{"title":"Ghost Brides and Crime Networks in Rural China","authors":"T. Wing Lo","doi":"10.1007/s11417-022-09367-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h2>Abstract\n</h2><div><p>The custom of ghost marriages has been passed down since the ancient times in China. Adults who died before marriage could not be buried with their ancestors. Their families did not want to leave bodies outside, as they believed that the spirits would become lonely. Instead, they wished to find husbands or wives for their dead relatives to continue the family tree. The custom has spawned a large ghost bride market, resulting in the trading of female corpses. This industry and its profits have driven criminals to kidnap and murder women, raid tombs and morgues, steal and traffic corpses. The study demonstrates that while in the folklore the stigma of being unmarried should apply to both men and women, the corpses trafficked are mainly women and in poorer provinces. While ghost marriages create a market of supply and demand in booming rural China, the market also indicates income and gender inequality behind the crime.</p></div></div>","PeriodicalId":45526,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Criminology","volume":"17 3","pages":"371 - 389"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2022-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11417-022-09367-6.pdf","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Journal of Criminology","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11417-022-09367-6","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Abstract
The custom of ghost marriages has been passed down since the ancient times in China. Adults who died before marriage could not be buried with their ancestors. Their families did not want to leave bodies outside, as they believed that the spirits would become lonely. Instead, they wished to find husbands or wives for their dead relatives to continue the family tree. The custom has spawned a large ghost bride market, resulting in the trading of female corpses. This industry and its profits have driven criminals to kidnap and murder women, raid tombs and morgues, steal and traffic corpses. The study demonstrates that while in the folklore the stigma of being unmarried should apply to both men and women, the corpses trafficked are mainly women and in poorer provinces. While ghost marriages create a market of supply and demand in booming rural China, the market also indicates income and gender inequality behind the crime.
期刊介绍：
Electronic submission now possible! Please see the Instructions for Authors. For general information about this new journal please contact the publisher at [welmoed.spahr@springer.com] The Asian Journal of Criminology aims to advance the study of criminology and criminal justice in Asia, to promote evidence-based public policy in crime prevention, and to promote comparative studies about crime and criminal justice. The Journal provides a platform for criminologists, policymakers, and practitioners and welcomes manuscripts relating to crime, crime prevention, criminal law, medico-legal topics and the administration of criminal justice in Asian countries. The Journal especially encourages theoretical and methodological papers with an emphasis on evidence-based, empirical research addressing crime in Asian contexts. It seeks to publish research arising from a broad variety of methodological traditions, including quantitative, qualitative, historical, and comparative methods. The Journal fosters a multi-disciplinary focus and welcomes manuscripts from a variety of disciplines, including criminology, criminal justice, law, sociology, psychology, forensic science, social work, urban studies, history, and geography.
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