冥婚真相背后的爱与黑暗
不知道大家有没有看过恐怖片女王林心如的《京城81号》，整个“恐怖”故事都是由一起冥婚引发而来的。
事实上，在我国讲冥婚的电影还有不少，如《尸忆》、《诡新娘》等，韩国人也拍过《冥婚/奇谈》。
百度百科对冥婚的解释是这样的——
阴婚，又称冥婚、配骨、鬼婚、冥配等，是一种民间习俗。订婚后的男女双亡，或者订婚前就已夭折的儿女，父母出于疼爱心情，要为他们完婚。阴婚又分为死人与死人和死人与活人两种。过去认为祖坟中有一座孤坟会影响后代的昌盛，所以要替死者办阴婚。
然而，随着世事的不断演变，冥婚这样的“陋俗”也逐渐变了味道。当下的冥婚已经脱离正常的伦理，也脱离了法律的框架，在催生出盗尸产业链的同时甚至出现了拐卖毒杀智障女性这样泯灭人性的行为。
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".
在中国西北地区，一名男子谋杀两名智障女性，目的是为了把她们的尸体卖去“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.
这使得这个古老的仪式受到了广泛关注，这种习俗在中国的某些地区依然存在，主要是为还没有结婚就去世的人提供尸体。
shadowy：['ʃædoi]
adj. 朦胧的；有阴影的；虚无的；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.
据陕西省的警察所说，这起谋杀案件可以追溯到今年4月份，交警在这三个男人的车里发现了一位女子的尸体。
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.
在对这起案件进行调查后，警察揭开了事情的可怕真相。三名罪犯当中的一位马姓男子称他以为受害者找对象的名义诱骗受害者并将其杀害，并准备将受害者尸体卖掉。
grisly：['grɪzli]
adj. 可怕的；厉害的；严重的
sequence：['sikwəns]
n. [数][计] 序列；顺序；续发事件
vt. 按顺序排好
What is a ghost wedding?
什么是冥婚？
Believers in the custom, practised for some 3,000 years, say it ensures the unmarried dead are not alone in the afterlife.
这种流传了3000年习俗的信仰者称，冥婚可以让未婚的死者在阴间不再孤独。
afterlife：['æftəlaɪf]
n. 来世；死后的生活
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.
在古时，冥婚是安排两名已逝世的男女结婚、合葬。但随着时间及风俗的改变，也出现了在活人和死人之间的冥婚。
deceased：[dɪ'sist]
adj. 已故的
n. 死者；[法] 被继承人
vi. 死亡（decease的过去式）
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.
在两位死者的冥婚中，新娘的家庭往往会要求聘礼和嫁妆，包括一些珠宝，仆人和豪宅——不过这些都是纸糊的。
dowry：['daʊri]
n. 嫁妆；天资；亡夫遗产
mansion：'mænʃən]
n. 大厦；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.
在传统婚礼中看重的家庭背景、年龄在冥婚中同样重要，因此一般家庭都会请风水师来做红娘，算一算。
match-maker：
红娘
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.
举行冥婚时，有人会拿着双方的牌位进行有拜天地、父母等仪式。而且，也会举行宴席，邀请亲朋好友参加。不过，冥婚仪式的重头戏是合葬两人尸骨。
banquet：['bæŋkwɪt]
n. 宴会，盛宴；宴请，款待
vt. 宴请，设宴款待
vi. 参加宴会
n. (Banquet)人名；(法)邦凯；(西)班克特
Is there a darker side to this tradition?
这项传统习俗是否存在阴暗面？
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.
在中国的某些地区这种习俗长期存在。一些秘密举行的“婚礼”中，活人被嫁给死人。但更多的是有关盗墓者偷盗尸体甚至是谋杀活人的报道。
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.
据报道，2015年山西省的某个村子里有14名女性尸身被盗，村民们说是被盗墓贼偷去卖钱。
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.
上海大学黄景春研究了2008年至2010年间山西省的冥婚习俗，发现女性的尸体或尸骨的价格急剧上升。
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.
黄景春做研究的那时，一具女尸可以达到3万到5万人民币的价格（3400英镑到5700英镑，4500美元到7500美元）。他估计现在的价格应该已经上升到10万一具了。自2006年起，偷尸被列为非法行为，但这并没有制止盗墓贼的这种行为。
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.
一名在内蒙古凉城县被逮捕的男子坦白她谋杀了一位女性为的就是把她卖给正在寻找鬼新娘的一家人。
Why is this happening?
为什么这种事会发生？
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.
冥婚的发生的原因因地域而不同。在中国的一些地区，比如说最近发生这起谋杀案的山西，这里有很多年轻未婚年轻人都在煤矿工作，而煤矿的工作往往多灾多难。
vary from：
不同
fatality：[fə'tæləti]
n. 死亡；宿命；致命性；不幸；灾祸
（纸糊的房子）
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.
丧子的父母可以透过安排冥婚，为死去儿子做一点事情，以求安慰、求得心安。
bereaved：[bɪ'rivd]
adj. 丧失的；死了…的
n. 丧失亲人的人
vt. 使丧失（bereave的过去式和过去分词）
But sex ratios are also significant. The 2014 census results show that about 115.9 boys were born for every 100 girls.
但是性别比例失调也是一个重要原因，2014年人口普查显示出中国男女比例是115.9比100。
But Dr Huang believes there are also more fundamental cultural reasons.
但黄景春认为更主要的还是文化习俗的原因。
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.
很多中国人迷信如果死者的愿望没有得到满足的话，会给家庭带来不幸，只有亡灵得到安息，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为人们相信阴间的存在。”黄景春说，“如果活着没有结成婚，死了还是得结的。”
Does it happen in other places?
其他地方有冥婚吗？
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.
在中国的中西部这样的事件比较多，比如山西，陕西还有河南。但据香港风水大师司徒法正所说，在东南亚的很多华人区里面依然存在着这样的古老习俗。
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.
在台湾，如果一个女人还没结婚就已经死了，她的家人就会在外面放一个红色的小包，里面放着现金，纸钱，死者的一绺头发、一块指甲，然后等一个男人来捡起这个小包。第一个捡起小包的男人就是被挑选中的新郎，如果他拒绝娶这个鬼妻的话就会霉运临头。
a lock of：一绺头发 ; 一缕头发
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.
婚礼的仪式都是大同小异的，但不像在内地一样，会把死者的骨头挖出来。新郎之后也可以再成亲，但这个鬼妻将永远是他的第一任妻子。
dig up：
挖出；掘起；开垦；发现
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.
前几年一个在网上广为流传的视频中，台中的一位男子在一场精心布置的婚礼上，迎娶他已故的女朋友。其实这些冥婚仪式的背后，体现的是人们无法安置的丧亲之痛。
elaborate：[ɪ'læbəret]
adj. 精心制作的；详尽的；煞费苦心的
vt. 精心制作；详细阐述；从简单成分合成（复杂有机物）
vi. 详细描述；变复杂
dilemma：[dɪˈlemə]
n. 困境；进退两难；两刀论法
"Such ghost weddings are very touching, showing the perseverance of love," Mr Szeto told the BBC.
司徒法正告诉BBC的记者，“这些冥婚往往都非常感人，体现了生生不息的爱。”
perseverance：[,pɝsə'vɪrəns]
n. 坚持不懈；不屈不挠
n. 耐性；毅力