Old Man's Mountain is not a mountain name, but a place name. In later generations, there was a legend of "Sixtieth Armor Ascending the Mountain", which is said to be a wild tribe whose people would be sent to fend for themselves when they reached the age www.biquge.info of 60, and such mountains were called Old Man's Mountain. The actual situation is slightly different from the legend, and even different from what many people in later generations believed.

The northern wilderness of Bayuan, where the tiger baby was a child, did not have this custom. In Lu Village, when Huwa was a child, sturdy men went out hunting, women went to the back mountains to pick all kinds of food, and all the clansmen would collectively search and process all kinds of useful things. Various crops were later cultivated around the village, and livestock and poultry were raised in the village.

During the day, the adults went out to work, and the old people not only lit fires to cook, process and repair various utensils, but also took care of the children in the village. Although each family has its own house, when building the house, the whole village also contributes together, and the harvest of labor belongs to the whole family, and then it is distributed uniformly.

Except for the tools that they collect and process by themselves in private, the clansmen do not have too much private property, and they do not have the custom of "going up the mountain when they are old". In fact, in that environment, the old man is the wealth of the clan.

After years of hard work, almost everyone will be left with all kinds of dark diseases, and there is a lack of medical treatment, ordinary injuries and illnesses are often the test of life and death, and people's average life expectancy is very short. If you can live to be 60 years old, you must be born with a strong body, and you will be lucky enough.

They have experienced enough things, and they know how to survive in difficult situations, and how to better protect themselves and their people in the event of an accident, otherwise they will not live that long.

They also knew better than any other tribesmen how to build houses, make tools, know the habits of wild beasts, know how to hunt them more easily, distinguish the various plants in the mountains, know what things and which parts are useful and how to deal with them, and even treat common injuries with simple medicine.

Each of these elders is a valuable asset and a respected elder in the village. So when and under what circumstances did the custom of "going up the mountain in old age" appear?

When Taihao was the emperor, the country of China had a tradition of "respecting the elders". Under the rule of the three generations of the Son of Heaven lineage of Emperor Qing, Emperor Yan, and Yellow Emperor, all departments in China do not have this custom of "going up the mountain when they are old", and Bayuan, where the tiger baby is located, also does not. It can be seen that it is not inevitable, nor should it appear.

But there is this custom in the land of Baiyue, and some other remote areas may also have it, so what is going on? The tiger baby stood on the top of the mountain, and the immortal divine consciousness enveloped the entire mountain and the villages outside the mountain, and after a long time, she slowly withdrew her gaze and looked into the distance, as if her eyes had passed through time and space, and she had seen the long river of world evolution.

In ancient times, it was difficult for the tribes to survive, especially in the year of famine, they were unable to feed the entire population, and the food and clothing obtained should be given to the strong laborers and young children as much as possible, and the old and weak could not survive. This is a cruel fact and a necessity for survival, not a custom. Moreover, the tradition of the primitive tribe, as long as it is not completely impossible to survive, all the people can get food and clothing.

However, under some special circumstances, some old and weak people have lost their ability to work, and they know that they will not be spared in the time of famine, and they do not want to drag down their tribesmen and descendants, so they take the initiative to leave the village and go into the mountains to find their own home. This is a form of self-sacrifice, and those who do this often know that their days are coming to an end.

This has certainly happened to a greater or lesser extent over the course of a long time, but is this the origin of the custom of "going up the mountain in old age"? I'm afraid not, this custom may have something to do with it, but it is definitely not the result of it.

Under normal circumstances, no one would voluntarily give up their clan and family, let alone those clan elders who were of such importance and respected by the entire clan. And the old is not necessarily weak, many old people in the savage tribes still insist on working until they are very old, until the end of their lives.

Those who can live a long life in that environment are born with strong physique or survival wisdom, and their strong body and survival wisdom can be passed on to future generations, and their descendants are often equally strong or intelligent, and it is easier to form a strong family in the village, which in most cases is enough to support their elders.

As for some helpless things that only happen in extreme situations, they are not enough to evolve into guidelines for daily life. So how did this custom of "going up the mountain when you are old" appear?

