生老病死本是無法避免的自然現(xiàn)象，但地球上有些地方卻禁止死亡或?qū)⑺劳鲆暈檫`法行為。無論是受宗教影響還是環(huán)境制約，個中自有緣由。

Itsukushima， Japan

According to the Shinto1) belief， the Japanese island of Itsukushima is a sacred place， and the maintenance of its purity is of utmost concern2). So in an attempt to keep up the sanctity3) of the island， the shrine's4) priests5) have worked pretty hard to make sure no deaths occur there. Since the year 1878， no deaths or births have been permitted near the shrine. Pregnant women nearing the date of delivery aren't allowed there， nor are the elderly or the terminally6) ill.

The only battle that ever occurred on Itsukushima was the Battle of Miyajima7) in 1555， after which the victorious commander ordered the bodies to be removed to the mainland immediately. The entire island was cleansed of the blood that was spilled， blood-soaked soil was thrown away from the island， and even the buildings were scrubbed8) new. Well， isn't that cheating? Because no matter how much they cleaned it， the deaths clearly did happen. Still， nowadays dying is not allowed on Itsukushima.

日本的嚴(yán)島

依照日本神道教的信仰，日本的嚴(yán)島是一方圣地，維護該島的圣潔是頭等大事。因此，為了維護嚴(yán)島的神圣性，嚴(yán)島神社的祭司們一直竭力確保島上沒有死亡發(fā)生。自1878年開始，嚴(yán)島神社附近就不允許有人死亡或有嬰兒出生，臨產(chǎn)的孕婦、老人以及病入膏肓之人均不得在此停留。

嚴(yán)島只經(jīng)歷過一次戰(zhàn)火，即1555年的嚴(yán)島之戰(zhàn)。戰(zhàn)爭剛一結(jié)束，獲勝方的將軍即下令將戰(zhàn)亡者的尸體運往日本本土。島上所有濺血的地方都被清洗干凈，被鮮血浸染的泥土被拋出島外，甚至連島上的建筑都被擦洗一新。如此說來，這豈不是在自欺欺人？因為不論清洗得有多干凈，死亡確已發(fā)生，這一點毋庸置疑。雖然如此，現(xiàn)如今的嚴(yán)島仍然禁止死亡。

Longyearbyen， Norway

The Arctic9) town of Longyearbyen in the Svalbard Islands of Norway has a similar rule. Death is forbidden， and the town has only a small graveyard that stopped accepting new burials over 70 years ago. The reason—the bodies never decompose10). It was discovered that the bodies buried in Longyearbyen were actually perfectly preserved by permafrost11). Scientists even removed tissue from a man who died there and found intact12) traces13) of the influenza virus that he died from during the epidemic14) in 1917.

People who are gravely ill or expected to die soon are dispatched15) by air or ship to a different part of Norway， where they spend the last days of their lives.

挪威的朗伊爾鎮(zhèn)

挪威斯瓦爾巴群島的北極小鎮(zhèn)朗伊爾也有類似規(guī)定。小鎮(zhèn)禁止死亡，鎮(zhèn)上只有一塊很小的墓地，且70多年前就已不再接受死者入葬，原因是埋葬在這里的尸體一直不腐爛。人們發(fā)現(xiàn)，由于遍地都是永久凍土，埋葬在朗伊爾鎮(zhèn)的尸體實際上都完好無損地保存了下來?？茖W(xué)家甚至在安息于此的一具男尸上取得機體組織，進而找到了保存完好的微量流感病毒，正是這種病毒讓這位男性在1917年的那場流感中喪命。

小鎮(zhèn)身患重病或行將就木的人會被空運或水運到挪威的某個地方，在那里度完生命中最后的日子。

Falciano del Massico， Italy

At Falciano del Massico， a small town in southern Italy， the story is kind of different. People aren't allowed to die， not because of the environment or religious beliefs， but simply because there isn't any space left for the dead to be buried. The mayor issued an order earlier this month that stated， \"It is forbidden for residents to go beyond the boundaries of earthly life， to go into the afterlife.\" Ever since local boundaries were redrawn in 1964， Falciano del Massico has been in dispute with a neighboring town over rights to the old cemetery16). The mayor has decided to now build a new cemetery， but until then， people have been ordered to hold off17) their deaths. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from the Indonesian Toraja18) villagers， and have their dead walking about19) town.

