27 January, 2007 | Leave a Comment

It’s really not my intention to keep writing about Chinese women, but this story is just one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever read: In a region of northern China, dead women are sold as brides. From WaPo:

The tradition, called “minghun” or afterlife marriage, is common in the Loess Plateau region of northern China, where a recently deceased woman is buried with a bachelor to keep him company after his death.

Obviously, the women who become ghost brides are already dead; it’s not as if women are killed for this purpose. Well, not normally. This news article is about a man who “bought” a woman for $1,600 to sell as a regular, old-fashioned bride (you know, with a pulse) but then he killed her when he discovered she was worth more as a ghost bride. He then killed a prostitute for the same purpose but didn’t get as much money for her because she was “less pretty.” The authorities have said that this isn’t an isolated case. As Salon stated in their coverage, this issue is obviously tied to the millions of missing Chinese women. Given that many men do not have the opportunity to marry in life, their families want female companionship for them after deaths. If that doesn’t sum up the horror of the Chinese gender imbalance, nothing does.

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1. CAV Says:

   January 27th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

   I wanted to comment but can’t even find the words.

   CAV

2. Mr. X Says:

   January 27th, 2007 at 5:35 pm

   Nor me.

3. rebecca Says:

   January 31st, 2007 at 6:10 am

   It’s like I can’t figure out what to be more disgusted/angry about… or if I should be more disgusted than angry… or vice versa.

   Definitely no words.

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