冥婚真相背後的愛與黑暗

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不知道大家有沒有看過恐怖片女王林心如的《京城81號》，整個「恐怖」故事都是由一起冥婚引發而來的。

事實上，在大陸講冥婚的電影還有不少，如《屍憶》、《詭新娘》等，韓國人也拍過《冥婚/奇談》。

百度百科對冥婚的解釋是這樣的——

陰婚，又稱冥婚、配骨、鬼婚、冥配等，是一種民間習俗。訂婚後的男女雙亡，或者訂婚前就已夭折的兒女，父母出於疼愛心情，要為他們完婚。陰婚又分為死人與死人和死人與活人兩種。過去認為祖墳中有一座孤墳會影響後代的昌盛，所以要替死者辦陰婚。

然而，隨著世事的不斷演變，冥婚這樣的「陋俗」也逐漸變了味道。當下的冥婚已經脫離正常的倫理，也脫離了法律的框架，在催生出盜屍產業鏈的同時甚至出現了拐賣毒殺智障女性這樣泯滅人性的行為。

Police in north-west China have charged a man with murdering two women with mental disabilities, alleging that he wanted to sell their corpses to be used in so-called “ghost weddings”.

在中國西北地區，一名男子謀殺兩名智障女性，目的是為了把她們的屍體賣去「冥婚」。

It has put a spotlight on the ancient shadowy ritual, still practised in certain parts of China, which aims to provide spouses for people who die unmarried.

這使得這個古老的儀式受到了廣泛關注，這種習俗在中國的某些地區依然存在，主要是為還沒有結婚就去世的人提供屍體。

shadowy：[‘ʃædoi]

adj. 朦朧的；有陰影的；虛無的；暗黑的

According to police in Shaanxi province, the murder case dates back to April, when three men were detained after the body of a woman was found in their vehicle by traffic police.

據陜西省的警察所說，這起謀殺案件可以追溯到今年4月份，交警在這三個男人的車里發現了一位女子的屍體。

Their investigation led them to uncover a grisly sequence of events in which the man, named only as Ma, allegedly promised the women he would find them grooms but instead killed them so he could sell their corpses.

在對這起案件進行調查後，警察揭開了事情的可怕真相。三名罪犯當中的一位馬姓男子稱他以為受害者找對象的名義誘騙受害者並將其殺害，並準備將受害者屍體賣掉。

grisly：[‘grɪzli]

adj. 可怕的；厲害的；嚴重的

sequence：[‘sikwəns]

n. [數][計] 序列；順序；續發事件

vt. 按順序排好

What is a ghost wedding?

什麼是冥婚？

Believers in the custom, practised for some 3,000 years, say it ensures the unmarried dead are not alone in the afterlife.

這種流傳了3000年習俗的信仰者稱，冥婚可以讓未婚的死者在陰間不再孤獨。

afterlife：[‘æftəlaɪf]

n. 來世；死後的生活

Originally, the weddings were strictly for the dead – a ritual conducted by the living to wed two single deceased people – but in recent times some have involved one living person being married to a corpse.

在古時，冥婚是安排兩名已逝世的男女結婚、合葬。但隨著時間及風俗的改變，也出現了在活人和死人之間的冥婚。

deceased：[dɪ’sist]

adj. 已故的

n. 死者；[法] 被繼承人

vi. 死亡（decease的過去式）

In ghost marriages between two dead people, the “bride’s” family demands a bride price and there is even a dowry, which includes jewellery, servants and a mansion – but all in the form of paper tributes.

在兩位死者的冥婚中，新娘的家庭往往會要求聘禮和嫁妝，包括一些珠寶，仆人和豪宅——不過這些都是紙糊的。

dowry：[‘daʊri]

n. 嫁妝；天資；亡夫遺產

mansion：’mænʃən]

n. 大廈；宅邸

n. (Mansion)人名；(法)芒雄

Factors like age and family background are as essential as they are in more traditional weddings, so families hire feng shui masters to work as a match-maker.

在傳統婚禮中看重的家庭背景、年齡在冥婚中同樣重要，因此一般家庭都會請風水師來做紅娘，算一算。

match-maker：

紅娘

The wedding ceremony will typically involve the funeral plaque of the bride and the groom and a banquet. The most important part is digging up the bones of the bride and putting them inside the groom’s grave.

舉行冥婚時，有人會拿著雙方的牌位進行有拜天地、父母等儀式。而且，也會舉行宴席，邀請親朋好友參加。不過，冥婚儀式的重頭戲是合葬兩人屍骨。

banquet：[‘bæŋkwɪt]

n. 宴會，盛宴；宴請，款待

vt. 宴請，設宴款待

vi. 參加宴會

n. (Banquet)人名；(法)邦凱；(西)班克特

Is there a darker side to this tradition?

這項傳統習俗是否存在陰暗面？

冥婚真相背後的愛與黑暗靈異第1張

For years there has been evidence of this ritual mutating in certain parts of China. There have been cases where a living person has been “married” to a corpse in a secret ritual, but more alarmingly reports of grave robbery and even murder have also surfaced.

在中國的某些地區這種習俗長期存在。一些秘密舉行的「婚禮」中，活人被嫁給死人。但更多的是有關盜墓者偷盜屍體甚至是謀殺活人的報導。

In 2015, it was reported that 14 female corpses were stolen in one village in Shanxi province. Villagers said tomb-raiders stole the bodies to make money.

