【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 ealize a reincarnation next life instead of being a slave. 【重殮厚葬】為了避免死去的人在陰間（死人的世界）受苦，同時(shí)企盼死者保佑陽(yáng)間（活人的世界）親人的安康，人們非常重視對(duì)死者的殯葬。[Lavish Funeral]In order to avoid the soul of the deceased suffering in “Yin” World (the world of the dead), and expect the deceased to protect the wellness of their beloved in “Yang” World (the world of the living), people attach great importance to the funeral of the deceased. 只要有能力，人們總是要“事死如生”、“重殮厚葬”。封建帝王和殷實(shí)人家的葬事都是極盡奢華的，比如今天我們可以看到的秦始皇陵和明十三陵。People will always contribute anything affordable to make a lavish funeral by equipping a plete set of necessities for the deceased. For imperial and wealthy families, funeral affairs were extravagant, such as the Mausoleum of Qing Shi Huang (the first emperor of Qin) and Ming Tombs we can see today. 中國(guó)崇尚孝道，民間傳頌的“二十四孝”中就有“賣身葬父”、“聞雷泣墓”等很多孝子治喪的故事。In China, people respect filial duty. Among “24 Stories of Filial Piety” popular among ordinary people, there are such moving stories as “Dutiful son sold himself to bury his farther” and “Filial son went weeping at his mother’s tomb on hearing the thunder”.【殯葬制度】中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)的殯葬制度中最重要的是“五服”制度，它對(duì)服喪的時(shí)限、裝束等依照眷屬的親等規(guī)定了五個(gè)等級(jí)的內(nèi)容，比如規(guī)定子為父母守孝需要三年時(shí)間，期間要穿著一種未經(jīng)仔細(xì)縫制的粗麻布衣，這個(gè)等級(jí)稱作“斬衰”[Funeral System]According to the traditional Chinese funeral system, the most important part is the “Five Clothes” (the pronunciation of “clothes” in Chinese is the same as “mourning”) system, which requires five levels for specific behaviors including mourning duration and clothing based on the degree of kinship. For instance, a son has to mourn for his parents for three years, during which time he must wear a kind of coarse cotton clothes. This level is called “Zhǎn Cuī”. 很多制度通過不同時(shí)期編撰的典籍傳承下來，又通過朝廷和官宦的示范，成為社會(huì)普遍遵守的殯葬規(guī)范。Many systems are passed down through classic books piled in different historic times and gradually bee funeral standards monly respected by the society via demonstration of the court and officials. 【葬式葬法】中國(guó)人一般都希望用土葬的形式安葬遺體，稱之為“入土為安”。因此土葬是中國(guó)人的主流葬法。[Burial Forms]Generally, Chinese people hope to bury the deceased in the form of inhumation, which means “burial brings peace to the deceased”. So inhumation is the main burial form in China. 受文化、地理、經(jīng)濟(jì)等影響，中國(guó)不同地區(qū)有更多的安葬形式，如火葬、水葬、天葬、樹葬、野葬、塔葬、懸棺葬、甕棺葬等，但是并不具典型意義，在總數(shù)中所占的比重極小。Influenced by culture, geography and economy, China has various burial forms in different areas, such as cremation, water burial, sky burial, tree burial, wild burial, pagoda burial, hangingcoffin burial and urn burial. However, most of these forms are not typical and account for a very small proportion. 目前中國(guó)在城市以及交通便利人口密度高的地區(qū)推行火葬，在政府指定的區(qū)域允許土葬遺體。在推行火葬的城市大多有提供骨灰安葬墳地的公墓。Currently in China, cremation is encouraged in cities and denselypopulated areas with convenient transportation while inhumation is permitted only in places designated by the government. In cities advocating cremation, there are public cemeteries to bury the ashes.【二、中國(guó)的殯葬服務(wù)】接下來，我介紹中國(guó)殯葬服務(wù)的形式與內(nèi)容。 [II. China’s Funeral Services]Next, I’d like to introduce the forms and contents of China’s funeral services.【殯葬互助】在很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)期里，殯葬活動(dòng)都是在宗族、鄰里的范圍內(nèi)互助進(jìn)行的。