死亡委婉语文化

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“lubricant”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“婉辞”,orthemostpopularonecomposedofand曲语”.Thesewordsmeanthatwewouldbetternotuttertherudeorunpleasantthingsdirectlybuthavethemconveyedinindirectways.“委婉语”hasexistedforcenturiesinChina.Theearliestliteraluseofeuphemismisdiscoveredin《诗经》(TheBookofPoetry),abookthatcoversChinesepoemswrittenfromthe11thcenturyB.C.tothe6thcenturyB.C.in《谷风》（TheMountainGales）,suchasasentencegoinglikethat,“谷风，以阴以雨”(Thereblowsthemountaingales;Foulweatherstillprevails).Theauthorillustratedthatthereisanunfortunateeventgoingtotakeplacebydescribingthecloudyweatherandrain.In《氓》(MyMan),akindandindustriouslady’smiserableexperience,fromfallinginlove,gettingmarriedtobeingilltreatedanddesertedbyherhusbandiscomparedtothelushgrowthandwitheringofmulberryleaves.FromthebeginningoftheHandynastywhentheChineseemperor“汉武帝”adoptedtheruleof“罢黜百家，独尊儒术”(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“长眠”，“长寐”，“长寝”，“andsoon.Alltheseeuphemismsshowthatbothofthetwohavethesameplainunderstandingof“death”.LifeendsjustlikesleepandwillnotwakeupanymoreItisaneverlastingrest,anunwillingsightolifeaswellasaself-consolationtodeath.Thetwowordsgo”and“return”showthesamecognitionpsychologyofthetwonations.“Go”makestherealworldasthereference.People’sdeathmeansdepartingfromalltheexistingthings.SomeChinesewordsreflectthephenomenon,suchas“弃世”,“谢世”“辞世”，“长逝”“与世长辞”andsoon,alsotheEnglishwords,suchas“begone”,“goout”,“depart”,“departfromlife”,“go/departhence”,“leavethelandoftheliving”,“departfromtheworldforever”andsoon.Meanwhile,“return”makestheimaginedunknownworldwherepeoplegoafterhediedasthereference.ThereareEnglishwordssuchas“returntothedust”,“returntotheearth”andsoon,andtheChinesewordssuchas“归天，归土，归山，回去，长归”andsoon.ThecorrespondingphraseinEnglishandChinese“gowest”,“归西”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，或轻于鸿毛”(ThoughdeathbefallsallmenalikeitmaybeweightierthanMountTaiorlighterthanafeather)isregardedasthetypicaldeathvaluesoftheHanethnic.Therearealotofcomplimentaryeuphemismswhicheulogizethegloriousdeath,suchas“牺牲，捐躯，就义，献身，殉国，以身许国，”andsoon.Besidessomedeatheuphemismslike“成仁，赴义，殉道，殉节”,whichshowthat“仁”(benevolence),“义”(righteousness),“道”(morality),“节”(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“丧命，毙命，断命，送命,，下,见阎王，吃枪子，翘辫子，一命呜呼，呜呼哀哉”toexpressthedisdain.Ithasthemeaningofreleasingtherageemotion,tosomedegree.Therearesomeextremelycasualwordingsorslangthatshowsthedebasingattitudestothedead,suchastokickthebucket,tobedonefor,todropoff/slipoffthehooks,tohiveup/yielduptheghostandsoon.Besides,therearemanycommonthingsofdeatheuphemismsinthedescriptionofthebodyreflectionwhenpeoplearedying,suchastheChineseandEnglishcorrespondingphrases“tocloseone’seyes闭上了眼睛”,“heartfailure心脏停止跳动”andsoon.Breathingisthesymboloflife.Thereareeuphemismsthatuse“stopbreathing”toexpressdeath,inEnglishthereare“toceasetobreathe”,“toexpire”,whileinChinesethereare“断气，气绝，落气，气尽，咽气”.BothChineseandEnglishdescribedeathbydifferentpartofpeople’sbody.InChinesetherearephrasessuchas“瞑目，眼光，心脏（或脉搏）停止了跳动，伸腿”andsoon.InEnglishtherearephrasessuchas“tohavethroattrouble,tocutone’sownthroat/cutthethroat”.SimilarcausesintheformationofdeathIllnessesarethebigenemytolife,soinChinese“一病不起，弥留”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“跳黄埔(jumpintotheHuangPuRiver)”meanstocommitsuicide.TheHuangPuRiverisoneriverintheeastofChina,andhereitmeansanyriver.