Making arrangements at a funeral parlor for a loved one lost can be an upsetting experience.
在殡仪馆为逝去的亲人安排葬礼可能是一种令人不难过的经历。
图片源于网络
One undertaker staffed by young people is trying to alleviate the agony by creating an environment where the bereaved can pour out their hearts about perceptions of life and death.
一家由年轻人开的店正试图通过创造一种环境来减轻这种痛苦，创新地将殡葬服务与咖啡结合，让失去亲人的人们能够倾诉他们对生死的感悟。
Called Baiduren, or "Ferrymen" — a reference perhaps to Charon in Greek mythology, the ferryman who took souls across the river that separated the living and the dead.
咖啡馆馆名“摆渡人”的灵感或来源于希腊神话中的摆渡人卡戎，他负责将亡魂带到冥河的另一边。
The Baiduren salon is decorated in a modern style, with soft lighting that contrasts with traditional funeral homes that are dim, full of funeral regalia and heavily scented by joss sticks.
“摆渡人”的装饰风格现代，灯光柔和，与传统殡仪馆昏暗、充满丧葬用品和浓郁的香烛味形成鲜明对比。
Inside Baiduren, which looks by outward appearances like a café, relatives of the dead can tell staff stories that they may not be able to share with friends and family for number of reasons. A team of staff 40 years and younger lends their ears.
“摆渡人”看上去就像一家咖啡馆，在这里，逝者的亲属可以向工作人员讲述因种种原因而无法与亲友分享的故事，店里的员工年龄都在40岁及以下，他们会认真倾听。
"Our job initially was funeral planning and handling related affairs like portrait design for customers, after a few years in business, we felt that we wanted to make a breakthrough in the industry because there are still so many stereotypes about and biases against funeral homes," said Xiaolin, leader of what Badiruen calls the "life experiencing project."
摆渡人“生命体验项目”负责人晓林解释道：“我们最初的工作是策划葬礼并处理相关事务，比如为顾客设计肖像，然而经过几年的经营，我们发现人们对殡仪馆仍存在很多刻板印象和偏见，我们想在这个行业取得突破。”
On one wall of the salon, messages from customers are pinned.
沙龙的一面墙上钉着顾客的留言。
Reading through them, one senses that no matter how sad or desolate people may feel when they walk in the door, voicing emotions eases the pain by the time they leave.
翻阅这些留言，人们会感觉到，无论人们进门时感到多么悲伤或凄凉，当他们离开时，说出自己的情感都会减轻他们的痛苦。
The salon, from the standpoint of both staff and customers, points to a change in how people — especially the young — view death and funerals.
从员工和顾客的角度来看，这家特别的“咖啡馆”表明了人们，尤其是年轻人，对死亡和葬礼看法正在改变。
Its customers shun a common belief that the rituals of death are taboo to be shrouded in darkness.
“咖啡馆”的顾客回避了一种普遍的观念，即死亡仪式是一种被掩盖在黑暗中的禁忌。
And those searching for jobs no longer regard undertakers as a profession to be avoided at all costs.
找工作的人也不再把殡葬业者视为不惜一切代价都要避免从事的职业。
Indeed, many on the team at Baiduren come from different career tracks, often never thinking they would end up in the funeral business when in college.
事实上，摆渡人团队中的许多人都来自不同的职业领域，他们在大学时往往从未想过自己会从事殡葬行业。
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