死亡委婉語(yǔ)文化

Withthedevelopmentofpoliticsandeconomy,theworldhas esmallerandnolongerisolated.Moreandmorecountriesarefrequentlyinvolvedinthecommunicatingactivitiesofeconomy,politicsandculture.Ourearthhas eaglobalvillagebecauseofthedevelopmentoftraffic.Peoplefromdifferentcountries ecloserlikeneighborhoods.Whenpeopleofdifferentculturalbackgroundscommunicatewitheachother,misunderstandingsaswellasscomeupbecauseofthedifferencebetweenlanguageandculture.It’snotonlyaquestionoflanguagebutalsoabigchallengeofculture.Now,Chinahasclosercontactwithothercountries.Atthesametime,theEnglishlanguagehas ethemostwidespreadmediumofinternationalcommunication.MoreandmoreChinesepeopleuseEnglishastheirsecondlanguage.InbothChineseandthewesterncountries,therearecertainnotionsthatpeopletrytomentionindirectly.Aswordsconnectedwithdisagreeablethingswouldmakepeoplefeel whenpeoplementionedsuchnotions,theywillreplacethemwithindirectordifferenttermsthatsoundbetterthanthedirectone.TheEnglishword“euphemism”isfromtheGreek,meaning“well”or“soundinggood”,thatis,speakingwithnicewordsorbettermanners.Forhumanbeings,deathisthemosthorribleevent.Therefore,itisaprohibitedareaineveryculture.Forthepurposeofmentioningitindirectly,“euphemism”iscoinedtosubstituteforit.Deatheuphemismisnotjustalinguisticphenomenon,butaculturalphenomenon,whichcanreflectthereligion,traditionalvalue,andsocialcustomsofthenations.BothChineseandEnglishdeatheuphemismshavebeenappliedmoreoftenthanbefore.PayingattentiontothevariousdeatheuphemismsthatarecommonlyusedmayimproveourunderstandingaboutbothChineseandthewesternsociety’sattitudestowarddeath.Euphemismisacommonlinguisticphenomenonindifferentcultures.Sinceitiscoined,ithasperformedanimportantroleinpeople’sdailycommunication.Euphemismisnotjustalanguagephenomenonbutacultureone.Therefore,fromthemomenteuphemismappeared,ithasactedastheroleof“l(fā)ubricant”incommunication.“Ifthereisnoeuphemism,theworldwillceasetooperatebecauseoffrictions;peoplewillbefraughtwithmortalenemies.”(WangFuxiang1997:202)Inaway,euphemismgeneratesfromsuchcircumstancesofavoidingshame,privacyandotherpsychologicalproblemsduringinter alcommunication.Differentculturesrootindifferentbackgrounds.Thus,culturaldifferenceswouldcausethedifferentapplicationsoflanguage.AbriefintroductiontoEuphemismandDefinitionofAmericanscholarRawson(1983,p.1)states:“Euphemismsareembeddedsodeeplyinourlanguagethatfewofus,eventhosewhopridethemselvesonbeingplainspoken,evergetthroughadaywithoutusingthem.”AdefinitionofeuphemismgivenbyOxfordAdvancedLearners’DictionaryofCurrentEnglish(1989)is:“Exampleoftheuseofpleasant,mildorindirectwordsorphrasesinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectone”.Ingeneral,wordsthatarenice,subtleorindirectareeuphemisms.Whenconveyingideas,peopledonotwanttoirritateothers.Asaconsequence,theytendtousemildandpleasantwordstosubstituteembarrassing,displeasedorsadexpressions.Inordertodistancethemselvesfrombreakingsocialrules,peopleattempttobenottoostraightforwardinconversationsaswellasattempttoavoidtaboowords.Theywouldsaytheminaroundaboutwaytomeetthecommunicatoryneeds,andthepracticeiscalledeuphemizing.JustasNeaman&Silver(1983,p.1)putit,“Euphemizingisgenerallydefinedassubstitutinganinoffensiveorpleasanttermforamoreexplicit,offensiveone,therebyveneeringthetruthbyusingkindwords.”Rawson(1983)stated“euphemismscanbedividedintopositiveeuphemismsandnegativeeuphemisms”.Positiveeuphemismscontainoccupationaltitles