Birth and death mean the beginning and end of a person in this world. Outside of this period of time, is unknown. Because it is unknown, it feels mysterious and frightening. This is true of death, and so is the profession associated with death. Such as forensics, makeup artists, cremations, etc. And today we will enter a profession that is incomparably close to death through the book "Relic Sorter": relic sorter.
"Relic Sorter" is a record and memoir of the work of a relic sorter. The author, Jin Quan, was originally a writer and became interested in sorting out the relics in his interviews and writing work. Therefore, he set up a special cleaning service company, in the process of cleaning the deceased again and again, he was able to observe and think about life and death from a special perspective. The book chronicles the cleaning process of 13 special sites and what the author thinks and feels during this period. It brings the reader a new perspective.
01 What is a relic sorter
If someone dies unnaturally, or someone dies alone, who will clean up these scenes? For the family of the deceased, it is difficult to accept that the relatives have suddenly suffered a disaster, and if they want to clean it with their own hands, it is tantamount to suffering another trauma. And for those who die alone, who can help them clean up the last traces of this world?
In order to alleviate the suffering of these families and deal with the aftermath of the lonely deceased, the profession of relic sorter was born, also called the special cleaner, but the object of cleaning was the room of the deceased, facing the relics of the deceased. This work is very special to ordinary people. Some people will feel that this is not a job that anyone can do, and some people will feel that it is a noble cause. In the author's view, his job is essentially the same as that of a waiter in a restaurant and a cleaner in a hotel.
The rhetoric imposed by the outside world may give the relics sorter a beautiful illusion that his work is great. But the moment you arrive at the scene of death, that beauty is shattered. It is just an ordinary work, if you have to say special, then everything in this world is special, has its own unique value.
The author says, "Like your job, my job is special. After the death of a unique and precious life in this world, I came to help him clean it up. A man does not die twice, and for him to die, I provide the service only once, and it is indeed a very special and noble job, isn't it"?
02 Get close to the life and death of strangers again and again
As the last person to come into contact with the traces of the deceased in this world, the relic arranger will inadvertently get a "portrait" of them from their relics in the process of cleaning, and walk into their "stories", so close to their life and death.
In this scene, titled "Tent Life," the author is commissioned by a real estate agent to tidy up a single room because a young woman commits suicide in this room. When the author arrived at the scene, he was shocked by the scene in front of him. This room is like a "campground", the room is supported in the middle of the pink tent, the entrance of the tent stands six or seven shochu bottles, no TV set, no dresser, the only thing that has a sense of life is some drying racks. There were five boxes for moving on the balcony. In her backpack, there was a resume. The girl graduated from high school and worked in a large processing plant for five years, then moved to another processing plant for a few years, and in a year she would be thirty years old. Inside the tent are books that basically comfort the soul, such as "The Right to Do Nothing", "Because You Are Particularly Precious", "You Obviously Don't Understand Me"...
At this point, the image of a lonely girl who came out to make a living after graduating from high school appeared in front of our eyes. Unconsciously ushered in thirty years old, perhaps no one in this world has ever understood her, looking back at her monotonous life day after day, the girl can no longer find the meaning of living, and has the idea of ending life. Her departure, no one cares, no one knows, only the relics sorter entered her heart in the last moment, of course, may only be very shallow. And people like her, there are many, many people in this world. Like dust, it drifts down to the earth and is silent.
The girl who was found three months after death in the book is a particularly kind person, who even sorted out all the garbage before death, trying not to cause trouble for others. And this kindness did not leave anything to himself, so that he finally ended his life with his own hands. It may be that you have suffered too many grievances in life, endured too much grief, but still been kind to others. You can't shoot the arrow in your heart at others, so you have to shoot at yourself.
The woman who ended her life because of depression, the young man who chose to commit suicide because he could not bear poverty, the man who wrapped himself in a quilt in the basement and waited to die... The last traces of these people in this world can only be witnessed by the relic arranger, and their unique story is only told to the relic arranger in the end.
03 Born to die, the perception of life in death
Death, at first glance, may be frightening and frightening. For the relics arranger who witnessed the scenes of death again and again, perhaps it is more compassion, a reflection on life.
Once, the author was commissioned to clean up the cat's carcass. In a room in a building, two giant iron cages, the cats inside are no longer in shape, only a flattened cat skin, a total of more than a dozen, the scene is shocking. Stray cats in the city die very normally, they are sick or can not find food, in the winter, it is easy to die. It's just that this is the survival of the fittest in nature, at least when they are alive, they are free and can dominate their own lives. And the dozen or so in the iron cage, what they have experienced in their lives, are only imprisoned. Although they are initially managed and do not have to worry about their livelihoods, when one day no one is managed, they will experience intense hunger, a sense of despair that they cannot escape the cage, and a feeling of betrayal to those who once cared for them.
In essence, there is no difference between the life of a cat and the life of a human. All life in this world, as it is, needs to be respected. And humans sometimes can't help but be arrogant, thinking that they can dominate the lives of other creatures. Perhaps, let go of arrogance, to respect all life in this world, including of course, your own life, do not hurt at will, do not end at will...
Perhaps when death really comes, or people who are incomparably close to death will understand that "life is the most precious." Taking good care of your own life and not easily harming your own life at any time is probably the greatest meaning between life and death.
Relic Finisher (A relic sorter's real work notes, purchased from a unique professional perspective for ¥24.9