To the Chinese, the idea of marrying a ghost is not that preposterous. Such a ghost marriage (冥婚; mínghūn or Gui Hun 鬼婚 ) is a marriage in which one or both parties have died.
A Chinese ghost marriage is usually set up by the family of the deceased and is carried out for a number of reasons. One reason for such a marriage is if a couple was previously engaged before one of them died before the real marriage. Another reason is to ensure the family line is continued.
To find out more about such marriages, click this link.
Let me share with you an article I read about a couple who sold their foster daughter to the parents of a dead man so that they could carry out a ghost marriage. Hmmph .... the things people do for money.
Couple sells girl for ghost marriage
A couple has sold their foster daughter to marry a 'spirit' in China.
The girl was suffering from a serious illness, but the parents did not send her for medical treatment.
Instead, they sold her to a family, who wanted to conduct a ghost marriage for their dead son.
Yip Sai-wing holding a photo of Cynthia at her funeral
The couple even planned to kill the girl if she did not die in the next few days, when they made the decision to sell her for a ghost marriage.
A reporter from Chinese webisteiqilu.com headed to a village in Tengzhuang town of Shandong province, where the girl was living with her uncle.
When asked, the uncle denied the rumours and said the girl was currently receiving treatment in a hospital, but a staff there said the girl had died.
The worker said the girl had been "booked", and once she died, the family of her 'husband' would claim her body to conduct a ghost marriage for their departed son.
According to the villagers, ghost marriages are very popular in Tengzuang as a dead person could not be buried at his ancestral grave if he is not married.
Due to this, his spirit will be roaming around and cause trouble to the family.
So, the family has to find him a 'wife' and bury them together.
Instead, they sold her to a family, who wanted to conduct a ghost marriage for their dead son.
Yip Sai-wing holding a photo of Cynthia at her funeral
The couple even planned to kill the girl if she did not die in the next few days, when they made the decision to sell her for a ghost marriage.
A reporter from Chinese webisteiqilu.com headed to a village in Tengzhuang town of Shandong province, where the girl was living with her uncle.
When asked, the uncle denied the rumours and said the girl was currently receiving treatment in a hospital, but a staff there said the girl had died.
The worker said the girl had been "booked", and once she died, the family of her 'husband' would claim her body to conduct a ghost marriage for their departed son.
According to the villagers, ghost marriages are very popular in Tengzuang as a dead person could not be buried at his ancestral grave if he is not married.
Due to this, his spirit will be roaming around and cause trouble to the family.
So, the family has to find him a 'wife' and bury them together.
Ghost marriages can be traced to the Zhou Dynasty (1,046 BC – 256 BC), and even the popular warlord Cao Cao had organised a ghost marriage for his son Cao Cong in 208 BC.
It can also be held between a living person and the deceased.
The ghost marriage ceremony of Jeong Da-bin and her husband
In 2002, Yip Sai-wing – a member of Cantopop band Beyond – held a ghost marriage with his departed girlfriend Cynthia.
It can also be held between a living person and the deceased.
The ghost marriage ceremony of Jeong Da-bin and her husband
In 2002, Yip Sai-wing – a member of Cantopop band Beyond – held a ghost marriage with his departed girlfriend Cynthia.
Early last year, Hong Kong actress Michelle Yim was also said to have married her actor boyfriend Wan Chi Keung after he died of illness.
In May, the mother of Korean actress, the late Jeong Da-bin, married her to a man - who had died in 2002 - four years after her death.
Source: Agencies
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