Today’s Episode
Have you heard of the mysterious job called 赶尸人, or “corpse herder”? In ancient China, these people had a unique role—helping the deceased “return home.” In today’s episode, we’ll uncover the truth behind this strange job and why it reflects deep Chinese traditions.
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大家好！欢迎回来 MaoMi Chinese！今天，我们要聊一个非常神秘的工作，叫赶尸人。神秘，意思是有很多大家不知道的东西。
什么是赶尸人呢？赶尸人是中国古代的一种工作。他们的工作是把死去的人的身体送回家。比如，一个人在外地去世了，他的家人希望把他的尸体带回家乡，这时候，他们就会请赶尸人帮忙。尸体，意思是人死了以后的身体。
赶尸人的工作是怎么样的呢？他们常常在晚上工作。有人说，赶尸人有一种神秘的办法，让尸体自己“走路”，慢慢地走回家。这听起来很吓人，对吧？其实，这是不对的。赶尸人会用竹竿和绳子把尸体固定。固定，意思是让一个东西不能动。赶尸人用竹竿和绳子把尸体固定，然后背着尸体，或者是用马背着尸体。因为赶尸人只在晚上工作，有时候，人们在晚上看到赶尸人，看得不清楚，就会以为是尸体自己在走路。
那么，为什么会有赶尸人这个工作呢？在中国，很多人觉得人死后应该“落叶归根”。落叶，意思是从树上掉下来的树叶。归，意思是回去。根，意思是树的根，在这里的意思是人的家乡。人就像树叶一样，如果死了，也要回到家乡，埋葬在家乡。但是在古代，因为交通很差，很不方便，运尸体很难，所以就有了赶尸人。
赶尸人是一个很古老的工作。现在，人们再也不需要赶尸人了，因为中国的交通已经非常方便了。赶尸人的工作虽然听起来很奇怪，但这也说明了中国人对家乡和家人的感情很深。你怎么看这个工作呢？欢迎给我们留言，和我们分享！
Hello, everyone! Welcome back to MaoMi Chinese! Today, we’re going to talk about a very mysterious job called “corpse herder” (赶尸人). “Mysterious” means something that has many unknown things about it.
So, what is a corpse herder? A corpse herder was a job in ancient China. Their job was to transport the body of a deceased person back to their hometown. For example, if someone passed away far from home, their family might want to bring their body back to their hometown. At this time, they would ask a corpse herder for help. A “corpse” means the body of a person who has died.
How did corpse herders do their job? They often worked at night. Some people say that corpse herders had a mysterious way of making the bodies “walk” on their own, slowly making their way home. That sounds scary, doesn’t it? But in fact, this isn’t true. Corpse herders used bamboo poles and ropes to secure the body. “Secure” means to make something stay in place. They would fasten the body with bamboo poles and ropes, then carry it on their back or place it on a horse. Since corpse herders only worked at night, sometimes people who saw them in the dark couldn’t see clearly and thought the corpses were walking on their own.
So why did this job exist? In China, many people believe that when someone dies, they should “fall like leaves returning to their roots” (落叶归根). “Falling leaves” refers to leaves that fall from a tree. “Returning” means going back. “Roots” refer to the roots of a tree, which here symbolise a person’s hometown. People are like leaves—when they die, they should return to their hometown and be buried there. But in ancient times, transportation was poor and inconvenient, making it very difficult to transport a body. That’s why corpse herders existed.
The job of a corpse herder is very old. Nowadays, people don’t need corpse herders anymore because transportation in China is now very convenient. Although the job of a corpse herder sounds strange, it shows how deeply Chinese people care about their hometowns and families.
What do you think about this job? Feel free to leave us a message and share your thoughts!