In China, grave sweeping--that ancient Confucian tradition--has gone virtual.
扫墓本是中国儒家的一个传统，现在却走向虚拟化。Over the Qing Ming holiday weekend, millions of people flocked to the nation's cemeteries to burn paper money, arrange dishes of food and deliver trinkets ranging from faux iPhones to plastic flower boas as a way to express their devotion to the departed.
今年清明节适逢周末，成百上千万人来到墓地陵园，用烧纸钱、献祭品，送纸糊的iPhone和塑料花篮的方式表达哀思。But increasingly, as the nation makes a push for more 'environmentally friendly' ways to revere the dead, many mourners are going online instead.
但随着政府倡导以更环保的方式缅怀先人，越来越多的人选择在网上祭祀。
At , for example, users can build elaborate web shrines decked out with flickering bytes of candles, images of bouquets and pots of incense. This year, some draped portraits of their loved ones in black cloth, while others outlined them with red fabric.
在天堂网()，用户可以为逝去的亲友创建网上纪念馆，点烛、上香、送花。今年有些用户还在逝者照片的旁边加上了黑色或红色的缎带。At least one user has created a shrine featuring Beijing's Gate of Heavenly Peace, where they've chosen to supplant the portrait of Mao's that hangs there in real life with images of his or her own loved ones. (Roast pigs, Terra Cotta stone warriors, and an elaborate white wreath of flowers were added to mark the recent holiday.)
至少有一名用户把虚拟纪念馆建成北京天安门的样子，然后把已故亲人的照片放在毛主席像的位置。（这家网站最近推出了天堂金猪、护陵兵马俑、白色花圈等最新祭品。）For Qing Ming, users flooded the site with tens of thousands of virtual tributes, spanning everything from GIFs of animated white lotuses to drummers dressed in white or pictures of departed ones' favorite foods. The company says it currently has more than 3.4 million users.
清明节，用户们涌向这家网站，敬献成千上万的虚拟祭品，这些祭品从GIF格式的白荷花、到身穿白衣的鼓手、再到逝者生前最喜欢的食物，可谓应有尽有。天堂网说，他们的用户已经超过340万。Elsewhere online, vendors on this weekend also offered to sweep tombs for those who couldn’t visit their relatives’ cemeteries in person. For a modest fee―usually around 100RMB or up―they offered to place flowers, candles and other offerings, perform a set number of ritualistic bows, and send photos as part of the bargain.
这个周末，淘宝网()的商家也为无法亲自扫墓的人提供了代客扫墓服务。只要付不多的钱（通常是人民币100元起），就可以雇人到墓地摆花、蜡烛和其他祭品，还可以雇人去鞠躬，送照片。On a sunny Monday, one family spanning three generations gathered to sweep tombs the traditional way in the outskirts of Beijing, carefully layering plastic flowers and paper money before a family grave.
周一是个阳光明媚的日子，一个祖孙三代之家在北京郊区的墓园以传统方式扫墓，他们小心翼翼地在墓碑前摆放塑料花和纸钱。Standing before the low mound of dirt and stone as his Bluetooth device idled in his ear, Mr. Wang, who only wanted to be identified by his surname, said he sympathized with people couldn't sweep tombs in person. 'What if they live overseas? Or outside Beijing and it's not convenient?' said Mr. Wang, a media worker in his 40s. When he passes away, he said, he wouldn't mind if his descendants didn't always pay their respects in person. 'If I'm not here, I won't have any feelings about the matter,' he said.
王先生站在泥土和石头堆成的一个小土堆前，耳朵上挂着蓝牙设备。他说，他理解那些没法亲自来扫墓的人。“住在海外的人怎么办？人不在北京，不方便怎么办？”他说，如果他去世了，自己的后代不能经常来祭奠他，他是不会介意的。“如果我不在了，对这件事也不会有什么感觉了”。王先生40多岁，从事媒体行业，他不愿意透露全名。From his wheelchair across the way, though, Mr. Wang's father interjected with disdain. 'Tomb-sweeping is about the spirit. If you don't do it yourself in person, there is no spirit.'
王先生的父亲坐在轮椅上，很不屑地插话说，“扫墓是一种精神，不亲自来就没有这种精神了。”For his part, Mr. Wang's young son said he planned to keep sweeping tombs all his life. Looking around at the quiet, sun-dappled cemetery at the flower-festooned tombs, popping open a soft drink, he told his father, 'I like doing it.'
王先生的儿子说，他会一直亲自来扫墓的。他环顾四周，看着安静、阳光斑驳的墓园和花朵装点的墓碑，打开手上的一罐饮料，对王先生说：“我喜欢这样做。”