03 Taiwan Ghost Research Chapter 2 The concept of "life after death"

赫生童子

	Taiwan Ghost Research Chapter 2   The concept of "life after death" Author :Chang Kai-Chi      張開基 translation:北展昭 (You are welcomed to share, reprint, but please indicate the source and author) About "Ghost Learning" 002 The idea of "ghost" is of course earlier than any text records ever exists. The most direct and important meaning of "ghost" is "the soul exists afterlife"-- that is intrepreted as "the spiritual life that still exists after human death. The earliest textual narrative was of Egyptian hieroglyphics such as the death of Pharaoh. His "after death soul" would be greeted by the gods and take the solar boat to the eternal kingdom and enjoy the endless prosperity. Before the Egyptian script, the concept of "ghost", "death spiritual entities" or "after death life " may have existed in the Paleolithic era. First of all, before the concept of "ghost", the most primitive one should be the concept of cognitive "death". This is not to mention human, many animals have the same kind of feeling that death can be fearful and sad about the close relatives which are also the common situation in animal kingdom. However, animals are afraid of "death". It is a biological instinct. It is natural sorrow about the close relatives' "death." It is a primary emotional reaction. However, it is certain that animals will not have "ghost", "death spiritual entities" or "after death life ". In the concept of "life", even animals have not only "tombs" and rituals for dead relatives or companions. But some animals may even consume similar corpses as their food. There is no research result that can affirm when humans began to build "tombs", although some archaeologists believed that human beings had a "tomb" behavior that represents the concept of "the soul is not destroyable". I cannot agree this point because human beings are better at using tools than other animals, whether they are digging holes or building with stones; therefore, the original meaning of "tombs" cannot be based on the concept that "the soul is immortal". It is very likely that the body of a loved one cannot be treated as a food by other animals, or that the human being himself had a hard time in the first "eat decaying body", and there is also a corpse consumption behavior. (Note 1; that is a natural behavior as a last resort. In this era, we don't need to feel sick or cruel. The shark fish in the sea will also eat the injured companion. The only purpose is to get a rare food. (Note 2; until today, some primitive peoples in Southeast Asia have the custom of eating people and the relationship with food shortage is very tiny. This symbolism of "souls and energy depriving" might play the key role). However, in contemporary archaeology, it is found that some areas are in the middle and late Neolithic period, some "burial" (reinforcement or sitting posture burial); on the cover of these body collection jars will be deliberately punched with finger-sized holes. According to the study; it was very likely that the relatives did this in order to facilitate the the deceased for soul to exit in and out. This may prove that there should have been such concepts as "ghosts", "death entities" and "life after death". In addition, some ethnic minorities in the deep mountain jungles bordering China in Southeast Asia, people live in the "hanging foot cabin" (thick bamboo elevated house), raising livestock downstairs, living upstairs to avoid the poisonous snakes and beasts. But for after-death loved ones, they stored the body in a wooden or bamboo barrel , buried it in the underground below the cabin and inserted a bamboo pipe that penetrates through the hole into the barrel. The upper section end went straight through the floor of the residents so they could pour some food and vegetables from the hollow bamboo to reach the bottom jars and respectfully pray for the deceased to enjoy with the living relatives and friends. Therefore, it is not known whether the hole in the "burial" cover is also for the same reason. However, the latter must believe that "the soul would never perish" then have such a strange custom. Human being are different from than species and is even far from other close relatives of primates. These concepts such "ghost", "death spiritual entities" or "after death life "-- the related studies may think the reasons are very simple such as fear of death, unknown after life, annihilations -----not only worried about their own death but also the same disappointment about the pass-away loved ones. Based on psychological needs, it naturally occurred as the idea of "the soul would never die" and then built up a "afterlife world".  That might be illusory but very comforting for human. Therefore, after death, people did not perished like vegetation (although there is no flesh) but stayed with of spiritual energy (after-death entities) that is exactly the same as the deceased's life could still exist in another world. Then this concept gradually converted as "the soul is not destroyed and the other world is more beautiful than the present world-- it is further expanded into the concept of "the kingdom of heaven." In ancient China,  always suffering such as civil wars, diseases, drought and hunger. People turned to believe that death was to "return to the hometown" and reunite with the ancestors who passed away and enjoy a better and happy life than this miserable world. So the old saying was "As a servant labor in this life and after-death is a break”. In fact, the above cognition is only some of the reasons. The facts are not so simple. There are also complicated and inter-causal relationships. It is worthwhile to study and explore progressively. This part is temporarily hold here and will get continued for further supplements at another appropriate chance. The next question: what  the difference is about "ghost" between oversea countries and China?