China News Service, Changsha, April 4th: How can natural ecological burial go further in allowing life to “finally return”?
Author Tang Xiaoqing Li Ying Yang Huafeng
How to bury your loved ones is a multiple-choice question about how to say goodbye.
According to her father's wishes during his lifetime, on the eve of Qingming Festival, Zou Yan came to the Fushouyuan Cemetery in Mingyang Mountain, Changsha, Hunan Province to bury her father.
She picked up the urn, poured the ashes from the box into the grave specifically for scattering, and said her final goodbyes to her father. "Father said, don't bury your body after death, just scatter it and return to nature." Although everyone had dispersed, the sobbing Zou Yan still refused to leave. She picked up the fallen petals around the tomb and placed the flowers that had just been presented. tidy.
Scattered burial is an ecological burial mode that does not retain ashes, leave no marks, and does not leave separate names. In the past few days, reporters visited multiple cemeteries in Changsha and found that people’s funeral concepts are changing, and diverse land-saving ecological burial methods such as flower bed burials, tree burials, lawn burials, and tower burials are accepted by more people.
On April 3, at Fushouyuan Cemetery in Mingyangshan, Changsha, Hunan, staff were scattering ashes for mass burial. Photo by China News Network reporter Yang Huafeng
Is ecological burial a "casual burial" or a "thin burial"?
In recent years, throwing the ashes of deceased relatives into the sea, or burying them with flower petals and soil among tree roots and lawns is a new funeral model advocated in China - ecological burial. The main forms include lawn burial and wall burial. , flower bed burial, tree burial, sea burial, etc.
Life and death are big matters. From ancient times to the present, Chinese traditional culture has attached great importance to funerals. The concept of "having a burial when one dies and being buried in peace" has lasted for thousands of years. From burial to cremation is a revolution, from cremation to ecological burial is also a revolution.
At present, some people still cannot accept ecological burial and still adhere to the traditional concept and the idea of "burying in peace". Some people believe that ecological burial means "casual burial" and "thin burial". “Some elderly people die in cities, and if their families choose ecological burial, people in their hometown will feel unfilial,” said Zhou Shiqing, a post-80s generation who works in Changsha.
Guo Lin, a professor at the Elder Care Service Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said in an interview with the media that the current public perception is partly due to the poor quality and service of land-saving ecological burial facilities in some areas. It is not fully integrated with funeral customs and lacks humanism.
Guo Lin believes that the existing industry standards and local standards, to a certain extent, show the characteristics of focusing on the construction of land-saving ecological burial facilities and neglecting the humanities and customs of funerals, which is not conducive to the effective promotion of land-saving ecological burial.
"In the past, some funeral service organizations regarded ecological burials as casual burials or even charity burials or burials for the poor. In fact, they lacked people-oriented service awareness, so they were resisted by some people." Changsha Vocational and Technical College of Civil Affairs Funeral College Director Tan Zejing said in an interview with reporters that now, through government advocacy and deployment, civil affairs departments and funeral service agencies at all levels have changed their concepts, service levels and quality have been greatly improved, and the acceptance of ecological burial has also increased.
On April 2, Huacong was buried in the Jinling Urban Green Cemetery in Changsha City. Photo by China News Service reporter Tang Xiaoqing
The reporter found out that in Zhengzhou, under the leadership of the civil affairs department, public welfare tree burial activities have been held for 17 consecutive years, with more than a hundred families signing up almost every year. A staff member of the Zhengzhou Funeral and Burial Affairs Service Center said that this year the city will hold three Qingming Festival eco-burial activities, and all the quotas for the activities are currently filled up in advance.
The Changsha Funeral and Burial Affairs Center has successively launched more than 10 ecological underground burial styles, including lawn burial, tree burial, flower burial, tower burial, wall burial, and scattered burial. So far, more than 5,000 deceased people have been buried ecologically.
"The vast majority of cemeteries in cemeteries are traditional cemeteries, but more and more people are asking about green burial. The public's acceptance of ecological burial is increasing." Wang Zhiguo, deputy director of the Cemetery Service Department of Changsha Funeral Affairs Center, said saving land for funerals It is an important part of the funeral reform and an inevitable choice in the current environment of shortage of land resources. Ecological land saving has become an important consideration standard for the cemetery industry to develop tomb products. In the future, more and more people will choose land-saving burial methods.
