九部委聯合發文鼓勵家庭成員合葬
In the tail of February when Chinese people are still in a post-Lunar New Year festive mood, they have been suddenly pulled back to harsh reality through a topic seen as taboo in such a holiday season – death.
在二月末，中國人民還沉浸在春節之後的氣氛中的時候，一個在節日裏被視爲禁忌的話題——死亡，卻忽然將他們拉回殘酷的現實。A joint statement released by nine ministries called for burial of deceased family members in a cemetery plot rather than the traditional one-plot-for-one-body practice.
近日，九部委聯合發文，提倡過世的家庭成員合葬在一個墓位，而非傳統的一人一個墓位。The statement came on Wednesday, two days after the Lantern Festival, and caused discussions over life and death one month earlier than due as the topic is usually popular in Qingming Festival, or Tomb Spring Festival known as a day when people visit cemeteries and pay tribute to ancestors.
這一倡導發表於上週三，也就是元宵節過後兩天。這提前一個月引發了人們對於生與死的討論。生與死的話題通常在清明節被討論得很多，因爲清明節是人們掃墓、對祖先致以敬意的節日。
With or without the festivity-mutilated statement, Chinese people are still frustrated with the beyond-reach prices of cemeteries especially in big cities where sky-high housing prices, job pressure, and air pollution have already made for difficult standards of living. This leads to philosophical frustrations – why is it equally hard to die?
不管有沒有這份破壞節日氣氛的聯合發文，中國人在面對墓地不可企及的價格時，總會感到沮喪，在大城市中尤其是這樣。大城市裏房價極高，工作壓力大，又有空氣污染問題，這都使得生活非常困難。這就引發了具有哲學意味的挫敗感--爲什麼死去和活着一樣難？How hard can it be? In Beijing, a burial plot can claim from 40,000 yuan ($6,214) per square to tens of thousands of dollars, while price tag also pick up from 50,000 yuan ($7,655) per square and up in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The per square cost of where the body will be laid can rival that of a comfortable apartment one can buy to live an actual life.
究竟能有多難呢？在北京，一塊墓地的價格爲每平方米4萬元（摺合6214美元）到上萬美元不等；而在上海和廣州，有的墓地標價爲每平方米5萬元（7655美元）或者更多。作爲遺體的安置之處，墓地每平方米的價格都比得上活人居住的舒適公寓了。Soaring prices didn't scare people away from getting their dead family members into earth though. Traditional Chinese funeral rites advocate extravagant burials in a way to make their ancestors rest not only in peace, but also in dignity.
飛漲的價格並不曾嚇退想使已故親人入土爲安的人們。傳統的中國葬禮提倡奢侈厚葬，以此使得他們的祖先不僅能夠安息，還能夠有尊嚴。Convention also prefers the practice of bodies being buried in the soil than ash spreading as a Chinese saying goes – "Falling leaves settle on their roots". This explains why authorities have promoted eco-friendly funerals, such as spreading ash to the sea, but for years they've only received cold shoulders.
中國的習俗更傾向於將遺體埋葬在土壤中，而非將骨灰撒掉，正如中國老話所說的：“落葉歸根。”因此雖然政府提倡要生態安葬，如骨灰撒海等，但多年來人們對此一直態度冷淡。
