My child's home: Parental grief at a Chinese cemetery.
Saved in:
| Title: | My child's home: Parental grief at a Chinese cemetery. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Shi, Lihong |
| Source: | Death Studies. 2025, Vol. 49 Issue 10, p1353-1362. 10p. |
| Subjects: | Attitudes toward death, Death, Research funding, Qualitative research, Parent-child relationships, Ethnology research, Statistical sampling, Interviewing, Culture, Psychology & religion, Family relations, Field research, Grief, Interment, Psychology of parents |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Abstract: | This article explores how the parent-child bond is continued in an emergent deathscape in urban China where graves designated for deceased children are being created. This new child-centered deathscape stands in stark contrast to the dominant Chinese deathscape which is embedded in the longstanding practice of ancestor worship. Based on data collected through cemetery visits and interviews with bereaved parents, this article delves into the making of this new deathscape manifested at a cemetery in urban China to demonstrate the process of bereaved parents building and maintaining bonds with their deceased children. It reveals how bereaved parents regard their children's graves as the children's new homes in the afterlife. It also discusses how a deceased child's identity is presented and social presence continued at the grave, how parental love is expressed and practiced after the burial, and how the parent-child bond is expressed as continuing in the afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Death Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | This article explores how the parent-child bond is continued in an emergent deathscape in urban China where graves designated for deceased children are being created. This new child-centered deathscape stands in stark contrast to the dominant Chinese deathscape which is embedded in the longstanding practice of ancestor worship. Based on data collected through cemetery visits and interviews with bereaved parents, this article delves into the making of this new deathscape manifested at a cemetery in urban China to demonstrate the process of bereaved parents building and maintaining bonds with their deceased children. It reveals how bereaved parents regard their children's graves as the children's new homes in the afterlife. It also discusses how a deceased child's identity is presented and social presence continued at the grave, how parental love is expressed and practiced after the burial, and how the parent-child bond is expressed as continuing in the afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 07481187 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/07481187.2024.2435931 |
