论殡葬改革

On Funeral Reform in Contemporary China

本文是对当代中国殡葬改革的一个系统分析,分别总结了农村和城市殡葬改革中遇到的种种问题。作者认为,殡葬改革所面对的诸多问题,是中国在建构现代生活方式过程中,与传统礼俗的各种冲突所致。为解决当前问题,殡葬法规不应该与传统礼俗对立,而应充分理解和吸纳传统礼俗的基本精神,使之成为修正殡葬法规的民间习惯法。儒家丧礼的基本原则,体现在孔子"之死而致死之,不仁而不可为也,之死而致生之,不知而不可为也"一语,是在理性和情感之间寻求平衡。若从这一基本原则出发,现代殡葬制度不仅可以突破现有的困境,而且可以更好地贯彻现代精神。

This is a systematic analysis of the funeral reform in contemporary China.There are a variety of problems in the funeral reformation in both rural and urban areas,and they may be attributable to the same dilemma:the incompatibility between modern jurisprudence and traditional rituals(li su).In order to get out of this dilemma,modern laws should not remain impervious to traditional rituals,but should fully understand them and incorporate them as part of the customary law.The basic principle of Confucian funeral rituals is to balance rationality and sensibility,as is expressed in Confucius’own words,“to regard the dead as dead is unloving,but to regard the dead as living is foolish.”With this principle as the point of departure,modern funeral system will be embarked on the path out of the above-mentioned dilemma and into a truly modern institution.