據報導，2015年山西省的某個村子里有14名女性屍身被盜，村民們說是被盜墓賊偷去賣錢。

According to Huang Jingchun, the head of the Chinese department at Shanghai University who carried out a field study on ghost weddings in Shanxi between 2008 and 2010, the price of a corpse or the bones of a young woman has risen sharply.

上海大學黃景春研究了2008年至2010年間山西省的冥婚習俗，發現女性的屍體或屍骨的價格急劇上升。

At the time of his research such remains would fetch around 30,000 to 50,000 yuan (£3,400 to £5,700; $4,500 to $7.500). He estimates the price these days could be up to 100,000 yuan. The sale of corpses was outlawed in 2006 but that hasn’t stopped grave robbers.

黃景春做研究的那時，一具女屍可以達到3萬到5萬人民幣的價格（3400英鎊到5700英鎊，4500美元到7500美元）。他可能現在的價格應該已經上升到10萬一具了。自2006年起，偷屍被列為非法行為，但這並沒有制止盜墓賊的這種行為。

A man arrested in Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolia last year told police officers that he murdered a woman so that he could make money by selling her body to a family looking for a ghost bride.

一名在內蒙古涼城縣被逮捕的男子坦白她謀殺了一位女性為的就是把她賣給正在尋找鬼新娘的一家人。

Why is this happening?

為什麼這種事會發生？

The reasons vary from place to place. In some districts of China, such as Shanxi where the latest murders are alleged, there are large numbers of young, unmarried men working in coal mining, where fatalities are high.

冥婚的發生的原因因地域而不同。在中國的一些地區，比如說最近發生這起謀殺案的山西，這里有很多年輕未婚年輕人都在煤礦工作，而煤礦的工作往往多災多難。

vary from：

不同

fatality：[fə’tæləti]

n. 死亡；宿命；致命性；不幸；災禍

冥婚真相背後的愛與黑暗靈異第2張

（紙糊的房子）

The ghost wedding serves as a form of emotional compensation for bereaved relatives, as finding a dead bride is something they can do for a son who died young while working to support the family.

喪子的父母可以透過安排冥婚，為死去兒子做一點事情，以求安慰、求得心安。

bereaved：[bɪ’rivd]

adj. 喪失的；死了…的

n. 喪失親人的人

vt. 使喪失（bereave的過去式和過去分詞）

But sex ratios are also significant. The 2014 census results show that about 115.9 boys were born for every 100 girls.

但是性別比例失調也是一個重要原因，2014年人口普查顯示出中國男女比例是115.9比100。

But Dr Huang believes there are also more fundamental cultural reasons.

但黃景春認為更主要的還是文化習俗的原因。

Many Chinese people believe misfortune will be brought upon them if the dead’s wishes have not been fulfilled. Hosting a ghost wedding is a means to pacify the dead.

很多中國人迷信如果死者的願望沒有得到滿足的話，會給家庭帶來不幸，只有亡靈得到安息，生者才能安心生活。

“The basic ideology behind ghost weddings is that the deceased continue their lives in the afterlife,” Dr Huang said. “So if someone didn’t get married when they lived, they still need to be wedded after their death.”

「冥婚之所以存在的原因是因為人們相信陰間的存在。」黃景春說，「如果活著沒有結成婚，死了還是得結的。」

Does it happen in other places?

其他地方有冥婚嗎？

Most cases are found in northern and central China, areas such as Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces. But Szeto Fat-ching, a feng shui master in Hong Kong, also confirms the ancient form of the custom still exists among Chinese communities in South East Asia.

在中國的中西部這樣的事件比較多，比如山西，陜西還有河南。但據香港風水大師司徒法正所說，在東南亞的很多華人區里面依然存在著這樣的古老習俗。

In Taiwan, if an unmarried woman passes away, her family may place red packets with cash, paper money, a lock of hair, a fingernail out in the open and wait for a man to pick them up. The first man to pick up the packets is chosen as the groom and it is believed to be bad luck if he refuses to marry the ghost bride.

在台灣，如果一個女人還沒結婚就已經死了，她的家人就會在外面放一個紅色的小包，里面放著現金，紙錢，死者的一綹頭髮、一塊指甲，然後等一個男人來撿起這個小包。第一個撿起小包的男人就是被挑選中的新郎，如果他拒絕娶這個鬼妻的話就會黴運臨頭。

a lock of：一綹頭髮 ; 一縷頭髮

The wedding rituals are similar, but unlike in mainland China, no bones are dug up. The groom is often allowed to marry a living woman later, but his dead wife should be revered as the primary wife.

婚禮的儀式都是大同小異的，但不像在內地一樣，會把死者的骨頭挖出來。新郎之後也可以再成親，但這個鬼妻將永遠是他的第一任妻子。

dig up：

挖出；掘起；開墾；發現

Last year a video of a ghost wedding from Taichung in Taiwan, where a man apparently “married” his deceased girlfriend in an elaborate ceremony, went viral.

At the core of these rituals is the universal human dilemma of how to deal with bereavement.

前幾年一個在網上廣為流傳的視頻中，台中的一位男子在一場精心布置的婚禮上，迎娶他已故的馬子。其實這些冥婚儀式的背後，體現的是人們無法安置的喪親之痛。