SHANGHAI (SCMP): A man in southern China went viral after making a complaint against a funeral parlour for offering him a stew pot as an urn to hold cremated remains.
The controversy was caused by a funeral home in Deqing county, Guangdong province, reported Jimu News.
The man, surnamed Chen, went there in June to deal with the funeral arrangements for the fetus that died due to an induced labour his wife underwent.
He told the funeral home staff he wanted a smaller urn due to the baby’s size.
“I was in low spirits. I did not bother to pick an urn, but simply took away what they gave me,” Chen was quoted as saying.
He added that the funeral parlour charged him 2,000 yuan (US$280) for the entire service, without imposing additional costs for the urn.
Chen placed the urn at home and initially did not notice anything unusual about it.
However, weeks later, when he visited a hospital, he found a strong resemblance between the “urn” in his home and the pots containing nutritious soup that many people brought to visit their sick relatives.
He was more astounded to discover a label for a stew pot at the bottom of the utensil, displaying its brand name.
The newspaper found that pots from this brand are sold for less than 10 yuan (US$1.4) on online platforms in China.
Chen stated that he exposed the funeral home not to seek compensation, but for an explanation.
An official at the county’s civil affairs authority, which oversees the funeral sector, mentioned that all funeral products were bought through “legal channels”.
“We have some types of urns for customers to choose from,” said the official. “After receiving Chen’s complaint, we conducted an investigation and found 4 to 5 similar products. We instructed the funeral home to stop selling them.”
The incident triggered significant online discussion in mainland China, although internet users were divided over the appropriateness of using a cooking utensil to contain cremated remains.
“I think it’s OK because both are made of the same material – ceramics,” commented one person.
Another netizen echoed: “I don’t see any problem. If the stew pot is several yuan while an urn is priced at hundreds or thousands of yuan, I prefer the former one.”
However, another person disagreed, stating: “They shouldn’t do it. It’s too inappropriate and disrespectful for the deceased.” - South China Morning Post
