| Summary: | 碩士 === 雲林科技大學 === 文化資產維護系碩士班 === 97 === This study is based on the controversial role of “Bai-Ching – The Dutiful Daughter”. It is a known profession among the memorial service industry in which the person who represents “Bai-Ching” is in charge of wailing pretentiously for the deceased (family) during the ritual.
The Chinese culture associates death with extreme pessimism, pain and sorrow. Consequently, the traditional family burial customs require a display of grief, openly showing distress and even wailing by the sons or the daughters of the deceased as a way to show devotion, respect and love. However, many criticized that arise of the “professional/ hired wailers” have turned death and funerals from being sacred and private affairs into conceited demonstrations. It is demoralizing, useless, and disrespectful.
This article provides an overview of the role of “Bai-Ching – The Dutiful Daughter” among the funerary culture in Taiwan and reflects upon what contemporary changes to that culture tell us about the evolution of societal integration and cultural changes among people in Taiwan. It also discusses about the mortality and ethicality behind this profession; the reason behind why it existed for over half of the century and why this trend is slowly declining and vanishing and how this custom can be renewed again to preserve its value.
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