Author | China Business News He Tao
During this year’s Qingming Festival, two pieces of news about sacrifices formed an intriguing contrast.
One is "Cao Cao's tomb is filled with ibuprofen" which is a hot search topic. Historical records record that Cao Cao suffered from migraines all year round, so many young people "prescribed the right medicine" and brought various kinds of ibuprofen to worship him. Similar examples include bringing wine to Li Bai, potato chips and spicy strips to Huo Qubing, paper to Cai Lun, and "Ma Yinglong" to Zhang Juzheng…
Another video in Liaoyang, Liaoning, that appeared to be "buried with a Mercedes-Benz" sparked heated discussion on social platforms. On April 10, the Gongchangling District Government of Liaoyang City announced that the person involved, Jin, violated the law and illegally buried the vehicle due to feudal superstition. After criticism and education from relevant departments, the parties concerned have deeply realized their mistakes and actively cooperated in rectification. Suspected violations of laws and regulations are being dealt with seriously.
It is also an "unconventional" way of offering sacrifices, but judging from public reactions, most of them smile knowingly at the former, but are generally disgusted with the latter. Behind this, it reflects contemporary society's redefinition of the core value of sacrificial behavior: the vitality of sacrificial rituals does not lie in the luxury of material forms, but in the sincerity of emotional expression and the consistency of civilization orientation.
In traditional sacrifices, burning paper money and offering sacrifices are common forms. The logic is that "death is like life", trying to provide material security for the deceased in another world. However, the young man sending ibuprofen to Cao Cao was obviously not based on this superstitious logic.
Qingming festivals are often solemn and solemn because they evoke heavy thoughts of the deceased loved ones. Perhaps because the ancients were not relatives, young people's memorials to them were less heavy and more relaxed, so they offered all kinds of imaginative sacrifices.
The core of this kind of sacrificial behavior is more of a kind of ideological empathy and stress relief. They may have projected the hardships they encountered in their lives onto the ancients. As someone on the Internet lamented: Give Cao Cao ibuprofen and you will be cured.
"Burying a Mercedes-Benz with a car" is a continuation of the logic of material offerings, and highlights the tendency of the parties involved to advocate the ancient idea of "thick burial". Regardless of whether a luxury car can really be "used" by the deceased, this behavior actually extends the mentality of material comparison and showing off wealth in the real world to the field of funerals.
Funeral civilization undoubtedly needs to keep pace with the times. Today in the 21st century, how to bury and worship one's ancestors is no longer purely a matter of "personal freedom" and how one wants to do it, but must comply with public order and good customs, and act in accordance with the law and regulations.
Our country’s funeral management regulations clearly stipulate that funeral management adheres to civility, frugality, and green ecology, and encourages the adoption of funeral methods that meet ecological environmental protection and land-saving requirements. The cost of "burying a Mercedes-Benz with a car" is exaggerated, requires a lot of land, and may pollute the environment. It is obviously contrary to these regulations. The official notification also pointed out that the parties involved were suspected of violating laws and regulations such as the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Funeral Management Regulations.
In contrast, the "fancy memorial" behavior of the ancients, although the sacrifice itself is not a traditional thing, consumes very little material, does not occupy additional land, does not cause environmental pollution, and does not violate any laws. More importantly, it conveys knowledge, humor and warmth rather than showing off wealth and superstition. Today, when land resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the whole society advocates "thick maintenance and poor burial" and green and ecological funerals, it is self-evident which behavior is more in line with the direction of civilization.
Looking at the deeper level, the reason why young people "sending ibuprofen to Cao Cao" is widely accepted and even regarded as a cultural phenomenon is because it may create a new paradigm for dialogue with history and tradition. In addition to the traditional ancestor worship culture, young people began to use their own thoughts and actions to complete their tribute and identity to the nation's "cultural ancestors". This is also a kind of spiritual self-comfort.
Faced with "bringing ibuprofen to Cao Cao" and "burying a Mercedes Benz with him", the reason why we have a clear distinction between love and hate is because we clearly see that the dignity of sacrifice comes from the sincerity of the heart and the civilization of the behavior. A box of painkillers worth a few yuan is extremely precious because it carries understanding and care spanning thousands of years; a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands is vulgar because it is full of ostentation, superstition and disregard for the law.
This enlightens us that the key to changing customs is not to simply deny tradition, but to return to people's true emotional needs on the track of the rule of law and public order and good customs. This is a more vital way of cultural inheritance.