“Togoupsaltwater”inEnglishmeanstocommitsuicide,andsaltwaterinitisanimagedriver.Legendhasitthatinoldtimessomefailedpoliticiansjumpedintothisriver.Chinesedeatheuphemismsreflectanotherwayofsuicide,“吊颈(hangone’sneck)”,therearesomeothernameof“吊颈(hangone’sneck)”,like“悬梁,自缢,投缳”.Thedetailedprocedureistohangaropeontotheceilingofthehouse,afterthesuicidehasstoodonthedeskhewillhanghisneckwiththatropeandthenhe“翘辫子了”，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，晚驾,宴驾，宴归，驾薨，驾崩，晚出，弃朝，弃天下，弃群臣,升遐，厌代，大讳，尤讳，百岁后，百年,千秋万世之后andsoon.Thedeatheuphemismsofthe ernmentofficialsandthescholarsare弃禄，不禄，捐馆舍，捐馆，捐宾客，捐宾，弃堂帐andsoon.Thedeatheuphemismsofthesagesare玉折，玉摧，玉碎，兰摧玉折andsoon.Onlythedeathofthecommonpeoplewascalled“death”.Inaddition,oldChineseusetheword“夭”asthedeatheuphemismoftheminors,suchas:夭亡，夭折，夭没，夭夭札，夭殇andsoon.“殇”isanotherdeatheuphemismspecialforminors.Thedeatheuphemismsoftheyoungwomenareusuallycomposedof“香”,“玉”,“珠”andsoon.Thesewordsareusedtocomparewomen,suchas:香消玉碎，香消玉损，香消玉殒，玉碎香销，玉碎珠沉，珠沉玉损，珠沉玉碎，瑶台倾andsoon.Thecommoneuphemismsofdeathforjusticeare捐身，捐躯，捐骸，成仁，牺牲，就义，阵亡，取义andsoon.Others,like“终，终没，寿终，老，老去”arethedeatheuphemismsofthosepeoplewhoenjoyedthenaturallifespan;“捐瘠（ji），殍（piao）,殍馑（jin）”aretheeuphemismsofthosepeoplewhodiedofhunger.Thedeathoffatheriseuphemizedas“失怙（hu）”,andmother“失恃”.Itiseuphemizedas“弃养”whenbothofthefatherandthemotheraredead.Thedeathofthewifeiseuphemizedas“失俪，断弦”.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（随物而化）”.Itisso-calledthat“圣人之生也天行，其死也物化”,whieansthateventhedeathofsaintisjustmaterialized.Sothedeathofhumanbeingsiseuphemizedas“物化”,“隐化”,“遁化”andsoon.Taoismbelievesthatlifewillnotendevenafterthebody esthecelestialbeing,sothedeathiscalled“仙逝”or“仙游”.Taoismtreatsdeathasthecicadassitss,soitcallsdeath“蝉蜕”or“蜕化”,andasthebirdsoutgrowtwowingsandflytothesky,deathisalsocalled“羽化”.AlegendhasitthatifahasbeenenlightenedbytheTaohewill eacelestialbeingandgoawaybythewhitecrane,sothedeathisalsoeuphemizedas“骑鹤”and“化鹤”.BuddhismoriginatedfromandwassaidtobeintroducedintoChinain59AD.thinksthatalllivingthingstransmigratein“六道(sixforms)”onthebasisofsomecausality,inwhichcreativesufferingandlifecontinuedwithdeath.OnlyafterpeopleconversetoBuddhismtheygetridofthesufferingoftransmigrationandenterthehighestlevelofBuddhism.TheBuddhists’deathiseuphemizedas“成佛，圆寂，归真，迁化，示化，示寂，入灭，入寂，灭DifferenceinviewofFolkandfuneralThecustomsrelatedtodeathandfuneralisoneindispensablepartoffolkcultureofanycountry.WecanfeelthespiritofthewesternandChinesefolkculturefromthedeatheuphemismsinbothChineseandEnglish.Thereareagreatnumberofdeatheuphemismsrelatedto“earth”inbothChineseandEnglish,whichshowthelasthomeofthedead–earth.IntermentiscarriedoutforalongtimeinChina,sopeopleusethefollowingwordstoeuphemizedeath,suchas入地,入土，归土，钻土，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“属纩”，whichistoputsomenewcottonontothemouthandnoseofthedying tocheckifhisbreasornot.Eventhoughthiscustomwaspopularinsomeplacesanditwasathingofthepast,theword“属纩”washandeddownandbecametheotherwordof“临终（deathbed）”.Anothercustomthatafteracommon hisdeadbodywouldbefilledintothegullywaspopularatthatancienttime,so“填沟壑（fillthegully）”isusedcommonlytomeandeath.ThesayingsinChinese,like“归山，归道”,reflectthecustomthatChinesepeopleselectthemountainastheburialground.Besides,Chinesecaremuchaboutthechoiceofburialground,andtheburialgroundwithgoodfengshuiisthoughttomakethefuturegenerationsprosperous.PickingfengshuiisauniquecustominChineseculture.Meanwhile,theChinesefuneralritualisextremelycomplicated,andtheorderincludes“初终(thebeginningofthedeath)，小殓(smallburial)，大殓(bigburial)，殡葬(funeral)，葬(interment)”andsoon.Allofthesearereflectedindeatheuphemisms,forinstance,“停床（stopbed）”isonecourseof“小殓(smallburial)”;“大殓(bigburial)”iscommonlyknownas“就木，入木(putintothecoffin)”,becausemostcoffinsaremadeofwood;“盖棺（closethecoffin）”isalsooneofthefuneralrituals;allthesewordsdevelopedasdeatheuphemismsafterwards.Furthermore,ato