official sedan chairs.In the past, there were green and blue official sedan chairs according to their grades. In terms of the size of the sedan chairs, they were larger in green and smaller in blue, with square eaves and round roofs, and bright and open windows, which made them grand and elegant.Although it walks in an even and stable manner, the speed is too slow. With the progress of the times, of course it will gradually be eliminated.

In the Qing Dynasty, due to the long and long imperial roads of Tianjie, the imperial court paid attention to the senior officials and rewarded them with imperial horses for imperial participation. However, the southerners did not learn bow horses and did not know how to ride, so they rewarded them with small sedan chairs.This kind of sedan chair is very light, just like an easy chair plus a footstool, as usual, it should be carried and supported by four young eunuchs, but in fact it is all done by Su La, and the little eunuchs just accompany and take care of it.This kind of small sedan chair is only used in Donghua Gate and Shenwu Gate, so it is rare to see it outside.Some simple Beijing officials are most afraid of rewards in small sedan chairs. The rewards given to the eunuch Sura in three festivals are too small to be able to afford, and too many to afford. It is really embarrassing.

This kind of sedan chair is specially used for the gods to go on tour. In the north, only Dongyue Temple and Chenghuang Temple are dedicated to the Dongyue Emperor Chenghuang. The city gods have to patrol the whole area to protect the environment and the people, so there are probably several times more miraculous sedan chairs in Taiwan than in other provinces.As for the mikoshi, because the body of the god statue is more majestic and stronger than ordinary people, the size is also larger than ordinary sedan chairs.Not only the windows are opened in all directions, but also hollowed out with real flowers, spotted with dragons and nine colors, and the inside of the sedan chair is even more decorated with brocade and embroidered, colorful papers, which are not only majestic, but also attract good faith.Mikoshi differs from ordinary sedan chairs in that it has double eaves hanging all around, and the castellation rails protrude from the bottom. Most people don’t pay much attention to these places now. In fact, people’s sedan chairs and mikoshi sedan chairs are very different, and they should not be confused.

This kind of sedan chair was a main means of transportation for traveling in the desolate desert area of ​​Northwest China before the plane and train stations were set up, but it has long since disappeared.Walking up from the mules and horses, he paced peacefully, sat in the sedan chair without the pain of bumps and tremors, and could hang his knees and stretch his legs. Back then, when my ancestor Wen Zhengong went to Uliasutai to work in Uliasutai, he passed Yumen Pass, and most of the time The journey is all by mule, camel and sedan chair.Some important memorials were written by the mules, camels and sedan chairs. The characters in the memorials should be even, straight and dense, commonly known as a stick of incense.The climate in the Northwest is hot during the day and cold at night. Sometimes when encountering a tornado, people and animals have to curl up and lie down, and wait for the strong wind to pass before they can start the journey again. In addition, the water source at Caoshiba Station is scarce, and there are mules, camels and sedan chairs to sit on. It is the most comfortable and luxurious means of transportation. La.

Among the funeral deacons of wealthy families in Peiping, there are so-called spirit sedan chairs, which are also carried by four people, with a tin roof and plain surroundings, solemn and solemn.The difference from ordinary sedan chairs is that the square windows on both sides of the sedan chair do not use glass but solid screens. It is said that with screen windows, ghosts can see people but people cannot see ghosts, and it is convenient for spirits to enter and exit.Although the superstition is ridiculous, it is true that the bar room provides the sedan chair for the soul of the bereaved family, and the windows on both sides are all made of black solid yarn.This kind of sedan chair never sits on people. It is said that there was a big house, the head of the household died of illness, and the deacons were placed all over the street.There was a bearer who played money and stayed up all night, hid in the sedan chair and took a nap, but he just ignored it, so no one who picked up the sedan chair later dared to sleep in the soul-leading sedan chair.Although it is a series of nonsense, but the words are convincing, which makes people doubtful and credible.In the southern part of the funeral, there is also a sedan chair in the ceremonial guard, which is not called the soul-leading sedan chair, but the "Jingzhong sedan chair". I remember that after Li Zhongxuan (Jingxi) died of illness, he went to the funeral in Shanghai. In the Republic of China, he served as the Prime Minister of the State for 18 days, so after his death, he was given a gift from Beiyang in the Qing Dynasty.During the funeral, the Jingbiao leads the way, followed by the Jingzhong sedan chair. All the praise and loyalty forms must be carried by an unmarried boy sitting in the sedan chair with both hands and sent to the camp.At that time, the author was in Shanghai, so this errand was undertaken by me.Although this kind of eight-carrying sedan chair is bright and spacious, and it walks smoothly without shaking, but it took four hours to stop and go from New Chongqing Road to Hongqiao, which made people anxious.This kind of Jingzhong sedan chair is used for funerals in the north, and no one has ever used it.

