200. Master Peng said: Tang carpenters make coffins.
Xuanlinzi and master Zhu, a stonemason, are in their hometown. Master Zhu has written about cutting dragons before. He told me a story. Xuanlinzi tells you the origin of the threshold through this story.
In ancient times, there was a master who cut down a thick cypress tree and wanted to make a good coffin with it. This cypress tree is still outside in the mountains. The local custom is to ask skilled carpenters to finish the coffin outside and then carry it back, which means that future generations will be promoted and rich.
The host family invited a Tang carpenter from the neighboring village. The carpenter's house is not far from the cypress forest, but farther from the master's house. Carpenter Tang told the master's family about his salary, so the master didn't have to worry about food and shelter. Directly included in the salary, and then the coffin will be settled together. It doesn't matter if the owner wants to do this, so as to save himself trouble and the carpenter from running at both ends, so he agreed.
In order to save time, the carpenter in the Tang Dynasty made the coffin early and didn't go back at noon. He took home rice and wheat for lunch. The first day I went to the forest to make a coffin, when I came to dinner at noon, I found that my bag of corn Baba was gone. Carpenter Tang couldn't find it anywhere, thinking that the big mouse in the forest had stolen it and eaten it. I don't care. Carpenter Tang had to rest on an empty stomach and go home early.
The next day, while making the coffin, the carpenter Tang stared at the canvas bag containing Baba. He glanced at it and found a yellow dog coming out of nowhere, stealing his Baba. Carpenter Tang picked up a stone and threw it at the yellow dog. The yellow dog ran away, as if running for his life.
On this day, when carpenter Tang came home from work, it was already dark. Carpenter Tang hurried home and passed a cemetery on his way. Carpenter Tang saw a grave with a rhubarb dog sitting on it. He came at him. Although carpenter Tang was not afraid of ghosts, he was startled by the sudden arrival of rhubarb dog. He hit it a foot or five and killed rhubarb dog.
Carpenter Tang thought tonight was unusual, so he continued on his way and walked. The road he is familiar with at ordinary times is becoming more and more strange. Carpenter Tang actually went to the funeral home. He ran into the room in a daze, worshipped the coffin three times and fell asleep against it.
Carpenter Tang had a dream. In the dream, the dead in the coffin came back to life. He saw the dead man in the coffin sit up, jump up and put his arms around his neck. In the dream, he got up and ran, just about to catch up with the dead man at the door. Suddenly, there was a bang behind him. Carpenter Tang looked back and found that the dead man in the coffin had tripped over a piece of wood at the door. I can't get up anymore.
On the third day, carpenter Tang went to the forest to make a coffin. It took seven days and seven nights to make a good cypress coffin. Later, when carpenters made doors, they always made a threshold, just to prevent evil spirits and ghosts from entering the door.
With the progress of the times, wooden houses have become brick houses, and now there are reinforced concrete houses. In ancient times, the threshold was a symbol of class status, but now the houses in the city don't pay attention to these.