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Thread: Chinese 'ghost bride' sold twice into marriage

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    Default Chinese 'ghost bride' sold twice into marriage

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-marriage.html
    Chinese 'ghost bride' sold twice into marriage
    A woman in China was sold twice into marriage within days, despite both she and the grooms being dead.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02147/APC433_2147641b.jpg')
    The woman, from China's Hebei Province, near Beijing, died over the Lunar Year holiday, according to the Global Times.


    But her family decided to sell her for a "ghost marriage", a superstition that sees dead bachelors married off so they can wander the afterlife together.

    Despite Mao Tse Tung attempting to stamp out the practice after he and the Communist Party came to power in 1949, the black market for 'corpse brides' continues to thrive today.

    In this case, the family sold their dead daughter, receiving 35,000 yuan (£3,500), where a spirit wedding was conducted. The two were then buried together.

    Grave robbers however dug up the brides body, and were caught by police marrying her off to a dead bachelor in another town for 30,000 yuan, it was claimed.
    In 2007, a man was arrested after killing and then selling six women, claiming that "killing people and selling their bodies is less work than stealing them from graves."


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    Senior Member Guo Xiang's Avatar
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    Nice to know that women's experience with sexism and disrespect doesn't end with death. >_>
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    Senior Member ByTmE's Avatar
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    Exactly what I was thinking...goodness gracious.
    I like me.

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    Senior Member happyswallow's Avatar
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    In 2007, a man was arrested after killing and then selling six women, claiming that "killing people and selling their bodies is less work than stealing them from graves."
    Wow, clearly a genius there.


    Interesting...I have actually never heard of this custom when I was growing up. I only knew about this after watching an episode on Bones that was centered around this practice.

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    Senior Member Nan Ling's Avatar
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    Wow I was not aware of this custom, but to kill people to sell it off is too crazy.

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    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nan Ling View Post
    Wow I was not aware of this custom, but to kill people to sell it off is too crazy.
    It just shows how dark humanity can be. Money first, morals later.

    Another motivation for a ghost marriage is that unmarried girls who died would become wandering spirits because they could not enter their own family ancestral shrine (only males and their legal wives could). So if the girl's family married her to a live or dead man, then they could enter that man's ancestral shrine and get worshipped by his descendants.
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    Senior Member Nan Ling's Avatar
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    I ask someone earlier about this custom and they have mention they have heard of it. However, the bodies don't have to be buried together. You bring their name and birth date to I don't know what the English name for those ppl are call. A neighbor when I use to live in hong kong did that for her dead daughter and both families acknowledge each other as in laws. Just wanted to mention this since its interesting.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nan Ling View Post
    I ask someone earlier about this custom and they have mention they have heard of it. However, the bodies don't have to be buried together. You bring their name and birth date to I don't know what the English name for those ppl are call. A neighbor when I use to live in hong kong did that for her dead daughter and both families acknowledge each other as in laws. Just wanted to mention this since its interesting.
    There is a formal ceremony where their post-mortem union is acknowledged to the heavens & earth and then the spirit tablet or ashes of the girl gets taken to the guy's home.
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    It is quite popular in Singapore in olden days. My understanding is for couples who know each other but somehow passed away before the actual marriage. Strange that in this case, I believe they do not know each other. Worse still, twice for the girl. It seems more for money,

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    Senior Member Nan Ling's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wkeej View Post
    It is quite popular in Singapore in olden days. My understanding is for couples who know each other but somehow passed away before the actual marriage. Strange that in this case, I believe they do not know each other. Worse still, twice for the girl. It seems more for money,
    Just learn something new


    But yeah sad the dead girl got resold twice.

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    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Have you guys heard about how they used to force live women to marry dead people? That is scary and barbaric!
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    Quote Originally Posted by charbydis View Post
    Have you guys heard about how they used to force live women to marry dead people? That is scary and barbaric!
    It will be worse if they bury the live women with the dead men.
    In Singapore, I heard of cases whereby to remember the dead men, they use "cock" and for women, they use "hen".

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    Quote Originally Posted by wkeej View Post
    It will be worse if they bury the live women with the dead men.
    In Singapore, I heard of cases whereby to remember the dead men, they use "cock" and for women, they use "hen".
    I'm not sure if it is true, but I remember some old HK movies where they used to chuck the bride into the coffin with the corpse and nail it shut. Used to scare me a lot.
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    Senior Member Nan Ling's Avatar
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    oh how scary... that's a terrible way to die, have to suffocate.

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    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nan Ling View Post
    oh how scary... that's a terrible way to die, have to suffocate.
    Not to mention, corpse fluids and gasses and well and maggots.
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    Senior Member Nan Ling's Avatar
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    gosh very slow and painful way to die... and then being in complete darkness makes it even more scary.

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