希望山公墓朝聖之旅
掃墓園落葉的老人
Pilgrimage to Mount Hope Cemetery
希望山公墓朝聖之旅
As I took an Uber from MBTA Forest Hills station to Mount Hope Cemetery, tens of thousands of headstones embedded in the 125-acre lawn unfolded in front of my eyes. This was a daunting place, built in 1852, holding about 30,000 graves, worth a spring stroll.
我乘坐優步，從綠線地鐵森林山站到希望山(Mount Hope)公墓，成千上萬的墓碑，鑲嵌在125英畝的草坪上，在我眼前展開。希望山公墓建於1852年，大約3萬人埋葬於此。這是一個令人望而生畏的地方，值得你在春天漫步。
I walked through the gate, and saw a withered oak tree, on the right side of the trail, stretching its branches, which looked like claws with twisted fingernails. On the left, a bulletin read, 「Mayor Martin J. Wash & the Citizens of Boston Honor Our Veterans: Both those who have served, and those currently serving.」
我走過大門，看見一棵枯萎的橡樹，在小徑的右側伸展著它的枝條，看起來像扭曲的爪子。左側的公告上寫著: 「市長馬丁·沃什和波士頓的市民們向我們的退伍軍人致敬: 那些已經服役的人，以及那些正在服役的人。」
The veterans from the Grand Army of the Republic to the present are housed here, peaceful, honored. The flat, lawn-level markers, without decorative motifs but with brief inscriptions of name, birth date, death dates and the cross, were festooned with scattered garland, star-spangled banners, and balloons fluttering in the wind. On a balloon two words – 「Happy Birthday」 – were dazzling.
從共和國大軍到現代的所有退伍軍人都安葬於此，寧靜、光榮。這扁平的、與草地齊平的墓碑，沒有任何裝飾性的圖案，只有簡短的銘文：姓名、出生日期、死亡日期和十字架。墓碑上面點綴著散落的花環、星條旗、和隨風飄動的氣球。氣球上有兩個字閃耀著——「生日快樂」。
軍人墓地
As I walked further, the styles of the headstones evolved. Puritan-style upright headstones lying along the pond had 「death』s head,」 a motif ornamented with wings, skull, or crossbones. This is meant to symbolize physical death and spiritual regeneration.
當我走遠時，墓石的風格也隨之改變。沿著池塘安放的清教徒式直立墓碑上，刻著「死亡頭」，一種裝飾著翅膀、頭骨或十字骨的圖案，這象徵著肉體死亡和精神再生。
I trotted on the cracking trail, past evergreen pines, red maples, and a pavilion, to the hill, pausing in front of a three-meter-high Roman-style statue – a heroic, plump woman gripping a sword, standing on the base and wistfully gazing in the distance. The statue』s torso, made from limestone, is glossy, though eroded by rain and harsh wind.
我快步走在有裂縫的小路上，穿過常綠松樹、紅楓和一座亭子，來到了山上，在一座三米高的羅馬風格的雕像前停下腳步 —— 一個英勇、豐滿的女人握著一把劍，站在底座上，凝視著遠方。雕像的軀幹由石灰石製成，表面光滑，但被雨和刺骨的寒風所侵蝕。
有人物雕像的墓叫做monument
In the middle of the cemetery, two kid-size marble lions squatted on the oldest burial area for Boston』s Chinese immigrants. A Chinese couplet with calligraphic characters, engraved on the gate behind the lions, describes the long journey of Chinese immigrants and their settlement in America – 「Long rivers flow from distant origins」; 「abundant leaves flourish from deep roots.」 On a wall behind the gate, four characters caught my eye: 「Remembering those who came before you.」
在墓地中心，有兩尊孩童大小的大理石獅子蹲著，這是波士頓地區華人最古老的安葬地。刻在石獅子背後門上的中國對聯，描述了華僑移民美國的漫漫長征——「源遠流長」；「根深葉茂」。在大門後面的牆上，有四個字吸引了我的目光：「慎終追遠」。
華人墓地
Compared with other Americans』 tombs, Chinese headstones are much smaller, and thinner. Although Boston』s Chinese American community has been renovating the historical Chinese burial grounds, with more than 1500 graves, some headstones are still unrecognizable, dilapidated, and in disrepair.
與其他美國人的墳墓相比，華人的墓石要小得多，也更薄。儘管波士頓的華裔美國人社區修復了中國墓地（有超過1500個墳墓），一些墓碑仍然無法辨認，破敗不堪、年久失修。
In Chinese traditions, we revere and pay respect to our ancestors by sweeping and renewing tombs, burning paper money and incense, and making offerings to them, several times a year. When incense turns into smoke, the evil spirit is expelled. Some people in China even kowtow in front of altars or graves. Many Chinese, no matter if they are in China or overseas, take these rituals seriously, because, in our culture, how we treat our ancestors determines what our lives will be.
