In China, death is a very important event that is done differently within each religion in this country. According to Susan Orpett Long, in her article “Cultural scripts for a good death in Japan and the United States: similarities and differences”, she explains the concept of a revivalist script. This script includes the act of prolonging death in which this experience is pushed into the public eye rather than staying a private matter. In China, this script has taken a place in the experience of dying within these families as, like in the US and Japan, the person who is dying or going to die is the one who gets to be the decision-maker regarding oneself when this dying process has started (Long 2004). To be specific, older Chinese people tend to give permission to their doctors to decide what happens to them when they can no longer decide for themselves, as doctors are always trusted and rarely questioned in this culture (Fersko-Weiss 2017). This decision is very different than in the US, as we tend to give permission to our families and not the doctor. However, as Long had mentioned, this decision also depends on their social class, age, and education when making these decisions, so younger Chinese people or American-Chinese people may adapt to modern times and give their family the choice regarding their medical decisions (Fersko-Weiss 2017).
Further more, not only do revivalist scripts occur, but religious scripts are also heavily implanted within these cultures in China like, to be specific, everything regarding death. In this country, speaking or even thinking about death in the slightest is seen as bad luck, so wills and other preparation means before death are rarely sought after as this may interrupt their inner harmony (Fersko-Weiss 2017). Although they refuse to think or talk about death, in the religions Confucianism and Taoism, they see death as a natural part of life that they should not be afraid of (Fersko-Weiss 2017). In other words, if they live a respectable and healthy life, there is no reason to be afraid of what comes after death. In the US, this is very different as they decide their will and testament long before the person is expected to pass on as a way of God giving these people the decision as to what happens to their belongings and body (Long 2004).
In traditional Chinese culture, when a loved one dies, it is important to honor this persons life in many different ways. For example, since ancient China, many women and men have been buried with treasures that will help the deceased in future lives or the other side such as emeralds, gold, silver, pottery, and many other valuable things (Hinsbergh 2018). Another way in which these people honor their ancestors is by a festival called Qingming, where decedents will go to grave sites and tomb-sweep to send respect and protection to the dead (Hinsbergh 2018). One other tradition I would like to mention is how the Chinese go about the funeral for the deceased. As I have mentioned above, Chinese people usually die in hospitals (as they give all trust in their body to their doctors) entirely because it is seen as bad fortune for their family to die at home . This being said, if the person does die in the home, all of their belongings have to be burned and everything in the home have to be washed in order to get rid of the negative energy left behind (Fersko-Weiss 2017). Once a person has died, it is also tradition to put red paper on all of the status of god and a white sheet on their front door to symbolize that the family is mourning, and if a funeral is held within the family home, all mirrors have to be covered (seeing a reflection of the casket represents another death in the family), food is placed in front of the casket as an offering, and their comb is broken in half; one half is put into the casket with the deceased, and the other is left with the family (Fersko-Weiss 2017).
To conclude, different cultures affect how people handle deaths differently. In China this is very true, as these people deal with death much more differently than people in the US or even Japan. This is because Chinese people incorporate mostly a religious script when dealing with death to prevent further tragedy and loss to the family and due to this, the people who hold the authoritative knowledge changes depending on wether it is the body or the funeral that is being focused on. In all cultures, it is clear that death is celebrated in so many different and important ways.
Works cited
Hinsbergh, Gavin Van. “Chinese Culture on Death and Dying, Funeral Traditions of China.” China Highlights, 17 Sept. 2018, www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/article/death-culture.htm.
Fersko-Weiss, Henry. “The Chinese Approach to Death and Dying.” INELDA, 23 June 2017, www.inelda.org/the-chinese-approach-to-death-and-dying/.
Long, S.O., (2004). Cultural Scripts for a Good Death in Japan and the United States: Similarities and Differences. Social Science and Medicine58, 913-928.