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In China, people have a variety of burial methods, including earth burial, cremation, water burial, sky burial, and so on. Among them, some burial methods are relatively niche. Whereas burial and cremation are the more common and the most traditional. In the earliest days, people were not allowed to be buried. However, with the decreasing land resources and the worse and worse environment, the state has also reformed the funeral method.
It is not surprising that our country is a populous country. There are also a lot of people who die every year, and it is easy to be confused without uniform regulations. Especially for burials, dig a pit here for the coffin, and dig a pit there. Digging and digging land resources are occupied, which is not conducive to the development and construction of society.
1. Burial and cremation
Influenced by traditional culture, Chinese attach great importance to burial ceremonies. They will not only show respect for the deceased, but also express their condolences in the ceremony. There is an old Chinese saying that "filial piety comes first". Filial piety is a concept rooted in the heart of every Chinese, and people believe that burial is also a way to fulfill filial piety, and this concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
People's attention to burial ceremonies is reflected in all aspects, and they are also particularly particular about burial methods. Some people will tell their children how they want to be buried while they are alive, and this is their last wish.
Burial and cremation are two of the most traditional burial methods. The first is burial, and the origin of burial is to refer to primitive society. At that time, people had a deep affection for the earth, believing that the land was the "mother" that gave birth to them. So the body will be buried in the earth after death and become one with Mother Earth.
The burial is also mentioned in the "Zhou Li", which says that "you will die for life, and you will return to the earth when you die". From here, it can also be seen how deeply people's obsession with burial was at that time, but this can also reflect some of people's feudal thoughts.
Many dynasties used burial, which has existed in Chinese society for thousands of years. It has formed its own characteristics in different regions, and there have been a burial method, a second burial method, a multiple burial method, etc., which have unique historical significance and cultural connotation.
However, with the change and development of Chinese society, there has been an increasing tension on land resources, which has also put burials in an embarrassing situation. Burial is to bury the body in a grave that has been dug, which will occupy land resources, and it is good to say in the countryside, but it is not easy to find land in the city.
Urban development is better than that of rural areas, and the more developed cities are, the more they attach importance to land. Therefore, the land for cemeteries in modern society is still relatively tight, and it costs a lot of money to bury them, which puts a lot of pressure on the families of the deceased.
In addition, burial can also bring environmental problems and cause pollution to the ecological environment. Burial is not simply burying the body in the soil, it is necessary to dig a grave and bury the body, but in the process of construction, it is easy to bring pollution to the surrounding soil and groundwater, affecting the environment. One person burial may have no effect, but the harm to the environment becomes greater when a group of people are buried together.
Another traditional burial method is cremation, which is as common as burial. However, cremation is not a common burial method in ancient times, and in modern society, more people use cremation, and this method is slowly becoming popular. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the requirements for cremation were clarified in the documents issued, which also promoted the development of cremation.
Especially in today's increasingly scarce land resources, many people have begun to favor cremation. At cremation, only the body of the deceased needs to be incinerated. You can take the remaining ashes for burial, which not only saves land resources, but also is very convenient.
But burial also has its drawbacks. First of all, some people do not support it, and some Chinese believe in feudal superstition. Believing that the body should be kept intact after death, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the deceased, such people do not support cremation. Secondly, although cremation is convenient, it will also bring pollution to the environment, and a large amount of smoke and exhaust gases will be produced in the process of incineration of corpses, polluting the air.
In general, neither burial nor cremation is a perfect way to bury. Burial is land-intensive, expensive, polluting, and some people oppose cremation and pollute the air. China has been carrying out funeral reforms, adjusting policies for different situations.
II. Reform of the Central Funeral System
The Central Funeral Reform has been going on for many years, and in 1952 the Ministry of the Interior put forward the slogan "Funeral Reform". It advocates the translation of graves, the systematic establishment of crematoriums and shared cemeteries. In 1956, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other state leaders jointly signed a proposal for cremation at the conference, and did not support the preservation of the body and the relocation of graves.
Later, the number of crematoriums in China increased and cremation began to develop. In 1965, the state issued the "Opinions on Funeral Reform", which indicated that China should reform the old funeral customs and vigorously promote cremation.
