The funeral customs in the mainland have always been burials, and the ancients said that "entering the earth is safe". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to save land for development, the state advocated cremation of the deceased.
In the beginning, many people's perception of burial did not change, believing that burial is a matter of respect for the dead. Later, slowly, people's attitudes changed and they accepted cremation of the deceased, which was also in response to the call of the state.
Today, in the 21st century, a new tree burial has emerged! Many people say that it is only a matter of time before cremation is replaced, and many people joke that they don't even need to buy a cemetery! Can tree burial really replace cremation?
1. The end of the burial
Our burials have been around for thousands of years, and our ancestors believed that burial after the death of the deceased was a sign of respect for the deceased and a way for the deceased to rest in peace. More superstitiously, burial keeps the soul in the tomb forever.
With the development of society, the traditional concept of the old society has been broken, and after the founding of New China, the population increased dramatically.
The mainland is also an agricultural country, so more cultivated land is needed, and the land occupied by burials is very large, and it is impossible for the state to approve a large area of land for building and placing coffins, so at that time cremation can only be recommended.
The advantage of cremation is that it occupies a small area, and an urn does not occupy much area. At that time, some people also raised the question of whether the burial was disrespectful to the deceased, because he was cremated after he died, which was a bit of a feeling of "frustrating bones and scattering ashes".
In the face of such views, many experts have also put forward their own views, but the country is also arranged by the state as a whole, and it cannot be changed because of a person's views and opinions.
Cremation continued until now, and it was not until later that tree burial slowly took on the rise! Can tree burial replace cremation?
2. Use the tree as a tombstone
In fact, some ethnic minorities in ancient China had the tradition of tree burial, but for the ancient Han people, tree burial was not as good as burial, and they felt that it was disrespectful to the dead.
Until now, there are still ethnic minorities who use tree burials to bury the dead, but it is indeed not safe to bury them in the mountains and dense forests.
Many people are curious, what does tree burial mean? In fact, it is to cremate the deceased, bury the ashes under a tree, or directly scatter the ashes on the soil, and the tree can be hung with a sign with the name of the deceased written on it to prove the identity of the deceased.
Although this seems to save a lot of money and the money for the tombstone, the family of the deceased still feels that this is disrespectful to the deceased.
After all, the tombstone can record the identity, status and contribution of the deceased before death, so that later generations can also know what the ancestor is called, what he has done, and what merits he has made to the family before the tombstone.
If a small wooden plaque is hung on a tree, the small wooden plaque cannot record so much information about the deceased, and future generations will not be able to know what happened to the deceased during his lifetime from the small wooden plaque.
It is also said that it is simply not advisable to use a tree as a tombstone. If there is a strong wind, if the tree breaks, you can't even find the wooden sign, which is also disrespectful to the deceased.
Some people even say that if the ashes are not put in the urn, they are sprinkled directly into the soil is also a kind of damage to the soil, because many people think that the ingredients in the ashes are not suitable for the growth of plants in the soil at all. Moreover, the families of the deceased do not want to bury their loved ones in such a hasty manner. Why does the state still promote tree burials?
3. Promote tree burial
Although cremation saves a lot of land occupation compared to burial, after cremation, the urn still has to be buried in a fixed place, and you still have to erect a monument, or occupy a piece of space. And there are some cemeteries, and a lot of mountains have to be opened up to place the cemetery.
There are 1.4 billion people in China, and there will be dead people in every city, and if the number of graves is not enough, new forests will have to be developed, and in the long run, large areas of mountains and forests will be developed, and every mountain will become a grave mountain.
Tree burials are different, where the ashes of the deceased are scattered under the soil of a tree or a flower, and neither occupy a large area nor are they exposed. People die in dust, and this way of burial will not cause any loss to the family of the deceased.
After all, the country vigorously advocates environmental protection and resource conservation, and tree burial is also the best choice. The state has also proposed collective tree burial, that is, burying the ashes of several deceased people under a tree at the same time, and erecting a small stone tablet to record the names of the deceased, etc., which is indeed beautiful and in line with modern burial.
But many people still can't accept this kind of burial, because the traditional concept of Chinese is still very deep, and it will take some time to change this concept. Despite this, the state has also been vigorously promoting green and environmentally friendly tree burials.
summary
People's ideas will change, after all, people will not bring life after death, and everything will return to dust. It has indeed taken a while for us to change from burial to cremation, and I believe that the transition from cremation to tree burial will be slowly accepted by many people.
Tree burial is not disrespectful to the deceased, people will eventually have the day of old age, everyone can not escape, I believe that the state will also introduce a lot of policies to give some preferential policies to the families of the deceased who are willing to try tree burial.
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