Eco-friendly burials now a modern tradition
Source: Xinhua |
April 3, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE traditionally believe that people's souls may rest in peace only if their bodies are properly buried underground in coffins. But today, many are becoming open to other options, such as scattering ashes at sea or inlaying funeral urns in walls.
Ahead of tomorrow's tomb-sweeping day, a woman surnamed Huang in east China's Nanjing went to a cemetery to commemorate her father by burning paper money in front of the osmanthus tree under which his ashes are buried.
The tomb-sweeping day, also known as the Qingming Festival, calls for relatives to tend to the graves of their loved ones by leaving food and drink at their burial sites, as well as by burning fake paper money as a form of offering.
Huang's father has no tomb. On his deathbed he asked that his ashes be scattered under a tree. "We respected his will," Huang said.
Hu Jing, one of the cemetery's caretakers, said about 13,000 people have had their ashes scattered in the cemetery, accounting for 20 percent of its occupancy.
Other environmentally friendly methods of burial are gaining in popularity, especially in developed coastal regions.
Huang said both her grandparents chose to have their ashes scattered in the Yangtze River. She said she would likely request the same.
Nanjing civil affairs official Huang Juan said more than 140 people had their ashes scattered in local rivers in 2012, a record.
So far this year, 31 Suzhou residents, another city in east China's Jiangsu Province, have requested sea burials, almost triple the number who made the same request in 2012.
"An eco-friendly burial shows respect for the departed without compromising the natural environment," said Sun Shuren, an associate professor with the funeral and burials department of the Beijing Social Administration Vocational College.
Sun attributed the changes in burial practices to a shortage of available land and subsequent rise in burial costs. Government efforts to promote eco-burials also played a part, Sun added.
In December, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a guideline encouraging local governments to roll out policies to subsidize eco-friendly burials.
However, a long and difficult battle remains to be fought against the tradition of honoring the dead with a coffin and tombstone, Sun said.
Just 10 percent of Nanjing's dead are buried in a non-conventional manner each year, Huang Juan said.
Ahead of tomorrow's tomb-sweeping day, a woman surnamed Huang in east China's Nanjing went to a cemetery to commemorate her father by burning paper money in front of the osmanthus tree under which his ashes are buried.
The tomb-sweeping day, also known as the Qingming Festival, calls for relatives to tend to the graves of their loved ones by leaving food and drink at their burial sites, as well as by burning fake paper money as a form of offering.
Huang's father has no tomb. On his deathbed he asked that his ashes be scattered under a tree. "We respected his will," Huang said.
Hu Jing, one of the cemetery's caretakers, said about 13,000 people have had their ashes scattered in the cemetery, accounting for 20 percent of its occupancy.
Other environmentally friendly methods of burial are gaining in popularity, especially in developed coastal regions.
Huang said both her grandparents chose to have their ashes scattered in the Yangtze River. She said she would likely request the same.
Nanjing civil affairs official Huang Juan said more than 140 people had their ashes scattered in local rivers in 2012, a record.
So far this year, 31 Suzhou residents, another city in east China's Jiangsu Province, have requested sea burials, almost triple the number who made the same request in 2012.
"An eco-friendly burial shows respect for the departed without compromising the natural environment," said Sun Shuren, an associate professor with the funeral and burials department of the Beijing Social Administration Vocational College.
Sun attributed the changes in burial practices to a shortage of available land and subsequent rise in burial costs. Government efforts to promote eco-burials also played a part, Sun added.
In December, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a guideline encouraging local governments to roll out policies to subsidize eco-friendly burials.
However, a long and difficult battle remains to be fought against the tradition of honoring the dead with a coffin and tombstone, Sun said.
Just 10 percent of Nanjing's dead are buried in a non-conventional manner each year, Huang Juan said.
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