意大利的弗拉切諾·馬西科小鎮(zhèn)

意大利南部小鎮(zhèn)弗拉切諾·馬西科的情況略有不同。小鎮(zhèn)禁止人們死亡，倒不是因為環(huán)境因素或宗教信仰，而完全是因為沒有任何空余墓地埋葬死者。本月初(編注：本文寫于2012年3月)，該鎮(zhèn)鎮(zhèn)長頒布了一項規(guī)定，宣布“禁止本鎮(zhèn)居民穿越塵世進入來世”。自1964年當(dāng)?shù)刂匦聞澏ǖ亟绾?，弗拉切諾·馬西科鎮(zhèn)就與鄰鎮(zhèn)在舊墓地的所有權(quán)問題上爭端不斷。弗拉切諾·馬西科鎮(zhèn)鎮(zhèn)長已決定新建一個墓地，但是在新墓地建成之前，他要求人們必須推遲死亡。或許他們可以從印度尼西亞托拉雅村的村民那里取點兒經(jīng)，讓死人在鎮(zhèn)上“自由走動”。

Sarpourenx， France

A decree20) prohibiting people from dying was again issued by the mayor of Sarpourenx， a picturesque village in the southwest of France. The decision came after a French court refused planning permission to extend the town's existing graveyard. But Mayor Gerard Lalanne has actually taken it a bit further， he's not only banned death， but those who dare to die will be severely sanctioned21). Although it's not yet clear what the sanctions will be. After all， how could you punish the dead? A coffin with no lining22)? Or perhaps， one that's lined with nails23). The mayor's decision has gotten the residents of Sarpourenx worried. \"What will happen to me if I die?\" they ask. Well， don't we all want to know that now?

法國的薩布宏村

在法國西南部風(fēng)景如畫的薩布宏村，村長也頒布了一項法令，禁止人們死亡。此前法國法院否決了該地擴建現(xiàn)有墓地的計劃，因此該決定便應(yīng)運而生。村長熱拉爾·拉蘭納實際上采取了更為嚴(yán)厲的措施，不僅禁止死亡，而且還將嚴(yán)懲那些膽敢一死的村民。不過，到底死人會受到什么樣的懲罰尚不得而知。畢竟，你要怎么去懲罰死人呢？棺材里不準(zhǔn)加內(nèi)飾？或者，在棺材內(nèi)釘滿釘子？村長的決定令薩布宏村的村民人心惶惶。他們問：“要是我死了會怎么處置我？”是啊，大家現(xiàn)在不就都想知道答案嗎？

1.Shinto [???nt??] n. (日本的)神道教

2.of concern: 重要的；有重要關(guān)系的

3.sanctity [?s??kt?ti] n. 神圣；神圣性

4.shrine [?ra?n] n. 神祠，圣祠。此處指位于嚴(yán)島上的嚴(yán)島神社(Itsukushima Shinto Shrine)。

5.priest [pri?st] n. (作為神與人之間中介者的)祭司

6.terminally [?t??m?n?li] adv. 末期，晚期；不治地，致命地

7.Battle of Miyajima: 嚴(yán)島之戰(zhàn)，日本戰(zhàn)國時期(約1467～1615年)的三大奇襲戰(zhàn)之一。

8.scrub: 參見P47注釋13

9.Arctic [?ɑ?kt?k] adj. 北極的；近北極的；北極區(qū)的

10.decompose

[?di?k?m?p??z] vi. 被分解；腐爛

11.permafrost

[?p??m?fr?st] n. 【地】永久凍土

12.intact [?n?t?kt] adj. 完整無缺的；未經(jīng)觸動的；未受損傷的

13.trace [tre?s] n. (遺留下的或不易察覺的)微量，少許

14.epidemic [?ep??dem?k] n. 流行病

15.dispatch [d??sp?t?] vt. 發(fā)送

16.cemetery [?sem?tri] n. 墓地，墳地；公墓

17.hold off: 推遲，拖延

18.Indonesian Toraja: 印度尼西亞托拉雅村。在那里，人死后必須要埋葬在出生地，因此，死在別處的人就必須要在別人的幫助下“走”回出生地入葬。

19.walk about: (使)閑逛；在人群中自由走動

20.decree [d??kri?] n. 法令，政令

21.sanction [?s??k?n] vt. 對……實施制裁；對……處以懲罰，懲處。n. 懲罰

22.lining [?la?n??] n. 內(nèi)襯，襯墊，襯層

23.nail [ne?l] n. 釘子。此處指coffin nail (棺材釘)。

“禁死令”由來已久What's More?

In fact， it seems that this is actually an age-old practice; the earliest known instance of the prohibition of death was in the 5th century BC， when dying wasn't allowed on religious grounds at the Greek island of Delos (希臘得洛斯島，位于愛琴海中，據(jù)傳為月神Artemis和太陽神Apollo的誕生地).