The Dark Origin of Blood - Stained Steamed Buns

In the past, there was a custom of warding off evil spirits in northern China. Whenever someone was believed to be "possessed" by ghosts or evil spirits, witches and sorcerers would give the patient a steamed bun made with human blood. This kind of human blood steamed bun was very particular and had to be obtained from the executioner. When the executioner carried out the execution, he would prepare a lot of steamed buns in advance. After killing the criminal, he would dye the steamed buns with the blood when the blood gushed out. It was said that this kind of blood-stained steamed bun could drive away evil spirits and was very effective. Therefore, this kind of blood steamed bun was very expensive.

According to legend, this kind of human blood steamed bun originated from Cai Fu and Cai Qing.

Cai Fu, known as "Iron Arm", was the jailer of the two courts in Daming Prefecture, Beijing, and also an executioner. Cai Qing, Cai Fu's younger brother, was a junior jailer and also an executioner. He was born with a flower on his body, so everyone called him "Flower" Cai Qing.

The Cai Fu and Cai Qing brothers had been working in the yamen for a long time. Seeing that other positions could make a lot of money, they felt very unbalanced as executioners with no extra income. So they also wanted to make some money. How to "make money"? Was it possible to ask the criminals to give money? No. The criminals were penniless, and they had no right to spare their lives. After thinking over and over again, they couldn't figure out a way.

One day, Cai Fu and Cai Qing went to carry out an execution. Outside the execution ground, the family members of the executed person were kneeling. Beside the family members, there was a large bundle of burning paper, which was prepared to be burned after the person's death.

Burning paper for the dead was originally a very common thing and a custom passed down since ancient times. The Cai brothers were used to it and didn't take it seriously at all.

One day, the two brothers visited a friend's house. The friend was burning paper for the dead relatives. During the chat, the friend asked the two executioners if they knew the origin of burning paper.

Although the two of them often saw people burning paper, they really didn't know the origin when asked to trace it back. So the friend told them about it.

According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun invented papermaking. But no one bought the paper he made. The husband and wife came up with a plan - pretending to be dead. After Cai Lun "died", his wife burned the paper while crying. Soon, Cai Lun "came back to life". Cai Lun told everyone that the paper burned by his wife was money in the underworld. He used this money to bribe the King of Hell and the little ghosts, and then he was released... Since then, Cai Lun's paper became a popular commodity. After people died, they all imitated it. Over time, it became a folk custom.

The story told by the friend was just a casual talk, but Cai Fu and Cai Qing took it to heart. They thought that since their ancestor Cai Lun and his wife could use tricks to promote their goods, why couldn't they make use of their own advantages? So, after racking their brains, they came up with the idea of the "human blood steamed bun".

It was not possible for them to sell the human blood steamed buns themselves, and they had to find someone to promote them. Whom to find? They naturally thought of witches and sorcerers. At that time, there was a shortage of medicine and doctors, and there were many patients. Witches and sorcerers emerged at the right time and became the "saviors" of the patients. The two brothers secretly colluded with these people and jointly fabricated the fallacy that "human blood steamed buns can drive away ghosts and evil spirits".

Since then, witches and sorcerers used the human blood steamed buns obtained from the executioners Cai Fu and Cai Qing to "cure diseases and drive away evil spirits" for people. This method spread more and more magically. Cai Fu and Cai Qing made a fortune, and witches and sorcerers also made a fortune. Over time, it spread among the people and was passed down from generation to generation, becoming a "custom" in northern China.