在中國的傳統中，我們的方式尊崇祖先，我們掃墓、更新墳墓、燒紙錢、燒香、獻上祭品。當香柱焚成煙，惡靈就會被驅逐。中國有些人甚至在祭壇前叩頭。許多中國人，不管他們是在中國還是在海外，都認真對待這些儀式，因為在我們的文化中，我們對待祖先的方式決定了後人的命運。
As I wandered near the Chinese burial grounds, a woman walked towards me, smiling. I asked for her name, and she gave me only her first name, Catharina. She was walking her 6-year-old dog, Leni. We chatted for a while. She is from Germany and lives with two kids and her husband, an American, in Mattapan. She enjoys walking her dog several times a week. She said she is fascinated by this beautiful place, and said this is not a sad place.
當我在中國墓地附近徘徊時，一位女士微笑著向我走來。我問她的名字，她只給了我她的名，凱瑟琳娜。她正在遛她6歲的狗，萊尼。我們聊了一會兒。她來自德國，與兩個孩子和她的美國人丈夫住在瑪塔班。她喜歡每周遛狗幾次。她說她被這個美麗的地方迷住了，並說這不是一個悲傷的地方。
「Maybe because I don』t have any relatives buried here,」 Catharina laughed. She knew many Chinese immigrants were buried here, but she didn』t know much about Chinese culture.
「也許是因為我沒有親人葬在這裡，」 卡薩琳娜笑了。她知道很多中國移民都被埋在這裡，但她對中國文化知之甚少。
Bulldozers and trucks were parked beside a cottage. I meandered through the iron fence, and met with Paul Harris, the foreman of this cemetery. 「Can I go with you to see burial process?」 Harris points at the tip of his shoes that were stained with mud, and said, 「You missed. I just buried one dead person today.」
推土機和卡車停在一間小屋旁。我穿過鐵柵欄，遇見了公墓的工頭保羅·哈里斯。「我可以和你一起去看葬禮嗎?」 哈里斯指著他沾滿污泥的鞋，說：「你錯過了。我今天剛埋葬了一個人」。
When asked about whether he loves his job, Harris wagged his head and laughed, 「I love it! Every day is great day, as long as you』re on the ground – not dead!」
當問及他是否熱愛自己的工作時，哈里斯搖著頭，笑著說：「我喜歡！每一天都是美好的一天，只要你還在地上——沒死!」
Harris teased about Chinese burial rituals that forbid overlapping dead bodies – only one dead in one tomb. In contrast, Harris said that European Americans usually overlay one dead family member over another. 「Why?」 「You ask me? Ask your Chinese.」 「Alright.」
哈里斯取笑華人的埋葬儀式，禁止重疊屍體，只允許一個死者在一個墳墓里。相比之下，哈里斯說，歐洲裔美國人通常會把一個死去的親人覆蓋在另一個死去的親人身上。「為什麼?」 「你問我?問你們中國人（華人）。」 「好吧。」
Once, Harris was asked to remove a Chinese immigrant』s body buried in 1970 and send it to Logan International Airport. The bones were repatriated to China.
在上世紀70年代，哈里斯被要求將一個華人的遺體轉移，送到波士頓國際機場，這些遺骨被送回中國了。
「That Chinese family said if the dead was not removed, the family would have bad luck,」 Harris said, 「You Chinese are nuts!」
「那個中國家庭說，如果死者沒有被帶走，他們的家人就會倒霉，」哈里斯說，「你們中國人真是瘋了!」
A common phrase in China could explain – 「fallen leaves return to the roots.」 Many Chinese immigrants wish to be buried in their homeland before death, and their descendants must transport the bones.
在中國，一個常見的說法是「落葉歸根」。許多華人在死前就希望死後被葬在自己的家鄉，因此他們的後代必須運輸這些遺骨。
Harris showed me at the rear of the cemetery, unmarked graves of the city』s indigent were placed sporadically. The influenza epidemic that spread in Boston between 1918 and 1919 killed 4,794 residents in the fall of 1918 alone. Thousands of people were cursorily buried here, without a decent plate, or even name. I asked Harris why they have no names on their graves. Harris said, 「Because they were the city』s poor.」
哈里斯給我看公墓的後面，有一群無名墓，隨意掩埋於此。從1918年至1919年，波士頓爆發了流行性感冒，僅在1918年秋季就造成了4794人死亡。成千上萬的人被草草掩埋在這裡，沒有一個像樣的墓碑，甚至連名字都沒有。我問哈里斯為什麼他們的墳墓上沒有名字。哈里斯說：「因為他們是這個城市的窮人。」
Harris told me that there would be a funeral at 11:30 a.m. the next day. So I showed up. He let me stand a mile away from the funeral location and observe quietly without taking any pictures. Beside me were two concrete burial containers that weighed about 1,200 pounds. These coffins would only be used as back-ups for family in case they had no burial container.
哈里斯告訴我第二天上午11:30會有一個葬禮。所以我準時出現了，他讓我站在離葬禮地點一英里遠的地方，安靜地觀察，不許拍照。在我旁邊有兩個混凝土的棺材，重約1200磅。這些棺材給家屬做備用的，以防他們沒有準備。
Harris left me there and went straight to open the grave. A few minutes later, 11 cars trooped in the cemetery, and people in black clothing got off the cars, with leaden steps, mourning. As a burial case was lowered into the hole, the Catholic priest started praying for the deceased. Catholics believe that those dead will pass from physical world to the afterlife.