China's first funeral regulations were introduced in 1985 under the name Interim Provisions on Funeral Management. Doing things according to the law can make the society more orderly, which makes the country's funeral management enter the legal stage and become more and more standardized.
Since the beginning of the "13th Five-Year Plan", the state has invested a lot of money in funeral services to support the construction of funeral services across the country. It also promotes land-saving ecological burial methods and encourages green burials. In addition, the management of funeral services has been strengthened. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Promoting the Filling of Gaps in Funeral Homes in Cremation Areas" was issued, focusing on the construction of 249 funeral homes in county-level cremation areas.
This also reminds people that cremation may become the mainstream burial method in China in the future. Funeral reform has always been underway, and any decision made by the state is not accidental, but the result of careful consideration. The central funeral reform will definitely take place, and appropriate adjustment policies can adapt to the country's development at all stages and maintain social stability.
There are many contents of the central funeral reform, and during a meeting in 2023, the deputies of the National People's Congress put forward a proposal to invest in the planning of free cemeteries, which speaks to the voices of many people. It is true that there is not enough land in modern society, especially in cities. The price of a cemetery is ridiculously expensive, and many people have no money to bury their loved ones.
If this advice is implemented, many people who choose burial will be very happy. This will reduce their financial strain, and it will also make it easier to buy a cemetery and bury their loved ones with dignity. In addition, the unified construction of free cemeteries can effectively avoid the occurrence of mass burials and eliminate the atmosphere of comparison and extravagance.
From this, we can also see that the state intends to promote cremation. However, it did not forcibly stop people from carrying out burials, and the choice was in the hands of the people. China's funeral policy is still very personalized, always considering problems from the perspective of ordinary people, and also protecting those who are obsessed with burial.
In fact, China's current funeral reform policy is to get rid of the "shackles" of traditional burial and cremation, and encourage people to accept more diverse burial methods. Innovation is important, and in the new era, our funeral methods also need to be innovated.
In addition to traditional burial methods such as burial and cremation, some new burial methods are gradually being accepted. Water burial is the scattering of the ashes of the deceased into rivers, lakes or the sea. This can avoid polluting the air and occupying land resources, which is in line with the concept of green ecological civilization.
Tree burial is also a new way to bury the ashes of the deceased under a tree, which also promotes greenery.
There are many new burial methods, and the state is now encouraging and supporting people to use these new methods, promoting the innovative development of burial methods, and making it diversified.
However, China allows all burial methods to exist, and will not abandon traditional burial methods because of their drawbacks, and everyone can choose according to their own wishes.
3. The significance of funeral reform
Funeral reform is an inevitable choice of history and the only way for China's development. Funeral culture is a part of Chinese culture, and only when the times change and innovate can funeral culture not lag the times.
Funeral reform is of great significance to the development of the country. First of all, in terms of environmental protection, the traditional burial method may bring pollution to the air, groundwater, and land. But some new burial methods will reduce pollution, which is also a means to protect the environment, and it is worth developing.
The second is the occupation of land resources, especially burials, which occupy the most land resources, and the entire body must be buried in the land. If people's burial methods become diversified, then the available land resources will definitely become more and reduce the pressure on land.
You know, many Chinese are still conservative in their thinking. For the reform of central funeral customs to succeed, it is necessary to bring about a change in the minds of the public. Especially in rural areas, many people believe in the existence of ghosts and gods, and in remote areas, there is a saying that "you can meet your relatives by keeping the corpse", which is unbelievable!
Therefore, it is not easy to change the superstitious thinking of the public, and it will take some time. Relevant departments can vigorously promote the new funeral culture and combat feudal superstition. Educate the public about the advantages of the new burial method and make them accept the new changes.
The law is the guarantee to promote the implementation of the policy, in order to make the central funeral reform go smoothly. The state also needs to promulgate some relevant laws and regulations to improve the funeral management system and make people's behavior more effective
to the specification.
For us personally, it is natural that we need a corresponding national call. Actively supporting the proposal of diversified funeral methods can be regarded as a contribution to the country.
Epilogue:
Although cremation and burial are traditional burial methods in China, they can occupy land resources and pollute the environment. In the new era of adhering to green development, we need to carry out the reform of funeral methods.
The reform of central funeral customs has been going on for a long time, and we may see a variety of burial methods in the future, but it will take some time to fully realize it.