alhonorifics.Forinstance,theword“professor”maybeusedasareferencetoaworkerwhodoesnotengageinanyacademicactivitiesatall.Thenegativeeuphemismsarecloselyconnectedwithtaboowords.AccordingtoAdler(1978,p.66),“Euphemismandtabooaretwosidesofthesamecoin.Withouttaboothereisnoeuphemism”.Ifdirectlyexpressed,conceptssuchassex,illness,death,burial,nudity,urine,willleavetheimpressionofbluntness,harshness,orrudeness.Onthecontrary,ifthespeakersexpressthemindirectlyandusingeuphemisms,theycancreatetheimpressionofsubtlety,euphony,elegance,courteousness.Theequivalentexpressionfor“euphemism”inChineseisor“婉辭”,orthemostpopularonecomposedofand曲語(yǔ)”.Thesewordsmeanthatwewouldbetternotuttertherudeorunpleasantthingsdirectlybuthavethemconveyedinindirectways.“委婉語(yǔ)”hasexistedforcenturiesinChina.Theearliestliteraluseofeuphemismisdiscoveredin《詩(shī)經(jīng)》(TheBookofPoetry),abookthatcoversChinesepoemswrittenfromthe11thcenturyB.C.tothe6thcenturyB.C.in《谷風(fēng)》（TheMountainGales）,suchasasentencegoinglikethat,“谷風(fēng)，以陰以雨”(Thereblowsthemountaingales;Foulweatherstillprevails).Theauthorillustratedthatthereisanunfortunateeventgoingtotakeplacebydescribingthecloudyweatherandrain.In《氓》(MyMan),akindandindustriouslady’smiserableexperience,fromfallinginlove,gettingmarriedtobeingilltreatedanddesertedbyherhusbandiscomparedtothelushgrowthandwitheringofmulberryleaves.FromthebeginningoftheHandynastywhentheChineseemperor“漢武帝”adoptedtheruleof“罷黜百家，獨(dú)尊儒術(shù)”(honorruschoolandabolishotherschoolsofthought),peoplehadhadrareideologicalfreedomandtheyhadtobecautiousintheirchoiceofwords,ortheywouldbecruellypunishedorevenexecuted.Fromthenon,euphemisminChinesebegantogrowandflourish.DefinitionofdeathDeatheuphemismisregardedasthemosttypicaleuphemism.Thetopicofdeathissomysteriousandfearfulthatpeopleareunwillingtoexpressitdirectly.Theyavoidspeakingoftheword“death”.Thus,wordsorphrasesinbothEnglishandChineseareusedoneafteranothertosubstitutefordeath.Theyhaveavarietyofdifferencesandsimilaritiesinbothexpressionsandculturalconnotations.Peoplealwaysuseotherwordstoreplace”death”asitisconsideredataboo.Peoplethinkthatitisominoustotalkaboutdeath,becauseintraditionalatconceptspeoplealwaysconnecteddeathwithmisfortuneorunluckythings,andtheybelievethatwhentheymentiondeath,itwillbringmisfortune.Therefore,manyeuphemismsinEnglishareusedtohideorreplace“death”andtheyarecalleddeatheuphemisms.RelationshipsbetweendeatheuphemismandTheword“culture”hasbeendefinedbymanypeopleforvariouspurposes.Fromananthropologist’s,Hall(1973,p.20)definedthat“culturehaslongstoodforthewayoflifeforapeople,forthesumoftheirlearnedbehaviorpatterns,attitudes,andmaterialthings”.JustasO’Sullivan(1994)putit,culturemaybesimplydefinedas“thewayspeopleagreetobe”;Themetaphoroficebergisoftenusedbymanyscholarsasareferencetoculture.Thereisagraphpresentingnadepartmentofeducation(2007),“cultureisbelievedtobelikeanice-berg”and“nine-tenthsofthecultureisbelowthesurface”.Itemslikefood,dressandvisualartsandsoonareabovethesurface.Andwhatarepartiallybelowthesurfacearesuchitemsasnonverbalcommunicationandnotionsofmodesty.Itemsliketoneofvoiceandattitudestowardseldersarecompleybelowsealevel.Trackedinourconversation,euphemismscanbeeasilydiscouverdandtheyreflectdifferentlevelsofcultureandvariouspatternsofculture.Inaway,euphemismisamirrorofculture.Languageisthesymbolofculture,whilecultureisthetrackoflanguage.Thecultureofanationcanbereflectedinitslanguage.Thisisalsotrueoftheeuphemismwithacertainbackground.Theculturalpatternsofeachnationhavetheirspecialfeatures.Thedifferencesinhistory,socialsystem,value,customsandlifestylebetweenChinaandwesterncountriesresultinthedistinctionsinformsandcontentsofeuphemismsbetweenChineseandEnglish.AsHallpublishedhismasterworkTheSilentLanguagein1957,theresearchofinterculturalcommunicationhasbeendeveloquickly.Languageandculturecannotbedivided.Euphemismbearsthemarkofcultureforitrolesaninalienablepartoflanguage.Misunderstandingmaybecausedamongpeoplefromdifferentculturesbecauseofthefailureofcomprehendingeuphemisms.Inthemeanwhile,theappreciationofeuphemismscanleadtothesuccessofcomprehendingthelanguageaswellasitsculture.Becauseofdifferencesincultures,theoriginofeuphemisminChineseandthatinEnglishdifferent.“Religionwasthesubjectoftheearliesteuphemism”.(Neaman&Silver,1983).ItishelpfulforusunderstandChinesecultureandthewesternculturesbetterbydelvingintoinfluencereligionshaveoneuphemisms.SimilarityinDeathEuphemismbetweenChineseandwesternSimilarsocialattitudestoLifeisoftencomparedtojourney,nomatterhowlongthejourneyis.Longorshort,colorfulorboring,eachisdestinedtogotoofhislifeatlast.Thiskindofsimilaritydeterminesthatalltheethnicsintheworldhavethesimilarrecognitionofthe“death”phenomenon.Thesimilarityisshownineuphemisms.BothChineseandEnglishcompared“death”to“sleep”and“rest”.Peopleoftenuse“fallasleep”and“gotosleepforever”toeuphemize“death”.Inthesentence“sheisnowatrestafterherlongpainfulillness”,“death”iseuphemizedas“beatrest”.TherearealsosimilareuphemismsinChinesesuchas“長(zhǎng)眠”，“長(zhǎng)寐”，“長(zhǎng)寢”，“andsoon.Alltheseeuphemismsshowthatbothofthetwohavethesameplainunderstandingof“death”.LifeendsjustlikesleepandwillnotwakeupanymoreItisaneverlastingrest,anunwillingsightolifeaswellasaself-consolationtodeath.Thetwowordsgo”and“return”showthesamecognitionpsychologyofthetwonations.“Go”makestherealworldasthereference.People’sdeathmeansdepartingfromalltheexistingthings.SomeChinesewordsreflectthephenomenon,suchas“棄世”,“謝世”“辭世”，“長(zhǎng)逝”“與世長(zhǎng)辭”andsoon,alsotheEnglishwords,suchas“begone”,“goout”,“depart”,“departfromlife”,“go/departhence”,“l(fā)eavethelandoftheliving”,“departfromtheworldforever”andsoon.Meanwhile,“return”makestheimaginedunknownworldwherepeoplegoafterhediedasthereference.ThereareEnglishwordssuchas“returntothedust”,“returntotheearth”andsoon,andtheChinesewordssuchas“歸天，歸土，歸山，回去，長(zhǎng)歸”andsoon.ThecorrespondingphraseinEnglishandChinese“gowest”,“歸西”showthatboththetwoculturescomparethesun’soperationlawthatitrisesupeastandfallswesttopeople’slife.Theeast,wherethesunrisesup,isusuallyregardedasthehuman’sbirthplace,whilethewestistheplacewherethesunfalls,whereallcolorsdisappear,alsoistheplacewherethelifeendsandsleepsforever.SimilarvaluesofAsfordeathvalues,bothculturesrespectandpromotegivingone’slifeforthenation,becausemostoftheeuphemismsaboutthedeathfornationhavecomplimentarysenses.SiMaqian’s“人固有一死，或重于泰山，或輕于鴻毛”(ThoughdeathbefallsallmenalikeitmaybeweightierthanMountTaiorlighterthanafeather)isregardedasthetypicaldeathvaluesoftheHanethnic.Therearealotofcomplimentaryeuphemismswhicheulogizethegloriousdeath,suchas“犧牲，捐軀，就義，獻(xiàn)身，殉國(guó)，以身許國(guó)，”andsoon.Besidessomedeatheuphemismslike“成仁，赴義，殉道，殉節(jié)”,whichshowthat“仁”(benevolence),“義”(righteousness),“道”(morality),“節(jié)”(integrity)arealsorespectedandpromoted.AllthesearejustthecoreofthephilosophythatwasfoundedbytheancientChinesephilosophers,suchasKongZi,LaoZi,MengZiandsoon,whichdominatesthemainstreamoftheChinesetraditionalcultureforalongtime.Englishculturealsogiveshighpraisetothedeathforthejustice,suchas“groundedforgood”,“tolaydownone’slife”,“tomaketheultimaastsacrifice”andsoon.Thephrase“todoone’sbit”reflectstheuser’svaluesmoreclearly.ThiseuphemismwasfirstlyusedduringtheWorldWarI,whichmeansdyingforprotectingnation,orservingthenationwithone’slife.ThisshowsthatpatriotismisrespectedandpromotedbybothChinesecultureandEnglishculture.BothChinesecultureandEnglishcultureshowderogativeanddenouncedattitudestothedeathoftheenemies,thecriminalsandthe swhoareunworthyofbeingrespected.Chinesepeopleusethephrases“喪命，斃命，斷命，送命,，下,見(jiàn)閻王，吃槍子，翹辮子，一命嗚呼，嗚呼哀哉”toexpressthedisdain.Ithasthemeaningofreleasingtherageemotion,tosomedegree.Therearesomeextremelycasualwordingsorslangthatshowsthedebasingattitudestothedead,suchastokickthebucket,tobedonefor,todropoff/slipoffthehooks,tohiveup/yielduptheghostandsoon.Besides,therearemanycommonthingsofdeatheuphemismsinthedescriptionofthebodyreflectionwhenpeoplearedying,suchastheChineseandEnglishcorrespondingphrases“tocloseone’seyes閉上了眼睛”,“heartfailure心臟停止跳動(dòng)”andsoon.Breathingisthesymboloflife.Thereareeuphemismsthatuse“stopbreathing”toexpressdeath,inEnglishthereare“toceasetobreathe”,“toexpire”,whileinChinesethereare“斷氣，氣絕，落氣，氣盡，咽氣”.BothChineseandEnglishdescribedeathbydifferentpartofpeople’sbody.InChinesetherearephrasessuchas“瞑目，眼光，心臟（或脈搏）停止了跳動(dòng)，伸腿”andsoon.InEnglishtherearephrasessuchas“tohavethroattrouble,tocutone’sownthroat/cutthethroat”.SimilarcausesintheformationofdeathIllnessesarethebigenemytolife,soinChinese“一病不起，彌留”areusedtoreplacedeath,andsomenamesofillnessesareusedtoeuphemizedeath,suchas“札（zha）瘥（chai）”,and“札疬（li）”.ThetwoEnglishphrases“checkout”and“goout”wereusedtomeanthepatientsleavethehospitalandtheybecamethedeatheuphemismsafterwards.Besidesthese,therearestillothereuphemismsrelatedtodiseasessuchas“outofone’spain,afteralongillness”andsoon.Besidesillness,suicideisanothercauseofdeath.Suicideiscalled“inChineseandisdisdainedbypeople,whileinEnglishamoreeuphemisticphrase“afterabriefillness”isusedtomeanthat.Jumintotheriverisonewayofsuicide.InChinese“跳黃埔(jumpintotheHuangPuRiver)”meanstocommitsuicide.TheHuangPuRiverisoneriverintheeastofChina,andhereitmeansanyriver.“Togoupsaltwater”inEnglishmeanstocommitsuicide,andsaltwaterinitisanimagedriver.Legendhasitthatinoldtimessomefailedpoliticiansjumpedintothisriver.Chinesedeatheuphemismsreflectanotherwayofsuicide,“吊頸(hangone’sneck)”,therearesomeothernameof“吊頸(hangone’sneck)”,like“懸梁,自縊,投繯”.Thedetailedprocedureistohangaropeontotheceilingofthehouse,afterthesuicidehasstoodonthedeskhewillhanghisneckwiththatropeandthenhe“翹辮子了”，whichisanotherwayofsayingdeath.