Recently, the re-screening of the movie "Entering the Mortician" has brought this group into the public eye
The image is from the "Movie Mortician" Weibo
Top News Henan Business Daily reporter Zhang Yifei
November 5 of the Gregorian calendar, the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, is the qingming festival, the middle yuan festival of China's three traditional festivals - the winter clothing festival, on this day, people will sacrifice sweeping and burning to commemorate the relatives of the immortals, known as sending cold clothes. In Zhengzhou, there is a saying of "early Qingming, late eleventh".
Just recently, the re-screening of the movie "The Mortician" in major theaters across the country will bring the mortician who has sorted out the appearance of the deceased into the public's vision, triggering the curiosity and discussion of a group of netizens.
Death has always been a heavy topic, and the profession of a mortician who participates in and witnesses death comes with controversy that cannot be ignored. Taking this opportunity, the top news Henan Business Daily reporter interviewed such a group in Zhengzhou City, and used his own way to tell his choice and understanding of engaging in this work.
The following is the self-statement of a post-95 female mortician.
Following my father's advice, I applied to the funeral profession
My name is Lin Miaomiao, and I am a post-95 mortician.
In the summer of 2015, my father sat in the hall and smoked a cigarette, "Report the funeral profession, I see that they are not tired, and they still earn a lot." ”
His father was a cook who cooked for people in the local cemetery cemetery, and in his limited cognition, the work in the cemetery was idle, and the relationship between colleagues was simple, which was a good job for girls.
I was a little nervous. Although I have been exposed to cemeteries since I was a child and have become accustomed to such an environment, I do not know what the future will face when I really learn systematically. But I still followed my father's advice, and when the acceptance letter was sent in my hand and I stood at the gate of Changsha Civil Affairs Vocational and Technical College, I really realized that I had been admitted.
In October 2019, I resigned from a funeral service company in Ningbo, and after the epidemic eased, I came to Zhengzhou AnleTang Etiquette Service Co., Ltd. in the West Third Ring Road of Zhengzhou City in March this year.
In terms of discussion, Ningbo's funeral service industry in China has developed relatively highly, but choosing to return to Zhengzhou is precisely the consideration brought to me by my professional experience.
Obviously, when I was young, I witnessed many life and death partings, and I also knew that remorse and reluctance were the most difficult pain for my relatives to give up on the deceased, which is why I chose Zhengzhou, the closest to my parents, as the final city to settle down. In fact, from birth, people have pressed the button of the farewell clock with their loved ones, and all I hope is to be on the runway of life, to be with the dearest and dearest people for a long time.
Because of prejudice, we never take the initiative to participate in festive occasions
My company, a funeral service company, has 13 liturgists who can be responsible for the entire funeral service, including the transportation of the body, burial, assistance with cremation and burial. Among them, there are 6 full-time morticians, 3 men and 3 women, 4 are post-90s, and the remaining 2 are post-80s.
Most people are afraid of death and have to pick up their pace as they pass by the shops that sell funerary supplies on the street. People in our profession are very "self-aware": we never take the initiative to participate in festive occasions, we never tell us about our work in strange occasions if we are not necessary, we do not take the initiative to shake hands with others and say goodbye... It is not that they look down on their profession, these "calculations" are the stereotypes of society for funeral service personnel.
I've also tried to reverse that stereotype. At the end of October, the Japanese movie "Entering the Mortician" was re-released, and I recommended it to my relatives and friends, but most people waved their hands to refuse me when they heard the three words "Entering the Mortician"; others explicitly told me that he has always actively filtered everything related to reality and network and death.
I even saw a short video of a real-life mortician, after watching the movie, holding up a piece that read, "I'm a mortician, would you like to shake hands with me?" "Cardboard, but few people willing to shake hands with it.
The sense of identity and respect we receive is precisely what the families of the deceased give
Miraculously, the sense of identity and respect we receive is given by the families of the deceased who have served.
The work of the mortician is to organize the appearance of the deceased, including bathing, dressing, makeup and other aspects. A deceased person usually needs to be served by two morticians at the same time, and during the service, we allow and encourage the deceased's family to watch the ceremony or even dress the deceased together.
The whole process is solemn and solemn, many people died due to the torture of illness, and some people died unexpectedly. Regardless of the cause of their deaths, we will try our best to make the most appropriate face for them, so that the family can say a final goodbye to them.
When the funeral is over and the family is notified to come to see the deceased, many people, after a short period of grief and loss of control, can't help but come forward, hold our hands tightly to thank us, at this time they have no worldly scruples, I can often see the undisguised gratitude in their eyes full of tears, "My relatives look very peaceful, thank you for letting him leave this world with dignity."
Only by not being afraid of death can we live better
I want to use the profession of mortician to tell people a simple truth: please give the person you love the most real attention; hopefully we can all re-understand the meaning of death and think about how to live this life well.
I have seen what should have been the closest family, because of misunderstandings and discord, bumps and bumps for many years, one of them died suddenly, and the other party was full of remorse into wordless tears, flowing in front of the silent spirit. And often at such times, the living have the patience to engrave the last countenance of the deceased in their minds with a dense gaze, but it is too late.
I have also seen orphans and widows left by the unexpectedly deceased, even if the living people kneel in front of the spirit and complain, dry their tears, they cannot recall the relatives who left the world, only by thinking through the meaning of death, with responsibility and persistence, living well, can we comfort the departed family.
The profession of a mortician subtly affected my outlook on life and values. Friends around me always say that I am not like a lively post-95. The nature of my work makes me calm. Especially when I see the life review of the deceased at various memorial services, I also begin to think back to my past: Did I do something bad, did I have a lot of things that my family often said, which I ignored but were particularly important?
My colleagues and I have experienced many other people's lives, and we can more deeply perceive the things that can be discarded in life. "There are often insurmountable obstacles between people who survive, but the distance between life and death can dissolve hatred." My colleague said.
Most importantly, we hope to correct people's cowardice in death with the profession of mortician, as the cremator at the end of the movie "Mortician" said, "Death is a door, it does not mean the end of life, but through it, into another stage." "Only by not being afraid of death can we live better."