In many places, it originated as a dispute over private property. This custom was formed not because the whole tribe could not survive without food and clothing, but precisely because of the surplus of goods and private property. In ancient times, things common to many tribes, such as tools and fields, gradually became private property, and this is also because of the development of production and the progress of society, people no longer need to work collectively as before.

If the tools and fields are enough to support oneself and there is a surplus, then the tools built by the family or the family unit or the fields cultivated become private property, and the surplus property can also be exchanged with others, forming an accumulated wealth. And man himself has become a kind of private property, that is, slaves.

The first slaves were foreigners captured in tribal conflicts, and the slaves worked for their masters, and the harvest was not only enough to feed themselves, but also to provide for their masters. When the slaves were old and weakened and could no longer work, they were sometimes abandoned, and it was impossible for them to return to their own people in most cases, and they were often left to fend for themselves in the mountains.

It was cruel to treat the slaves in this way, and it would not become a custom within the tribe to treat their own people. But the occurrence of this kind of thing has also left an impression on many people, and even some kind of inspiration.

There are widows and widows in the tribe who have lost their children because of their old age, but they have their own private property, such as houses and fields, and there are often people who are greedy to seize them. For example, there are powerful people who find excuses to seize their private property and drive people out to fend for themselves, this kind of thing cannot be said to have never happened, which is also one of the sources of customs.

In the process of the gradual evolution of tribal public property into family and family private property, it is often inevitable that there are old and weak people who have no one to provide for them. But having no one to support at home is not the same thing as being driven out of the village to fend for itself.

There were also various fights within the clans. The chiefs of the tribes and villages are decided by public recommendation, and the one who actually takes the position of leader is the winner of the battle. The alternation of the old and new chiefs is the shadow of the birth of the earliest Zen concession system.

Zenrang is not as warm and affectionate as many later generations believe, unless he is an absolutely powerful leader who can guarantee that his position will be passed on to a designated heir, and this heir has cultivated or inherited a force that will strengthen his position, there will be a struggle. The process is often brutal and can lead to huge internal friction and even division.

In some cases, the new chieftain will exile the old leader who has lost power, that is, the clan and leave it to fend for itself in the mountains. This kind of thing may also be one of the sources of this custom.

Disputes over property sometimes occur within the family, such as when the descendants drive away the old and weak elders, so that they do not have to spend money on support and can encroach on their private property. But in either case, there must be an excuse with which to persuade others to include oneself is the earliest source of custom.

At first, this custom was only a justification for some people's actions, and those who "went up the mountain" were not voluntary, but had no choice but to do so. But in a closed environment and in an age of ignorance, once this kind of thing is repeatedly preached and customary, it will be passed down from generation to generation.

Beneath the cloak of custom, some believe that it envelops humanity. But this is not true human nature, contrary to everyone's own simple wishes, and inconsistent with the reason why people are human. And as the tiger baby sees today, this so-called custom is still just an excuse.

The tiger baby floated down from the top of the mountain and appeared in front of the three old men she had seen for the first time. The three old men were cooking and eating, and when they saw the tiger baby falling from the sky, they were all so frightened that they sat on the ground, and quickly got up and knelt down and bowed: "Are you a god in the sky?"

According to Huwa's opinion, gods and immortals are two different things, but it was difficult for him to explain clearly to these old men, so he nodded. The three old men kowtowed again and again, "Lord Immortal, why did you come here? Could it be that the mountain god heard our sacrifice and sent you from heaven to save us from our troubles?"

As soon as they heard this, they knew that they did not go up the mountain voluntarily, and Huwa said lightly: "You don't have to be polite, and you can stand up and talk." I was just passing by here, and I saw that there were people living in the mountains, so I came down to see what was going on? Where are you from, and there are villages and farms nearby, why do you live in the wilderness here, and the reason is that I will hear it. ”

The tiger baby doesn't have to show up to know the situation, but his appearance is tantamount to being involved in something.

Among the three old men, an old man and the old woman are a husband and wife, and they are from Xiaozhu Village at the foot of the mountain. The couple had a son who had reached adulthood, and the son also married and had children. However, the old couple's daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter all died in the flood, and three years ago, their son was recruited by the Fengfeng clan to participate in the flood control, and also died of the epidemic while controlling the water.

