Folk Arts: The Corpse Driver

Corpse-driving is a mysterious profession passed down in western Hunan. This book follows the old corpse-driver Niu Er and his fellow masters as they transport corpses through the countryside. They travel the mountain paths at night, accompanied by the dead, converse with people from ancient times, and search for treasures deep in the mountains, encountering one strange and winding adventure after another. It tells of the fateful encounters between Niu Er and the many spirits he escorts, the mysteries and oddities that lie between yin and yang, and the ancient totems, history, and culture of the mountains of western Hunan. From the Han dynasty onward, the Central Plains dynasties and the peoples of remote mountain villages have shared a history of grudges and tangled affections. There is the ancient Miao people's witchcraft and poison magic, the Bo people's hanging coffins and rise and fall, and a whole host of western Hunan legends. Follow several old corpse-drivers on their strange and wondrous quest to explore the unknown and unveil a mysterious, fantastical world.