“Kickthebucket”inEnglishmeansthelastthingthe whohanghimselfdoes.Hekicksthebucketonwhichhestandsandthendies.DifferencesinDeathEuphemismbetweenChineseandwesternDifferenceinviewofsocialThedevelopmentoflanguageiscloselyrelatedtothedevelopmentofthesociety.Theworddeathisthemostactiveelementinalanguage,whichcanoftenreflectthechangesofthesociallifeandthesocialthoughtssensitively.Sowediscusstheeuphemismsfromthesocialaspect.ManyoftheEnglisheuphemismsaboutdeathareoriginatedfromallkindsofcareerSomeareslang.FromtherewecanknowsomethingaboutthecareercultureinEnglishEnglishpeoplelikeplays,soagreatnumberofeuphemismsarerelatedtothepeopleorobjectsintheplays,suchas:tofadeout,toblackout,todropthecurtain,toswitchoutthelights,tofold(up)thefinalcurtain,thecurtaincall,thelastcall,thelastbow,tobowoff/out.InEnglish,therearequiteafewwordswhichareusedasdeatheuphemisms,suchas:tosetone’saccount,tocancelone’saccount,tocashinone’schecks,topassinone’schecks,payday,thefinalpay-off,whiletheseveralthousandyearsofChinesetraditionaleconomyhasmadeChineselanguageblankinthisarea.TherearephonewordsinEnglishdeatheuphemisms,suchas:tobecutoff,toringout/off.Wordsintravelingareusedineuphemisms:thelasd-off,tohopthelastrattler,totakethelastrattler,totakeaone-wayride(ortrip),tobuyaone-wayticket.Wordsinsports,suchastennisword—tostrikeout;boxingwords—tolosethedecision,totakecount,takethelongcount,tobedownforgood;wrestlingword—tobethrownforaloss;footballword—thefinalkickoff;horse-ridingword—tojumpthelasthurdle.Thereisdeatheuphemismoriginatedfromsailing,suchas:toslip(off),tolaunchintoeternity,undersailingorder,toslipone’sropes/cable,thelastvoyage.Therearealsodeatheuphemismsfromothercareerorsocialactivities,suchas:tohangupone’sharness/tackle,tohangupone’shat(westAmerica);togoupSaltRiver(politicalword);tobethrownupthecards,tobeshuffled,tobetrumped(cardword);tocallallbetsoff(gamblingInChinesefeudalsociety,thefounderofConfucianism,KongZi,hasahugeimpactontheChinese.ThepolitenessinConfucianismisakindofsocialvalueorder,themainstreamofwhichisthestricthierarchywhichstresses“Orderedfromtoptobottom(上下有序)”.Thiskindoffeudalhierarchyissosternthatallpeople,nomatterwhoyouare,thekingorthecommonpeople,mustcomplywithitandmustnotexceedit.Eventhesayingsofpeople’sdeathvaryfromonestratumtoanother.Peopleareforbiddentousethesayingsofotherstratum.Forexample,thedeatheuphemismsoftheprincesandmarquisesare崩，晚駕,宴駕，宴歸，駕薨，駕崩，晚出，棄朝，棄天下，棄群臣,升遐，厭代，大諱，尤諱，百歲后，百年,千秋萬(wàn)世之后andsoon.Thedeatheuphemismsofthe ernmentofficialsandthescholarsare棄祿，不祿，捐館舍，捐館，捐賓客，捐賓，棄堂帳andsoon.Thedeatheuphemismsofthesagesare玉折，玉摧，玉碎，蘭摧玉折andsoon.Onlythedeathofthecommonpeoplewascalled“death”.Inaddition,oldChineseusetheword“夭”asthedeatheuphemismoftheminors,suchas:夭亡，夭折，夭沒(méi)，夭夭札，夭殤andsoon.