Unmarried women have been termed “leftover” in China when they reach 28 years of age. But a “single” female corpse can still holds its value, it seems.
According to a report from the Xi’an Daily News, four men from the resource-rich provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi were sentenced to two years in prison for exhuming unmarried females and selling them as “ghost brides” to families whose unmarried sons had also died.
They reportedly made Rmb240,000 ($38,593) from their activities, the paper said.
Ghost marriage or minghun is illegal in China but is still practiced in some northern provinces.
Why so? By uniting two dead people in matrimony it is believed that both souls will rest in peace. The custom was largely eradicated during the early years of communist rule but anecdotal reports suggest that it could be making a comeback as older values (and superstitions) enjoy a resurgence.
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