(本文选自《经济学人》20210911期)
背景介绍：
在目前仍然十分严峻的疫情防控形势下，全球各国都在忙着让自己的国民接种新冠疫苗，而与此同时，“地府”那边也没闲着。近日，马来西亚一家丧葬用品商店的老板研发的一款“地府版疫苗大礼包”不仅在当地热销，甚至还远销海外。
What use is a vaccine when you’re dead? Plenty
斯人已逝，疫苗还有何用?大有用处
Funerary rites in South-East Asia, updated for the pandemic
东南亚的葬礼仪式随疫情而与时俱进
Raymond shieh’s “hell vaccine kit” includes three vials in green, blue and red, and a large syringe, all made from joss paper. The kit will be burnt as an offering to the dead, supplying them in the afterlife with something they could not receive in this one: a vaccine for covid-19.
雷蒙德·谢的“地府疫苗包”包括绿色、蓝色和红色的三个小瓶以及一支大注射器，都是用香纸制成的。这套疫苗包将作为祭品被烧掉，为死者在来世提供他们在此生无法获得的东西：新冠疫苗。
The vials’ colours represent Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac, the three main vaccines used in Malaysia, which has reported some 20,000 new cases every day in the past month. Though half of over-11s are now fully jabbed, the country’s death rate from covid is the highest in South-East Asia.
小瓶的颜色分别代表了马来西亚人主要使用的三种疫苗：辉瑞疫苗、阿斯利康疫苗和科兴疫苗。过去一个月，马来西亚每天报告新增病例约2万例。尽管马来西亚11岁以上人群的疫苗接种率已达50%，但该国新冠肺炎死亡率是东南亚最高的。
“It has been a hard year for Malaysians and many have died waiting to be vaccinated,” says Mr Shieh, who runs a shop selling prayer items in the southern state of Johor and spent two days crafting the new product last month as covid deaths surged.
雷蒙德·谢表示:“对马来西亚人来说，这是艰难的一年，许多人在等待接种疫苗的过程中逝去。” 雷蒙德·谢在马来西亚南部柔佛州经营着一家销售丧葬用品的商店，上个月，随着新冠肺炎死亡人数的激增，他花了两天时间研发了这款新产品。
He says he has received more than 300 orders, at 23 ringgit ($5.50) apiece, from people in Malaysia as well as in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. “I want to keep the kits affordable,” he says. “I hope this item will give my clients some peace of mind.”
他说，该产品的售价为23林吉特(约合5.5美元)，他已经收到来自马来西亚、新加坡、中国台湾和中国香港的300多份订单。他说:“我研发的这套疫苗包人人都买得起，我希望这款产品能给客户带来慰藉。”
For many practitioners of traditional Chinese religions, such as Taoism, the burning of joss paper and other paper paraphernalia is a way to meet the unfulfilled needs of their deceased loved ones.
对于许多中国传统宗教(如道教)的信徒来说，烧纸钱和其他纸制品是满足他们已故亲人未得到满足的需要的一种方式。
Adherents believe that most spirits go through the ten courts of Diyu, or hell, before achieving salvation. Funerary rituals hasten the journey. Offerings help ease the spirits’ suffering along the way.
信徒们相信，大多数的亡灵在得到救赎前都需要经历十层地狱。葬礼仪式能够加速这一过程。供品有助于减轻亡灵这一路上的痛苦。
These rites typically conclude with the burning of “hell money”, as well as any other items that the dead may need for a comfortable afterlife—clothes or houses, for example, but also iPhones and Ferraris—all made of joss paper. Mr Shieh sells a life-size replica of the latest iPhone for 350 ringgit.
这些仪式通常表现为焚烧“冥币”以及死者可能需要的任何其他物品(比如衣服或房子，还有苹果手机和法拉利)，当然，这些都是用香纸制成的。雷蒙德·谢售卖的一款1:1复刻最新苹果手机的价格是350林吉特。
Every year during “Hungry Ghost Festival”, which usually falls in August or September, believers across the region pay homage to their deceased ancestors, as well as to sundry spirits, who visit the living as the gates of hell are opened.
每年的“中元节”(通常在8月或9月) 期间，该地区的信徒们会向已故的祖先以及各种各样的亡灵致敬，因为当地狱之门打开之时，这些亡灵会造访生者。
In addition to burning various paper offerings, the devout leave out food to placate the hungry ghosts. Stage performances of Chinese operas and Getai, or live song-and-dance numbers, were common features to appease the spirits before the pandemic.
除了焚烧各种纸制祭品外，虔诚的教徒还会留下食物来安抚饥饿的鬼魂。在新冠疫情爆发前，安抚亡灵最常见的形式就是中国戏剧和歌台(现场歌舞表演)。
These are often held outdoors, under a big tent, with at least a front row of empty seats for the ghosts-of-honour, while the living crowd on the back benches. Such performances have gone online in most countries after being cancelled entirely last year.
这些活动通常在户外举行，在一个大帐篷下，至少有一排空座位留给了伟大的亡灵，而活着的人则坐在后排的长凳上。诸如此类的祭祀活动自去年被全面禁止后，一些国家兴起了线上祭祀活动。
In normal times Taoist and Buddhist vigils for the dead usually last for several days before the body is cremated. Yet because of covid, bodies must be disposed of immediately.
在正常时期，道教和佛教信徒通常会持续数日为逝者守夜，然后才会进行火化。但由于新冠疫情，尸体必须立即处理。
Many believers are pained by the thought of not having paid their respects to family and friends. “Without proper prayer and rites, how will he rest in peace?” says Eric Leong, who recently lost his father to covid. A vaccine for the dead is one way to ease the pain.
许多信徒因为没有向家人和朋友表达敬意而感到痛苦。埃里克·梁的父亲最近因新冠肺炎去世，他说：“没有做适当的祈祷和仪式，他怎么能安息呢?”为逝者“接种新冠疫苗”也是缓解悲痛的一种方式。
(红色标注词为重难点词汇)
重难点词汇：
funerary [ˈfjuːnəreri] adj. 埋葬的;葬礼的
syringe [sɪˈrɪndʒ] n. 注射器;吸管
paraphernalia [ˌpærəfərˈneɪliə] n. 随身用具
sundry [ˈsʌndri] adj. 杂的;各式各样的 n. 杂货;杂项
devout [dɪˈvaʊt] adj. 虔诚的;衷心的
原标题：经济学人 | “地府版新冠疫苗”卖脱销了!
文章来源：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/x8Z_ztxXqURNus-6j-EIRg