Why can ecological burial be “seen” by more people?
More and more people are accepting the land-saving ecological burial method represented by sea burial of ashes, which is inseparable from the government's vigorous promotion and financial subsidies.
At present, 26 provinces in China have issued specific implementation opinions on the promotion of land-saving ecological burial, adopted incentives, rewards and subsidies for those who choose land-saving ecological burial methods, and increased efforts in the construction of land-saving ecological burial facilities.
Last year, Fujian's first ecological burial reward and subsidy policy was introduced. Fuzhou local residents who died at sea were given a subsidy of 3,000 yuan, and two relatives accompanied the ashes at sea burial for free, and a sea burial certificate was issued. The Hohhot Municipal Civil Affairs Department has issued relevant policies that stipulate that the relevant expenses incurred in the implementation of various land-saving ecological burial services shall be borne by the Civil Affairs Department (the relatives of the deceased shall bear their own expenses such as transportation, food and accommodation expenses).
Changsha has carried out in-depth funeral reforms, promoted ecological and festival ground burials, and advocated the establishment of civilized sacrificial practices. After more than ten years of advocacy, promotion, optimization and innovation, more than ten forms of ecological land-saving burials have been launched, and a reward and subsidy system for land-saving ecological burials has been established. Starting from September 1, 2022, the new "Changsha Funeral Management Regulations" will be officially implemented, and 5 supporting documents for funeral reforms to benefit the people will be released simultaneously. 8 basic funeral services will be free of charge, and land-saving ecological burials will be rewarded. The scope of policy benefits and standards are among the best in the country.
"The fee exemption standards for eight basic funeral services range from 1,386 yuan to 1,606 yuan. Those who choose land-saving ecological burial can receive rewards of 1,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan." Ma Jian, deputy director of the cemetery service department of Changsha Funeral Affairs Center, said that thanks to the government's vigorous efforts With the implementation of promotion and reward and subsidy policies, scattered burials have become known to more people in Changsha.
A pagoda burial in the Jinling Urban Green Cemetery in Changsha City. Photo by China News Network reporter Yang Huafeng
It is understood that in 2023, Changsha will strictly implement eight basic funeral service fee exemptions and ecological burial reward and subsidy policies. Throughout the year, more than 60 million yuan in basic funeral service fees will be exempted for mourning people, and more than 2,400 ecological burials will be rewarded with 5 million yuan in land-saving subsidies.
Wang Zhiguo introduced that in order to fully ensure the implementation of civil affairs work, the Changsha Funeral Affairs Center has also stepped up the development of public welfare burials. Recyclable flower bed burials, lawn burials, tree burials, and ashes scattering burials have been launched one after another, providing Focus on the implementation of ecological awards and supplementary burials to provide adequate guarantees.
"All localities have increased rewards and subsidies for those who practice ecological burial, so that people can have spiritual honor and unreasonable funeral pressure after their death. Most funeral service agencies across the country have introduced convenient green channels for ecological burial." Tan Zejing said, there are more forms The changes in ecological burial include diversification, enhanced people-oriented service awareness of service agencies, more people participating, and higher public acceptance.
He believes that this rapid change is not only caused by the external pressure brought to people by real problems such as land, resources, environment, etc., but also reflects the good social effects achieved by a series of measures taken by the government and civil affairs departments to proactively respond to new situations and new problems. .
On the other hand, when an aging society encounters a shortage of land resources, "cemeteries are more expensive than housing prices" and "white profits" have become the focus of social attention. Compared with traditional burials, ecological burials also have obvious advantages in terms of price. "Fushouyuan launched a 30-acre ecological demonstration park project in 2015. Among them, the first park - Spring Garden, with an average tomb-shaped area of about 0.3 square meters, is positioned as a land-saving ecological model area with a conjoined ecological landscape." Wang Zhiguo introduced, since Starting from 2019, the Changsha Funeral Affairs Center has fully realized the development of land-saving ecological burial tombs, applying the design concept of "one tomb, one scene". The area of the newly opened tombs in the three cherry blossom areas of Jinling Cemetery does not exceed 0.42 square meters. .