Two years ago, when the news of his son's death came, the two elderly men were grief-stricken. But the patriarch told them to go up to the mountain according to custom, for they were sixty years old.

As for the other old man, whose name is Yanagisa, he has two sons and a daughter. The daughter had already married into another village, and he was "sent" to the mountain by his two sons, also on the grounds of custom. Yazhu and the old couple were originally neighbors, so they continued to live next to them, and lived in the mountains for nearly two years.

Huwa sighed: "Time is not short! How did you survive?"

The climate of the land of Baiyue is humid and warm, although the winter is not so cold, but it is easy to get sick in the mountains, and it is a miracle that you can live for so long. There are still dozens of people in the mountain, and this is the so-called old man's mountain of five nearby villages, but Huwa paid special attention to these three old men, because they have survived here for the longest time.

The old man replied: "When I went up the mountain, I brought potatoes, which were cut open and planted on the ground, so I planted a lot of them in the mountains. When I was young, I was good at hunting, but now I can't catch big beasts, but I can still catch snakes and rats. ”

The old woman also said: "When I was young, my grandfather taught me to distinguish the things of the mountains, and I knew what was edible and what to use. My wife, on the other hand, is good at building houses, and uses local materials in the mountains, although they are simpler, but they can also shelter from the wind and rain......"

It can be seen that the foundation of these three old men's bodies is very good, they are old and not decrepit, and they can still work, even in this mountain wilderness, they can barely support themselves. And they have mastered various survival skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, and they must have been very capable when they were young.

Huwa asked again, "Did you go up the mountain voluntarily?"

Yazhu sighed: "Of course not! Although I am old, I still have the strength to support myself, and I don't have to drag others down, even if I die, I want to die in my own home, and I don't need others to worry about it." However, there is a custom in the village that sixty people go up the mountain, and the two sons force them. I was helpless, weak and irresistible. ”

Huwa asked the old woman again, "Who owns your house and property in the village now?"

The old woman replied, "The nephew of the patriarch." ”

Huwa asked again: "The custom is like this, you are helpless, weak and difficult to resist." So in this area, does everyone go up the mountain when they are sixty years old?"

The old man replied, "Of course not! Those nobles are not, unless they lose their power, they will be sent up the mountain for this reason." Even in the villages, there are many people who do not give away after 60, or say that they are not old, or that they are not old. In fact, who can say exactly how old is it?"

This is true, many village people do not count the years at all, and at their age, sometimes even they can't tell how old they have lived. Even if there is a so-called custom, if someone does not want to send the elders of the family up the mountain, they say that they are not old or old, let alone the nobles who hold power, and those people are not short of provisions.

It is true that there are people who have no one to rely on and go up the mountain on their own because of customs, and there are also people who are forced to go up the mountain because their juniors do not want to make offerings. Most of these people who went up the mountain had some inside information, but in fact, they were all out of necessity.

Another old man was quite wooden and didn't seem to be very good at talking, and then the old woman said: "I have no support, so I have ended up here." ...... Immortals, are you really here to rescue us?"

Huwa replied: "When the son is born, who will be able to give birth to himself? It's not that you are helpless, but it's just that it's hard to rely on. Originally, I was just passing by, but when I met you and showed up, I didn't ignore you. And don't worry, just answer my questions. ”

The old man said excitedly: "I was reluctant to go up the mountain at the beginning, and I also reasoned with my two sons and clansmen, and said that I would sacrifice to heaven. But they said that the immortals in the sky would not care about this kind of idle matter, and even the masters in the world who want to cultivate into immortals have to cut off their desires and cut off the shackles of mundane things, do you really care about us, immortals?"

Tiger Baby: "The gods in the sky may not pay attention, but I am not in the sky at the moment, right in front of your eyes." It's not you who I care, it's what happens. This is not a custom, it is actually a thief wind, and it is not your wish to go up the mountain, and it is not appropriate to recognize the thief wind as a custom when you are not old.

The thief is hateful, but you, the old man, also have the responsibility of teaching your son. The thief has been passed down to this day, and everyone in the clan is responsible. No matter who said what you just said, but I tell you - there are no unfilial gods in the world. ”

Old man: "Immortal, what do you mean by that?"