民間有專為婚禮和葬禮提供抬轎與抬棺以及配套服務(wù)的“紅白杠”，但它不是一個(gè)商業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)。 [Mutual Help]Over a long period of time, funeral activities were conducted by means of mutual help within clan and neighborhood. A nonmercial organization named “Red amp。 White Bar” was accordingly set up, dedicated to carrying the sedan chair or coffin and other supporting services when there was a wedding or funeral. 現(xiàn)代城市形成后，聯(lián)合移民的同鄉(xiāng)組織與聯(lián)合商戶的同業(yè)公會(huì)為團(tuán)體成員提供殯葬幫助，比如提供免費(fèi)的棺材和墓地。With modern cities established, fellow societies uniting immigrants and trade associations uniting merchants provide funeral assistance for urban people who have lost contact with their clans, such as offering free coffins and graveyards. 【商業(yè)出現(xiàn)】隨著商埠開放和外國(guó)人的進(jìn)入，中國(guó)的一些沿海沿江城市開始出現(xiàn)公墓和殯儀館。20世紀(jì)初，適應(yīng)現(xiàn)代城市生活格局的有別于傳統(tǒng)的新式殯葬開始流行。[Emergence of Commerce]As mercial ports opened to the outside and foreigners came to China, cemeteries and funeral homes emerged in cities along the coast or rivers. In the early 20th century, adaptable to the life pattern in modern cities, new burial forms began to prevail.許多原來從事貰器店（器具租賃店鋪）、寄柩所（寄存棺柩的場(chǎng)所）、運(yùn)柩所等與殯葬有關(guān)的經(jīng)營(yíng)者轉(zhuǎn)向公墓和殯儀館經(jīng)營(yíng)。20世紀(jì)中葉在上海，曾出現(xiàn)過 100多家公墓和30多家殯儀館。Many merchants formerly engaged in funeral operations such as equipment rental, coffin storage and coffin carrying started to run cemeteries and funeral homes. In mid20th century in Shanghai, there used to be more than 100 cemeteries and 30 funeral homes.1924年在上海開辦的萬國(guó)殯儀館，當(dāng)時(shí)是許多名人殯殮的場(chǎng)所，它的遺體防腐技術(shù)和現(xiàn)代的殯殮儀式在更多的殯儀館內(nèi)得到了效仿和傳播。International Funeral Parlor, which was set up in 1924, was the funeral site for celebrities. Its embalming technology and funeral rites were imitated and spread by more funeral homes. 如果有興趣的話，你們可以在中國(guó)參觀上海殯葬博物館，那里可以看到中國(guó)一個(gè)大城市的殯葬發(fā)展軌跡。今天在座的有些人曾經(jīng)在2010年6月FIAT的11屆會(huì)員大會(huì)期間到過那里。If you are interested, you might visit Shanghai Funeral Museum in China, where you can have a look at the development track of funeral and interment in a big city of China. Some of you here have been there during the 11th conference of FIAT in June, 2010. 【官方機(jī)構(gòu)】20世紀(jì)60年代在中國(guó)廣泛開展的推行火葬的行動(dòng)，刺激了火化場(chǎng)與殯儀館的建設(shè)，中國(guó)現(xiàn)存的由政府經(jīng)營(yíng)的殯儀館（火化場(chǎng)）大多是那個(gè)時(shí)期建成的。[Official Institutions]Cremation, which was widely conducted in China in the 1960s, boosted the development of crematoriums and funeral homes. The existing funeral homes (crematoriums) run by the government in China were mostly built at that time. 目前中國(guó)每年約有800多萬死者，其中的450萬（超過50%）在殯儀館進(jìn)行火化。在中國(guó)2,000多個(gè)縣級(jí)城市中約有80%建立了由政府主辦的可以進(jìn)行火化的殯儀館，目前殯儀館的總數(shù)為1,729個(gè)。At present, approximately over 8 million people die every year in China, and million of them (exceeding 50%) are cremated at funeral homes. Of more than 2,000 countylevel cities in China, about 80% have set up funeral homes sponsored by the government, where cremation can be conducted. Currently, the total number of funeral homes is 1,729. 幾乎每個(gè)城市都只有1個(gè)殯儀館，特大城市的城區(qū)會(huì)有2至3個(gè)殯儀館，比如上海、北京。多數(shù)殯儀館每年接受1,000—3,000宗業(yè)務(wù)，大型的殯儀館則每年多至10,000—20,000宗業(yè)務(wù)。Generally, each city has only one funeral ho