Going Out In Style

In an earlier post, I discussed an article that listed some of the things Americans could learn from the rest of the world. I have since found a new practice that is interesting, but which probably wouldn't transfer so well from a distant land to our own. I refer, of course, to the practice in some rural Chinese areas of hiring funeral strippers.

Yes, Dear Readers, it seems that in some parts of rural China there is a tradition of helping loved ones get over their grief by hiring strippers to perform at the memorial service for the deceased. Actually, the purpose of hiring the strippers is less to help assuage grief and more to attract large crowds of mourners, as a way of saving face for the deceased. In fact, in some parts of China, one can hire professional mourners (or kusangren) to achieve the same goal, albeit with less entertainment value.

Unfortunately for those who might have been looking forward to a pole dance at the next funeral, the Chinese Ministry of Culture is beginning to crack down on the use of strippers at memorial services, saying that the memorial stripteases "(undermine) the cultural value of the entertainment business" and are "uncivilized." One individual who organized such performances was jailed for 15 days and fined $11,000.

A related story on NPR indicated that the practice of hiring funeral strippers isn't isolated to rural China, noting that Taiwan also has funeral strippers who sometimes perform on the beds* of trucks to make for a faster getaway should the local authorities opt not to join in the mourning.

So ...

I guess that the tradition of hiring professional strippers to encourage attendance at one's funeral probably won't catch on here. Of course, there are other things that could be done to liven up the last rites ...

... but they may not go over so well, either.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* No jokes, please.