“殤”isanotherdeatheuphemismspecialforminors.Thedeatheuphemismsoftheyoungwomenareusuallycomposedof“香”,“玉”,“珠”andsoon.Thesewordsareusedtocomparewomen,suchas:香消玉碎，香消玉損，香消玉殞?zhuān)袼橄沅N(xiāo)，玉碎珠沉，珠沉玉損，珠沉玉碎，瑤臺(tái)傾andsoon.Thecommoneuphemismsofdeathforjusticeare捐身，捐軀，捐骸，成仁，犧牲，就義，陣亡，取義andsoon.Others,like“終，終沒(méi)，壽終，老，老去”arethedeatheuphemismsofthosepeoplewhoenjoyedthenaturallifespan;“捐瘠（ji），殍（piao）,殍饉（jin）”aretheeuphemismsofthosepeoplewhodiedofhunger.Thedeathoffatheriseuphemizedas“失怙（hu）”,andmother“失恃”.Itiseuphemizedas“棄養(yǎng)”whenbothofthefatherandthemotheraredead.Thedeathofthewifeiseuphemizedas“失儷，斷弦”.AlloftheseshowthatChinesecultureisprofound.However,thiskindofdifferentinstitutionalizedeuphemismsfordifferentranksanddifferentobjectsisneverseeninthehistoricalcultureofEnglandandAmerica.WesternersbelieveinChristianity,andtheythinkthatallhumanbeingsarecreatedbyGod.Theybelieve“allmenarecreatedequal”.OncetherewasanoldmottospreadinginMiddleAgesinEurope,whichsays:“popes,kings,beggars,andthievesalikemustdie.”So“death”istogothewayofallflesh.Deathisalsoanthropomorphizedas“thegreatwhotreatsanyoneequally;nomatteryouarerichorpoor,nobleorcommon.Inthiskindofculturalearth,itisimpossibleforthatkindofeuphemismsdividedclearlybythesocialrankstoDifferenceinviewofreligiousDeath,oneofthemaintaboosinlanguage,iscloselyrelatedtoreligion.Humanbeingscannotunderstandthismysteriousandfrighteningnaturalphenomenon,sotheytrytofindtheanswerinreligion.TheeuphemismsoftenreflectdifferentreligiouscolorsbecauseofdifferentreligiousSomecountrieslikeEnglandandAmericabelieveinChristianity.Allnatives,fromtheprimeministerandthetothecommon,believeinChristianity.TheChristiandoctrinesethecodeofethnicpursuedbythewholesociety,whichaffectstheeuphemismsmuch.AgreatnumberofdeatheuphemismsinEnglisharefromtheBibleandsomeotherlegendsorallusionsrelatedtoChristianity,someofwhichreflecttheChristianity’sviewoflifeandthereligiousexplanationsofdeath.Forinstance,humanbeingsarecreatedbyGodandeverybodyisbornequal,sodeathistoreturntodust/earth;everybodyisbornguiltyandhastocompensate,sodeathisjusttopaythedebtofnature;godisthemasterofeverything,humanbeingshavetobecalledtogod/toanswerthefinalsummonsafterdeath,handinone’saccounts/tobesenttoone’saccount,giveanaccountofallthingsthathedidinhiswholelifehonestly,obeythelastjudgmentfromthegod.Onemustdogooddeedswhenalive,onlyinthisway,afterhisdeathhecanpaytoCharontocrosstheRiverStyx,andpaySaintPeteravisittogotoheaven/paradisetobepromotedtoglory.Atlast,peacefully,hecanbewithgodandfallasleepinthearmsofgodorlieinAbraham’sbosom.Inthisway,hegetshisfinalreward.People’sdeathisjusttoyielduptheghost,tohaveone’snameinscribedintheBookofLife,butthesoulistolaunchintoeternity.ThisistheperfectlifeinChristianity,whichisbelievedbythewholeethnicofEnglandandAmerica.Thiskindofeuphemismsareacceptedbyallthepeopleand ethecommoncoreoftheirlanguage.ThemainreligionswhichplayimportantpartsinChinesedeatheuphemismsareTaoismandBuddhism.Taoism,createdbyLaoZiandZhuangZi,isthelocalreligioninChina.Taoismdeniesthedisparitiesofallthethingsintheworld,anditthinksthatthereisnoextremedifferencebetweenbirthanddeath,just“changewiththenaturallaw（隨物而化）”.Itisso-calledthat“圣人之生也天行，其死也物化”,whieansthateventhedeathofsaintisjustmaterialized.Sothedeathofhumanbeingsiseuphemizedas“物化”,“隱化”,“遁化”andsoon.Taoismbelievesthatlifewillnotendevenafterthebody esthecelestialbeing,sothedeathiscalled“仙逝”or“仙游”.Taoismtreatsdeathasthecicadassitss,soitcallsdeath“蟬蛻”or“蛻化”,andasthebirdsoutgrowtwowingsandflytothesky,deathisalsocalled“羽化”.AlegendhasitthatifahasbeenenlightenedbytheTaohewill