Speaking of "ghost marriage", modern young people may rarely hear about it, but as some old people, the traditional custom of "ghost marriage" may make them remember it vividly. The origin of "ghost marriage" in China is actually very early. As early as the pre-Qin period, people began to spread widely. "Ghost marriage" is also called "shadow marriage" or "ghost marriage". It has many names, such as ghost marriage, bone marriage, secret marriage, round grave and so on. Simple understanding, we can regard "ghost marriage" as a mourning wedding held in the nether world. After all, it's a dead man's wedding.

"Ghost marriage" is also well documented in Chinese historical materials. According to Zhou Li, there is a record about ghost marriage: "Those who are forbidden to be buried will marry the mourners". "Relocation", Zheng Xuan's note: "It means that the couple were not married when they were born, and the deceased was buried in the same cave, and the relocation made them accompany them." Kong further explained that "relocation and burial means that an adult is widowed, not married at birth, but married at death". This means that people who die before marriage in adulthood often move and bury, that is, ghost wedding ceremonies. In ancient China, people paid attention to the rite of passage. Male crowned at the age of 20, female 15. They are all adults, but if they are unmarried, they can't enjoy sacrifices after death. Besides, the deceased died before he got married. In the eyes of strangers, it is very pitiful to have no companion after death. This is probably the reason why ghost marriage is popular. Of course, ghost marriage also has practical benefits. Although the in-laws of the ghost marriage party are commonly known as ghost in-laws, they don't wait until they become ghosts, but interact with each other like real in-laws. Therefore, if the deceased has money at home, naturally more ghosts will come to the door. In addition, the phenomenon of early marriage of living people is more serious, and so is ghost marriage. When we develop into the countryside, we will simply engage in ghost weddings for all those who die young, regardless of age. For example, Cao Cao loves his son Cao Chong and Cao Chong is an elephant. I guess he's too smart. /kloc-died at the age of 0/3, and Cao Cao buried him with Zhen Shi's daughter. As for the ghost wedding ceremony, it is as indispensable as the living and the bride price. The only difference is that the wedding ceremony was changed to a round grave, that is, the bodies of both deceased were removed and buried together.

Let's look at some real-life examples:

Liu Hulan died heroically, and his uncle Liu Guangqian presided over the funeral. According to the local custom, he dated Shi Liuer and died together. 1957, Liu Hulan Martyrs Cemetery was completed, and Liu Hulan's body was moved into the cemetery alone, thus ending the ghost marriage.

In August, 2004, a ghost marriage happened in Taiwan Province Province: a man and his girlfriend went out to travel, but his girlfriend died in a car accident. Because the man's family was poor, he could not get millions of compensation, and finally he reached a settlement on the condition of ghost marriage.

10, 2005 According to Shanxi Evening News, a woman in Huozhou heard that a female corpse sold tens of thousands of yuan for others a few months ago, so she was greedy for money and tricked a 12-year-old girl next door out of school to kill her and sold her to Hongtong County for a ghost wedding. This is indeed a strange case, and its background is the reality that ghost marriage is still prevalent in Shanxi Province.

Regarding the view of "ghost marriage", China Civil Affairs magazine published an article entitled "ghost marriage" farce in the issue of 194. This paper introduces four cases of ghost marriages in Henan and other places in the 1990s, involving college students, wealthy businessmen in villages and towns, and veteran cadres in provincial capitals who have been decentralized to rural areas. At the beginning of the article, the author commented: Nowadays, ghost marriages have begun to appear in rural areas, causing some ridiculous farce, which has been laughed at and despised by future generations. This attitude may be very representative among modern people. However, ghost marriage, as a custom, has been popular in China and even in East Asia for thousands of years. Not only has it always been called ignorant farmers' ghost marriage, but also cool men and beautiful women in modern metropolises.

But in my opinion, "ghost marriage" is not as horrible as most people think, thinking it is just an incredible "uncivilized" feudal old custom. Ancient writers once praised the love story between man and ghost in the form of "ghost marriage", with beautiful style. As for the evaluation and definition of "ghost marriage", I think the key is whether the meaning of "ghost marriage" can go beyond the form of "ghost marriage". For example, like Liu Hulan in the above example, the "ghost wedding" held for her is actually a unique way to make up for the lost regret, and it should be acceptable to mourn the feelings of the deceased with a beautiful sustenance; On the contrary, if we just use the legacy of "ghost marriage" to show off our family, or even kill people for money to achieve some ulterior despicable purpose, we should ban such "ghost marriage" mercilessly.