It's no wonder that he doesn't understand, in this area, no one knows what the so-called filial piety means, and even if there are similar hazy ideas and concepts, no one has ever made a clear summary and guidance. The filial piety that Huwa said at this time is what Ziqiu once said, "Don't forget where you come from, don't forget what virtue teaches, and don't forget how to establish the world".

Filial piety is not only the responsibility of children, in fact, it is also the responsibility of parents, any kind of interaction is not isolated, everyone has a different identity at the same time. If parents don't set an example, how can children know filial piety?

Moreover, the filial piety mentioned by Ziqiu is not only a simple internal family ethics, it is only the most direct form of expression. It is a kind of foundation for laying the moral code that society should have, it is the common consciousness of social groups, and it is the humanity of the heavenly way that is well understood.

But Huwa is not Ziqiu, he didn't answer directly like that, it is estimated that even if he answered like that, it would be difficult to explain clearly to the three old men in a few words, but he just sighed: "The world has a beginning, I think the world is the mother." to know his son. He knew his son, and he kept his mother, and he was not killed. ”

The eyes of the three old men were very confused, and the words of the gods were really unfathomable, and they did not dare to ask what was going on. Huwa asked again: "Is this only the case in these nearby villages, or is it a custom in all parts of Baiyue?"

It seems that the old man Yazhu had also been to many places when he was young, and he was considered a well-informed person, so he thought for a while and replied: "As far as I have heard, all the Baiyue tribes had this custom in ancient times, but not every one of them has it. Later, the tribes of the north moved here, and they did not have such customs. Later, Baiyue did not have this custom in many places, but some new tribes did. ”

What was going on, the old man couldn't tell, he had just heard some legends, but Huwa understood. Jiuli did not have the custom of "going up to the mountain in old age", and after the remnants of the Huali, Wuli, and Shuili tribes moved here and merged with the local people, many local tribes also gave up this custom, but there were still a few new tribes who learned this custom.

Now it is the Fengfeng clan who leads the Baiyue tribes, but the Fangfeng clan is resigned to this, as long as it doesn't get in the way of his own affairs.

This custom does not conform to Chinese etiquette, and directly violates the Gaotao canon that the Son of Heaven wants to promulgate. When Bo Yu controlled the water, he was hindered in the implementation of Chinese education in the land of Baiyue. The Fengfeng clan can let Bo Yu control the water, but he doesn't let anyone take care of the affairs of Baiyue, including promulgating the ritual law and ordering the prohibition of this custom, he thinks that this is interfering with the affairs of Baiyue, and it is an offense to him.

Hearing this, Huwa nodded and said, "I have something to see Lord Fangfeng, you wait and treat each other here." After saying that, he flew away and continued to look for the Fengfeng clan in Gangcheng. In addition to asking the Feng clan to help with the hollow blade, it seems that there are other things to talk about, and the tiger baby can't help but sigh secretly.

When some problems do not arise, the corresponding concepts may not need to be deliberately emphasized. For example, when the tiger baby was young, the simple people of the Bayuan Beihuang tribe didn't know what a deception was, until a person from Huahai Village deceived the eggs of the Lu tribe, and everyone understood that this was a deception!

"Respecting the elders" and "going up the mountain when old" are both tribal customs, but the meanings are diametrically opposed. Some people, some things, and some paths, if they deviate from the humanity contained in the Heavenly Dao from the beginning, will often go further and further. There have been many tribes that have been broken and even extinct and disappeared since ancient times, but it is difficult for future generations to know.

This can also be seen the importance of the education of the sage, Gao Tao compiled the "Five Teachings" to talk about filial piety, isn't it because there is such a thing in the world?

When the tiger baby flew into the air, she turned around and flicked her fingers, as if an invisible rain was sprinkled. The dirt on the three old men was gone, their somewhat cloudy eyes were clear again, and their muscles and bones seemed to have regained the strength of their youth. The bark and leaves of the trees were gone, and they were replaced by clean linen clothes.

Their feeling was just a trance, and when they came back to their senses, several hours had passed, and the tiger baby had long since disappeared. Several people looked at each other, and suddenly cried loudly, today they actually met the gods, and they were inexplicably rejuvenated, and quickly knelt down to the sky and kowtowed. (To be continued.) )