According to Shen Hongge, Secretary of the Party Branch of the Funeral College of Changsha Civil Affairs Vocational and Technical College, changes in Chinese people’s funeral concepts are also inseparable from the innovation of green funeral forms and a greater focus on humanization. "For example, when Guangzhou implements sea burials, some of the deceased's ashes can be kept in vessels for commemoration, which will be easier for the family to accept." Shen Hongge said that with the acceleration of social progress and population mobility, people's concepts and thoughts have become more consistent. In line with the times.
Burial in flower bed. Photo by China News Network reporter Yang Huafeng
How can ecological burial go further?
Green ecological burial, from a long-term perspective, is the general trend of funeral reform.
In fact, as early as 2016, nine departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting Land-Saving Ecological Burials" to encourage and guide people to adopt sea burials, tree burials, deep burials, space storage, etc. that require less space or less space. Bury ashes or remains in a way that takes up less space, consumes less resources, and uses less non-degradable materials.
Of course, funeral reform is not just a change in the way the deceased is buried, but also a revolution in thinking that challenges old customs. It not only requires the propaganda power of "spring breeze transforms into rain, moisturizing things silently", but also pays attention to supporting measures, policy connection, human services, culture Shaping, etc., advancing steadily and perseveringly.
Tan Zejing told reporters that ancient China also had ecological burial forms, such as water burial, naked deep burial, even bird and animal belly burial, cremation and ashes burial, etc. "It's just that in ancient times, issues such as land, resources, and environment were not as urgent as they are in modern times." He said that to further implement ecological burial, we need to further make the ecological burial policy well-known, the concept of ecological burial deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the practice of ecological burial deeply rooted in people's minds. willing.
Industry insiders say that the funeral reform also needs to cultivate a large number of qualified funeral service talents to win society's understanding of funeral reform and ecological burial with high-level and high-quality services, so that people can consciously practice ecological burial. In addition, urban public welfare cemeteries are being built in various places, but policies vary from place to place on how to save land and how to operate them. Guiding documents need to be issued from the national level.
Various green funerals have also prompted new changes in the funeral industry, with some companies using new technologies to explore new products and services for funerals. Beijing Jiuli Digital Technology Co., Ltd. has set up nearly 7,000 "digital tombs" in many cemeteries in Beijing. The price of each tomb ranges from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan, and the lease term is 20 years.
A digital tomb launched by a digital technology company. Photo by China News Service reporter Tang Xiaoqing
"The people buried here no longer pay attention to laying a grave in their graves and erecting monuments on their graves. Instead, they use a small electronic screen as a 'digital tombstone' to save the deceased's personal quotes, life photo albums, micro-movies, etc., to help the living make up for their regrets and sorrows." Self-emotional healing." Zhu Hongjie, a staff member of the company's modern funeral and funeral R&D center, said that green funerals and digital technology funerals are the future development trends of the funeral industry, and "digital cemeteries" will be promoted more in cemetery areas. In the future, when family members miss their loved ones, they can also wear VR and AR glasses to see their loved ones in the real environment.
Wang Zhiguo believes that cemetery service agencies should also inspect and learn from each other's advanced experience and technology, continuously increase the proportion of ecological land-saving tomb types, and cover all cemetery products and funeral services with the land-saving ecological concept. "Continuously increasing the intensity and breadth of the construction of people-friendly funerals and land-saving ecological burials, and implementing the concept of green and ecological sustainable development in all aspects of park construction and operation should be the guiding ideology and goals of cemetery service practitioners. Towards."
"No matter how funerals develop, they must first meet people's emotional needs." Shen Hongge, who has been deeply involved in the funeral industry for more than 20 years, found that with the promotion of green funerals and the widespread application of digital technology funerals, the Chinese people's attitude towards funerals will change among young people. Further changes will occur in China, and funeral services will also extend from "funeral" and "burial" to "sacrifice" and "inheritance". (over)