The pole of this kind of sedan chair is extremely short, and the sedan chair is light and crude, but each sedan chair needs five people. Although two people carry the sedan chair, it takes a big shift to carry it for half an hour. , because the mountain road is rugged and dangerous, and someone will help you for safety.When going to Jietai Temple and Tanzhe Temple to pay homage to the Buddha in the summer, most of the elderly people have to take mountain sedan chairs and go to Miaofeng Mountain to offer incense. , the pole of the sedan chair is very short, so it has the alias Shandouzi.However, there is a single-layer fabric canopy on the top, which can shade the sun and avoid the sun. Especially Miaofeng Mountain is surrounded by high rocks and even peaks, so you can enjoy a panoramic view.The beauty of the scenery, compared with the scenery of Yanzikou in Hualien, is still steep and magnificent!

Around the 14th and 15th years of the Republic of China, sedan chairs were no longer common in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but I always went to Zhenjiang Nantong once or twice a year for business. From Zhenjiang Railway Station, I passed Gyeonggi Ridge. The car suspended in the air is as fast as a galloping horse. If you are not careful, the car will hit the scales if it is small, and the person will be overturned if it is serious. Sitting on the car is really scary.So as soon as Fuci leaves the train station, as long as there is a sedan chair to pick up passengers, I will give up the car and use the sedan chair.The sedan chairs are made of bamboo, and the cloth curtains and reed screens are light and comfortable. Of course, going uphill is not very strenuous, and going downhill is not worrying too much. It was not until no one cared about the sedan chairs and changed to cars.Anyone who has been to Sichuan has probably sat on a "sliding pole". The so-called sliding pole is actually a small sedan chair for two people. You can feel the heat of lifting the slider with just one step.Generally, sliders are very simple and practical, just a small round chair. My friend Xiang Zhuo said: "I have sat on the most luxurious slider once. The seat cushions are all equipped with springs, and the armrests are also soft. Sitting on it is like sitting on a sofa." Come on." It is said that the pair of sliding poles are privately owned by a paoge boss in Hechuan, and the person who carried the sliding poles was ordered to see off the guests, and he was empty on the return journey.

Before the Anti-Japanese War, when visiting Tianping Mountain in Suzhou, there was also a kind of sedan chair to sit on. The shape and size were similar to ordinary mountain sedan chairs, except that the bearer was changed from a healthy man to a young girl with beautiful hair.Once the author, Li Liusun, Zhusun Kunji, and Zhou Diyin visited Taihu Lake, and went to Suzhou Tianping to see the maple leaves. A group of four hired four mountain sedan chairs. Zhou Diyin weighed more than 70 kilograms, but one of the people who carried the sedan chair was a newcomer The girl who has been tender and gentle for a long time, is not halfway through the mountain, she is already panting.We saw her working hard, so Zhusun and Di Yin changed sedan chairs.That delicate girl named Sanjiao, since she changed to a lighter job, her spirits have been boosted. She pointed out the mountains and forests and laughed freely. Qingxing is endless.The scene of carrying the mountain sedan chair upside down to Tianping to see the maple leaves has been unforgettable for a long time.Now sitting in a sedan chair has become a historical relic, even if they chat casually, it is equivalent to the white-headed palace maid talking about Tianbao's legacy.