eacelestialbeingandgoawaybythewhitecrane,sothedeathisalsoeuphemizedas“騎鶴”and“化鶴”.BuddhismoriginatedfromandwassaidtobeintroducedintoChinain59AD.thinksthatalllivingthingstransmigratein“六道(sixforms)”onthebasisofsomecausality,inwhichcreativesufferingandlifecontinuedwithdeath.OnlyafterpeopleconversetoBuddhismtheygetridofthesufferingoftransmigrationandenterthehighestlevelofBuddhism.TheBuddhists’deathiseuphemizedas“成佛，圓寂，歸真，遷化，示化，示寂，入滅，入寂，滅DifferenceinviewofFolkandfuneralThecustomsrelatedtodeathandfuneralisoneindispensablepartoffolkcultureofanycountry.WecanfeelthespiritofthewesternandChinesefolkculturefromthedeatheuphemismsinbothChineseandEnglish.Thereareagreatnumberofdeatheuphemismsrelatedto“earth”inbothChineseandEnglish,whichshowthelasthomeofthedead–earth.IntermentiscarriedoutforalongtimeinChina,sopeopleusethefollowingwordstoeuphemizedeath,suchas入地,入土，歸土，鉆土，修文，andsoon.InEnglish,theyuse“apre-needmemorialestate,toealandowner,memorialpark,RemembrancePark”toreplaceInthecountries,likeEnglandandAmerica,therearemanydaisiesbloomingaroundthecemetery,sosomeEnglishphraseswith“daisy”has etheeuphemismsofdeath,suchaspushupthedaisies,underthedaisies,countthedaisies,turnone’stoestodaisiesandsoon.DuringtheperiodwhenAmericansextendedtheterraintothewest,theusuallynchingishanging.Becausecottonwoodiscommoninthewest,hangingisoftencarriedoutunderit.Somephraseswith“cottonwood”initarepand etheeuphemismsof“diefromhanging(被吊死)”,suchas“beacottonwoodblossom,decorateacottonwood,lookingthroughthecottonwoodleaves,ridingunderacottonwoodlimb”andsoon.Asthesocietydevelops,inadditiontomanykindsofwaysofdeath,thereisanewkindcontroversialway—euthanasia,sopeopleuse“pulltheplug”toeuphemize“carryingouteuthanasia”.SomeEnglisheuphemismsrevealdifferentburialcustoms,suchasabeautifulmemorypicture,aslumberrobe,areposingroom,slumberroom,viewingroom,casket”andsoon,whichreflectthecustomthatthedeadwassenttothefuneralparlorformakeup,andthenwascrematedafterthefriendsandrelativeshadsaidgoodbyetohiminthemortuaryandfinallywasbeputintothecinerarycasket.InancientChina,apopularcustomwascalled“屬纊”，whichistoputsomenewcottonontothemouthandnoseofthedying tocheckifhisbreasornot.Eventhoughthiscustomwaspopularinsomeplacesanditwasathingofthepast,theword“屬纊”washandeddownandbecametheotherwordof“臨終（deathbed）”.Anothercustomthatafteracommon hisdeadbodywouldbefilledintothegullywaspopularatthatancienttime,so“填溝壑（fillthegully）”isusedcommonlytomeandeath.ThesayingsinChinese,like“歸山，歸道”,reflectthecustomthatChinesepeopleselectthemountainastheburialground.Besides,Chinesecaremuchaboutthechoiceofburialground,andtheburialgroundwithgoodfengshuiisthoughttomakethefuturegenerationsprosperous.PickingfengshuiisauniquecustominChineseculture.Meanwhile,theChinesefuneralritualisextremelycomplicated,andtheorderincludes“初終(thebeginningofthedeath)，小殮(smallburial)，大殮(bigburial)，殯葬(funeral)，葬(interment)”andsoon.Allofthesearereflectedindeatheuphemisms,forinstance,“停床（stopbed）”isonecourseof“小殮(smallburial)”;“大殮(bigburial)”iscommonlyknownas“就木，入木(putintothecoffin)”,becausemostcoffinsaremadeofwood;“蓋棺（closethecoffin）”isalsooneofthefuneralrituals;allthesewordsdevelopedasdeatheuphemismsafterwards.Furthermore,ato