by William S. Dean
(09/06/06)
It had to happen sometime. The hotties stripping, ripping the pants off older, excited men, rival bands of strippers mixing it up as the onlookers try to stay out of range of the TV cameras -- and inevitably the police showing up to ban strip shows at funerals altogether. No, we're not talking about HBO's Six Feet Under, but the recent news flashing out of China's Jiangxi province.
A southern province, Jiangxi spans the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into the hillier areas of the south. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, it's been a corridor for trade and travel for centuries, rich in minerals, producing rice, cotton, and rapeseed. While considered a fairly poor province, nevertheless the locals have enough money to pay 2000 RMB (Renminbi -- China's currency) for a troupe of strippers to come entertain at funerals. Is this some ancient cultural holdover from China's risqué past? Part of the tradition of ancient jade dildos, powdered courtesans, a millennia-old heritage of erotic writing and art?
Um, well, no, not exactly.
Wealthy families in Jiangxi have been hiring groups of strippers to dance and take off their clothes because...because, well, it draws people in. It's a high sign of honor here -- as it is almost everywhere -- when the crowd of mourners is large. Imagine the scene, say, in New York, Paris, San Francisco, or London if when someone shuffled off their mortal coil (as Shakespeare has Hamlet intone), a group of professional pole dancers went into their act at the mortuary. Prurient pandemonium, you think? Well, okay, what if instead it took place in that little farm town in the valley? You and I both know there'd be an instant crowd of RVs, pickups, and probably tour buses lining the one-lane blacktop for miles.
The stripping at funerals has been going on for some time here, nestled in the small communities of Jiangxi. So long, in fact, that at least five different businesses exist to provide the services, um, at the service for the dearly departed. At 2000 RMB (that's slightly more than $150.00 US dollars) per show, a couple of willing Chinese ladies will doff their duds, give the equivalent of lap dances, and generally make the send off of a relative a memorable event for the whole family. It's an enterprising business, but not so much for the strippers themselves who, reportedly, only receive about 200 RMBs ($25.00 USD) for their act.
All of this, however, is now probably past history, according to Xinhua, the Chinese government's news agency. Xinhua released the story to the BBC, Reuters, and world news agencies after China Central television (CCTV) snuck a video camera into one such strip-o-rama funeral (maybe it was Chinese TV sweeps week?) and brought down the local authorities to stop the festive funeral games. Apparently what may have tipped the scales of dubious justice is that wealthy relatives sometimes hire two competing troupes of strippers to see which can bring in the bigger crowds. A recent funeral had some two hundred people show up to watch the "show."
The Chinese news report stated that five strippers had been "detained" and local authorities are now requiring villagers to report on funeral plans to determine if they correspond to decency. They've even instituted a hotline so "funeral misdeeds" can be reported.
I watched the CCTV video clip at Shanghailist.com. It's a long piece -- about twelve minutes -- in Chinese, of course, and frankly I have to admit I think the whole idea kind of rocks. It's a far cry from the old school Chinese traditions of thrumming drums, burning incense sticks, and subdued weeping and wailing.
It's long been thought that quiet mourning, somber clothes, and a respectful sermon centered around "dust to dust" is the proper way to honor the memory of the deceased. And there's perhaps still a place for that kind of thinking for people who lived their lives striving for that kind of respect. On the other hand, I know plenty of folks who'd consider having a DJ, a couple of strippers, and a party atmosphere as part of their last rites. And I don't just mean insensitive jock-types either. I'll bet there are women who'd get a post-living kick from the idea that a buffed up pseudo-policeman or hot fake-UPS delivery guy was peeling them off for the crowd as their ethereal spirit (if you believe in such things) departed this corporeal place.
If you're quick enough, you might still be able to catch the CCTV video clip in the Shanghailist archives here.
