中國今年清明節興起"網上掃墓"

In China, grave sweeping--that ancient Confucian tradition--has gone virtual.

掃墓本是中國儒家的一個傳統，現在卻走向虛擬化。

Over the Qing Ming holiday weekend, millions of people flocked to the nation's cemeteries to burn paper money, arrange dishes of food and deliver trinkets ranging from faux iPhones to plastic flower boas as a way to express their devotion to the departed.

今年清明節適逢週末，成百上千萬人來到墓地陵園，用燒紙錢、獻祭品，送紙糊的iPhone和塑料花籃的方式表達哀思。

But increasingly, as the nation makes a push for more 'environmentally friendly' ways to revere the dead, many mourners are going online instead.

但隨着政府倡導以更環保的方式緬懷先人，越來越多的人選擇在網上祭祀。

At , for example, users can build elaborate web shrines decked out with flickering bytes of candles, images of bouquets and pots of incense. This year, some draped portraits of their loved ones in black cloth, while others outlined them with red fabric.

在天堂網()，用戶可以爲逝去的親友創建網上紀念館，點燭、上香、送花。今年有些用戶還在逝者照片的旁邊加上了黑色或紅色的緞帶。

At least one user has created a shrine featuring Beijing's Gate of Heavenly Peace, where they've chosen to supplant the portrait of Mao's that hangs there in real life with images of his or her own loved ones. (Roast pigs, Terra Cotta stone warriors, and an elaborate white wreath of flowers were added to mark the recent holiday.)

至少有一名用戶把虛擬紀念館建成北京天安門的樣子，然後把已故親人的照片放在毛主席像的位置。（這家網站最近推出了天堂金豬、護陵兵馬俑、白色花圈等最新祭品。）

For Qing Ming, users flooded the site with tens of thousands of virtual tributes, spanning everything from GIFs of animated white lotuses to drummers dressed in white or pictures of departed ones' favorite foods. The company says it currently has more than 3.4 million users.

清明節，用戶們涌向這家網站，敬獻成千上萬的虛擬祭品，這些祭品從GIF格式的白荷花、到身穿白衣的鼓手、再到逝者生前最喜歡的食物，可謂應有盡有。天堂網說，他們的用戶已經超過340萬。

Elsewhere online, vendors on this weekend also offered to sweep tombs for those who couldn’t visit their relatives’ cemeteries in person. For a modest fee―usually around 100RMB or up―they offered to place flowers, candles and other offerings, perform a set number of ritualistic bows, and send photos as part of the bargain.

這個週末，淘寶網()的商家也爲無法親自掃墓的人提供了代客掃墓服務。只要付不多的錢（通常是人民幣100元起），就可以僱人到墓地擺花、蠟燭和其他祭品，還可以僱人去鞠躬，送照片。

On a sunny Monday, one family spanning three generations gathered to sweep tombs the traditional way in the outskirts of Beijing, carefully layering plastic flowers and paper money before a family grave.

週一是個陽光明媚的日子，一個祖孫三代之家在北京郊區的墓園以傳統方式掃墓，他們小心翼翼地在墓碑前擺放塑料花和紙錢。

Standing before the low mound of dirt and stone as his Bluetooth device idled in his ear, Mr. Wang, who only wanted to be identified by his surname, said he sympathized with people couldn't sweep tombs in person. 'What if they live overseas? Or outside Beijing and it's not convenient?' said Mr. Wang, a media worker in his 40s. When he passes away, he said, he wouldn't mind if his descendants didn't always pay their respects in person. 'If I'm not here, I won't have any feelings about the matter,' he said.

王先生站在泥土和石頭堆成的一個小土堆前，耳朵上掛着藍牙設備。他說，他理解那些沒法親自來掃墓的人。“住在海外的人怎麼辦？人不在北京，不方便怎麼辦？”他說，如果他去世了，自己的後代不能經常來祭奠他，他是不會介意的。“如果我不在了，對這件事也不會有什麼感覺了”。王先生40多歲，從事媒體行業，他不願意透露全名。

From his wheelchair across the way, though, Mr. Wang's father interjected with disdain. 'Tomb-sweeping is about the spirit. If you don't do it yourself in person, there is no spirit.'

王先生的父親坐在輪椅上，很不屑地插話說，“掃墓是一種精神，不親自來就沒有這種精神了。”

For his part, Mr. Wang's young son said he planned to keep sweeping tombs all his life. Looking around at the quiet, sun-dappled cemetery at the flower-festooned tombs, popping open a soft drink, he told his father, 'I like doing it.'

王先生的兒子說，他會一直親自來掃墓的。他環顧四周，看着安靜、陽光斑駁的墓園和花朵裝點的墓碑，打開手上的一罐飲料，對王先生說：“我喜歡這樣做。”