Chapter 85 85: The ancestors have spirits and divine light (please vote for the third update)
Chen Zexiang's ancestral hall is not big, and nominally enshrines the Chen family's ancestors, but in fact it is not standardized or complete. Compared with the main family of the Chen family in the state capital, they pale into insignificance.
In the ancestral hall, the number of deity cards that are eligible to be placed on the altar is only about ten yuan.
Living people are divided into classes and levels, and so are ghosts and gods.
Ordinary people cannot build family temples. Before the elderly die, they will be carried to the ancestral hall and their souls return to the temple.
However, the space in the ancestral hall is limited, and it is impossible to set up a separate god card for each deceased person. Most of the clan members just left their names on Longbi.
What's more, they don't even have a name. Dust returns to dust, dust returns to dust. No one will care, and no one will remember.
If there are no descendants, or if the descendants are unworthy, all the deeds of the ancestors will be wiped out, let alone offering incense and sacrifices.
For example, Chen Jin's parents, including his grandfather's generation, do not have the position of god master card.
But now that Chen Jin has obtained the title of scholar, the village will definitely arrange for Chen's father to be a god.
If you can pass the examination in the future, or even be named on the gold list, and pass the Jinshi examination, it will be the treatment of having a separate genealogy and being honored for three generations.
This is going a bit far.
Having said that, most of the god cards currently on the altar are related to distant uncles and other seniority relationships.
Following Chen Jin's bow, they seemed to sense it and fell down one after another and fell to the ground.
Chen Abu had never encountered such a situation before, and he suddenly panicked and didn't know what was going on.
Chen Jin said calmly: "They may have been blown down by the wind. Uncle, let's pick them up first and rearrange them."
"Oh, okay."
Chen Abu responded hurriedly and quickly came up to pick it up.
Fortunately, these Shenzhu cards are made of solid materials and have solid workmanship. The place where they were dropped was not high, so they were not broken or broken.
Otherwise, I really don’t know how it will end.
After all, they were the only two in the ancestral hall at the moment, and something happened that could not be explained clearly.
As for what his nephew said about being knocked down by the wind, Chen Abu didn't believe it. Inside the ancestral hall, there are walls on three sides. Where can the wind blow in?
There must be something fishy about this matter, and it may have something to do with ghosts and gods.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling angry. After hastily burning the ingots, paper money, etc., he and Chen Jin left the ancestral hall.
……
Next, Chen Zexiang was very lively, with lanterns and colorful decorations, flowing water mats set up, and people in the whole township had a good time.
Many expenses are half private and half public.
As a local clan, it has its own public treasury. Road construction, bridge construction, clan education expenses, etc. are all paid from the treasury.
Now that two scholars have passed the examination at the same time, it is a grand event celebrated by the whole village. There is nothing wrong with the public treasury paying half of the money.
Moreover, when it is used to do business, eat and drink, every villager has a share, which is equivalent to returning it to the people.
Township head Chen Jiande's family has always been highly respected and well-connected, with many relatives and friends. After hearing the news, they all came to visit him one after another and gave gifts.
On the other hand, Chen Jin still lives on the hillside and seems to have a lot of money.
Chen Liang felt a little sorry when he saw this, and was worried that Chen Jin might have a grudge after the comparison, which would be bad.
But there is no way, each family's situation is different, even if you want to keep a low profile, you can't push people out when relatives and friends come to give gifts.
Just as I was thinking about finding a way to balance the situation, the people coming from the county government were none other than Ma Bi and Master Zhu.
This is a distinguished guest.
However, the other party did not enter the village, but went directly up the hillside. However, he came to give gifts and congratulations to Chen Jin at the request of the county magistrate, Mr. Song.
After giving the gifts, he didn't stay and went back to the city directly.
This operation left Chen Liang and others stunned.
Originally, when a scholar was admitted and a banquet was held, invitations would be sent out and some famous people would be invited to the banquet. This was an opportunity to build affection for each other and accomplish multiple things with one stone.
The banquet at Chen Liang's family is being prepared, and invitations have been sent out.
To show sincerity, for some key guests, invitations are sent not just once, but twice or even three times. As for the yamen, it is the top priority.
Now that the time has not come, people are here, and they are actually here to give gifts.
Have you ever heard of a county magistrate giving a congratulatory gift to a newly-minted scholar?
He is not a child of a wealthy family...
After the surprise, Chen Liang became more and more convinced: Chen Jin must have a great human relationship.
As if to verify his suspicion, another group of people arrived to give Chen Jin gifts.
It is Yunshan Temple.
The master of the temple did not show up, but all four disciples came.
There is nothing to say about this battle.
Chen Liang looked at his relatives and friends, and suddenly realized that he was the one who needed to find a balance.
There was a rare excitement in the small house.
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Yun Ning and others were secretly surprised that Chen Jin passed the exam and got the first one, but they quickly accepted it.
There are always some people with extraordinary talents who can take into account all aspects, and it is not surprising that there are classic stories about scholars who seek immortality and seek Taoism.
This time, there were many kinds of gifts, including food and drink, which filled a carriage.
Among them is a jar of peach blossom wine, which Chen Jin likes to drink; there is also a piece of old peach wood, which is used to carve the god tablets of his father's generation.
After giving the gifts and chatting for a while, Taoist Master Yuncheng took his junior brothers and sisters to say goodbye and left.
Everyone knows that Chen Jin likes to be quiet and doesn't like to socialize with others.
In fact, most people in Taoism are like this. They have a weak temperament and do not want to waste time in the noise and bustle.
Two days later, the ceremony for Chen Jin's father's deities to move into the ancestral hall began.
Such a ceremony should be performed by a regular Taoist priest, and only if it is done solemnly can it be considered complete.
Based on the relationship between Chen Jin and Yunshan Temple, not to mention inviting those Taoist priests to be recruited, as long as he opened his mouth, it would be no problem to invite Yun Cheng to preside over it.
But unexpectedly, Chen Jin said that everything should be kept simple and that there would be no more rituals. He would write a sacrificial poem himself, recite it, and then burn it.
This approach is against common sense, but strictly speaking, this is Chen Jin's own business, and it is difficult for others to say anything.
Besides, writing memorial texts to express condolences to one's parents is also an expression of filial piety and is in line with the etiquette and rules of scholars.
There is humane ethics, and it makes sense without the use of ghosts, gods, and Taoism.
On that day, Chen Jin was dressed neatly, holding a sacrificial inscription and reciting aloud in the ancestral hall.
When I read it to the end, I heard a cry of "Alas! Shang Xiang!"
Then he threw the sacrificial inscription into the incense burner and burned it.
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew up and rolled up the burning sacrificial inscriptions, creating a whirlpool shape, which was very mysterious.
Seeing this, the rows of village elder representatives led by the township head Chen Jiande shouted in unison, "The ancestors have spirits", and then they all knelt down and worshiped on the ground.
Chen Jin stood, and in Fa Nian's field of vision, he could see groups of phantoms emerging.
Most of them are incomplete, their faces are blurred, and it is difficult to distinguish them clearly.
It is the ancestral god enshrined in the Chen Zexiang ancestral hall.
After these "ancestral gods" emerged, they were absorbing, cheering and singing to the burning sacrificial inscriptions like incense and holy objects...
At the same time, the divine light that enveloped their bodies was obviously blessed and began to show its luster.
Regardless of whether the results are good or not, on the first day it is put on the shelf, you must write more to show your sincerity.
Special thanks to Lao Tie for his 5,000-coin reward from "Liu Shui Song Zen" for becoming the first helmsman of this book!
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(End of chapter)