哈里斯把我留在那裡，直接去開墳墓。幾分鐘後，11輛汽車在公墓中列隊行進，身穿黑色衣服的人們下車，邁著沉重的腳步，哀悼著。當棺材被放進洞里時，天主教神父開始為死者祈禱。天主教認為死者將從物質世界去往來世。
20 minutes later, two old grannies held each other, wiping tears with handkerchiefs. The crowd dispersed and left. Harris waved to me, signaling me to come closer. I stepped to the pit, seeing a grey coffin in there. This was a traditional burial rather than cremation.
20分鐘後，兩個老奶奶互相攙扶，用手帕擦眼淚。人群散了，離開了。哈里斯向我揮了揮手，示意我走近些。我走到坑邊，看見裡面有一個灰色的棺材。這是一個傳統的土葬，不是火葬。
Hanging over the headstone on the left to this grave were photos of two young boys, about fifteen years old, smiling. Harris told me that these two boys died from gunplay between rival gangsters, and it was he who buried them.
掛在墓石上的是兩個小男孩的照片，大約15歲，微笑著。哈里斯告訴我，這兩個男孩是在敵對幫派之間的槍戰中喪生的，是他把他們埋葬的。
「Over the past five years, I have buried two thousand young kids killed by guns,」 Harris said. 「This country is crazy.」
哈里斯說：「在過去的五年里，我埋葬了兩千名被槍打死的孩子。這個國家真是瘋了。」
哈里斯工作的小木屋旁，葬著許多年輕的孩子
Harris frowned, and warned me that this neighborhood is dangerous. According to the Boston Globe, from 2014 to 2017, the rate of serious crimes such as murder, rape, and assaults in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan have dropped between 10 and 22 percent, but these areas are still dangerous.
哈里斯皺了皺眉頭，警告我說這一帶很危險。據《波士頓環球報》報道，從2014年到2017年，羅克斯伯里、多爾切斯特和瑪塔班等嚴重犯罪的犯罪率下降了10%到22%，但這些地區仍然很危險。
「Remember, you only come when we are here and never come alone after 5 p.m. When you get out of this cemetery, take taxi or Uber right way. It』s dangerous to walk on the street alone, especially for a woman,」 said Harris.
「記住，你只能在我們上班的時候來，下午5點以後不要單獨來。當你離開這個公墓時，直接乘坐計程車或優步。獨自走在街上是很危險的，尤其一個女人，」哈里斯說。
He pointed to the hill on the north side of the cemetery, and warned me never get close to Wendy』s, a fast food restaurant at the crossroad of American Legion Highway and Walk Hill Street.
他指著墓地北邊的那座小山，警告我不要靠近溫蒂餐廳，這是一家快餐店。
I asked how he kept safe. He looked into my eyes, and his crystal blue eyes are sharp and fearless. 「When they look into my eyes, they know right way I have no fear, because I was born and raised here,」 Harris said. 「If I look into your eyes – like eyes of a deer in headlight, I can tell you are not from here.」
我問他如何保持安全的。他直視我的眼睛，他那晶瑩的藍眼睛炯炯有神、無所畏懼。「當他們看著我的眼睛時，他們知道我沒有恐懼，因為我是在這裡出生和長大的，」哈里斯說，「如果我看著你的眼睛——你就像被前車燈照著的小鹿，我馬上就知道，你不是從這裡來的。」
In the breeze, two Canada geese pecked seeds in grass, and waddled across the graves of those deceased in recent years. It was like a silent and tacit conversation between life and death.
在微風中，兩隻加拿大雁在草叢中啄食種子，並在死者的墳墓上蹣跚而行。這就像是生與死之間的無言對話。
As I was waiting for an Uber to leave, a truck came roaring down the trek. Harris bent forward from the window, 「You know where you are standing at?」 「Um…」 I looked at my Google map, which showed that Wendy』s is 0.2 miles away from me.
當我在等待優步離開時，一輛卡車呼嘯而過。哈里斯從窗戶前俯下身來，「你知道你站在哪兒嗎?」 「嗯…」 我看著我的谷歌地圖顯示，溫迪餐廳離我只有0.2英里。
「When will your Uber come?」 「In two minutes.」 「OK.」 He drove away, waving his hands in the cold wind.
「你的優步什麼時候來?」 「兩分鐘後。」 「好的。」 他開車走了，在寒風中，他揮舞著手。
Here you can find all forms of life – martyrs, athletes, Puritans, Catholics, unknown poor, immigrants, destined to be laid to rest. Visiting those who ever lived reminded me of present life, and the fact that we are all mortals.
在這裡你可以找到各種形式的生命——烈士、運動員、清教徒、天主教徒、不知名的窮人、移民。無論是誰，都註定要安息。拜訪那些曾經生活過的人，提醒我當下的生活，以及我們都是終有一死的凡人。
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