By Titilayo Kupoliyi
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed.
The word cemetery (from Greek κοιμητήριον ‘sleeping place’) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs.
The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.
Globally, concrete burial vaults are common because they provide ground stability, preventing sinking graves, and protecting the casket/body, keeping them contained for proper cemetery maintenance.
They also offer a durable, practical solution for maintaining cemetery landscapes and accommodating traditional burials in a more orderly way.
However, there are unique, privately-run cemeteries in China having glass-covered graves or transparent displays. Examples are those at the Fan Jianchuan Museum Complex or other memorial sites, designed to offer a raw, reflective view of decomposition and mortality to serve as powerful reminder of life’s fragility and the importance of living meaningfully.
These aren’t widespread but are specific, artistic, and philosophical statements in memorial parks, sometimes even showing bodies slowly returning to nature.
This indeed is a shift from the typical traditional concealed interment but such aims at provoking reflection on mortality, encourage purposeful living, and serve as a “never forget” memorial, notes.
The core message is a reminder to everyone on earth about the transient nature of life and the legacy one leaves behind, with a view to encouraging sincere living.
In essence, transparent graveyard of China is to remind us how fragile our lives are and what a brief stopover we have in this earth.
The question is, “What will you be remembered for after your departure on earth”?
The New Yorker
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