The Most Mysterious Cluture in Xiangxi-GanShi

 
"Gan Shi", which is the way to send the dead person to his hometown, is the most mysterious one among the three ancient mysteries of West Hunan.

In the end of 1940s, a man shouldering kiln goods died of an emergency in Mushan village of Yongding District in Zhangjiajie, because he was from the Guniubei hill which was opposite to the Dongting stream, his family want to bring his corpse back, but there were not enough people in his family, so his brother went to the Jinzhai altar to ask the Master Wizard , Jinjiugong ,for help. Before beginning to do it, Jin made a divination to ask for his master's permission, then he began his journey. When he reached Mushan Village, he immediately washed his hands and feet, taking out the "Fulu" and "Lingpai" (they are two tools of wizard), and arranged a temporary altar beside the corpse without using gong and drum, and even no formal ceremony. He walked around the corpse for a circle, and then drew several words, turning over the corpse, after that, he rose up the male chicken that was just going to crow, biting the comb and dropped the blood into the water, then raising the bowl with saying of imprecation. Afterward, he drew a few words with "Lingpai" around the bowl, then with eye wide-opened and the right leg kicking the ground . Master Jin hit the table with the "Lingpai" heavily. At the same time, he spurted the water towards corpse in the succession of three times, and then shouted, "Get up,Beast!" It was said that when men died, the value of their body would become as cheap as the beast, or other saying was that men converted to becoming members of the beast group after they died. When Jin finished the words, the corpse began to move slowly, then Jin walked forward to lift up the dead person's head, wrapped it with a piece of azury cloth, because, on one hand, the ghost was afraid of the light of the sun, one the other hand, the passers-by would not feel frightened. In addition to, Jin put a bamboo hat on the corpse's head and a pair of shoes made of straw on its feet.

After the corpse sat up, Jin drew some words on its head again, then spurting water to it, and shouted with the feet kicking the ground : "Get up, Beast!". Jin hit it with "Lingpai", then the corpse stood up suddenly. At that moment, all the audience ran to different directions with fright, fearing that the corpse would rub their soul. Then, stepping on "Gang" and holding the "Jue", Jin walked around the corpse for three circuses again, drawing some words on the corpse's feet, spurting towards it, and then saying goodbye to this temporary alter, asking the way from the on-way deities. Next ,he lashed the corpse's back with prepared branch of the peach, and shouted three times" Go ahead, You Beast!". At that moment, the dead person jumped with straight legs step by step away from the ground he had just lain on. Jin said goodbye to the watchers who had just recovered with two hands folding, and lashed the corpse moving ahead with the peach's branch. Jin's son and the dead person's brother walked after him, frightened and scared.

But unlike the live people stepping forward, the corpse just jumped step by step, when it came to steps and slopes, Jin would asked it to stop, and the corpse stopped immediately. Then, Jin demanded the dead person's brother to carry him ahead back to back. If they encountered the road with branches, Jin hit the left part of the corpse and saying" Turn left" when they had to choose the left branch, then the corpse jumped to the left direction, and it was same when walking to the right direction. Actually ,the corpse was as obedient as a live person. Due to the rugged mountain road, the corpse walking very slowly, so they didn't arrive at the Wujiawan Village of Qijiaping until the third day. On that day, hundreds of people got together at street's sides and beside Family Jin's ancient hall to have a look at the scene, but the crowd got in the way, so Jin said to the villagers "Please give the way, the beast is coming." then the scaring crowd made a way instantly. The corpse jumped towards that way. During the journey, if Jin was tired or wanted to smoke, he would let the corpse lean beside stones. And if they sought temporary lodging at night, Jin made the corpse rest on the wooden wall below the eave. It had taken within two days' journey from Mushan to Guniubei, but Jin spend seven days driving the corpse to there. The experience of "Ganshi" broadened thousands of people's horizon, therefore, the story is known by everyone in this area now.

The famous writer Shencongwen told the story of "Gan shi" in his book People of YuanLing. He said, " Chenzhou is famous for 'Chenzhoufu', and 'Ganshi' took the most important role in the legends of 'Chenzhoufu'. And it is very attractive when it comes to the story of "Ganshi". In the book, Shen explained how the "Ganshi" happened. He wrote, "To make the corpse move, a fete with water should be held". But a mystery remains about what "chenfutu" was and why the corpse can be moved forward by it. Due to the explanation beyond the scientific methods, the mystery of "Ganshi" which confused many scholars who were devoted to it at home and abroad began to fade away because of the fad of eliminating superstition.