09:11, 3 MAR 2016 UPDATED 09:13, 3 MAR 2016
BY RUTH HALKON
Police believe at least three dozen bodies have been stolen and sold to superstitious families wanting brides for buried bachelors
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Ghost brides: Corpses are being dug up and sold in the strange tradition
The bodies of dead women in China are being snatched from graves and sold for thousands of pounds to feed a growing demand for 'corpse brides'.
In parts of the country an ancient superstition that it is bad luck for a man to die unmarried has been seeing a resurgence.
To prevent misfortune, families are finding corpse brides for their bachelors by reinforcing female skeletons with metal wires, dressing them and burying them next to the man.
An increasing number of female bodies are being stolen from graves to be used in 'ghost marriages', leaving distraught families trying to track down their late relatives.
At least three dozen bodies have been reported stolen in the past three years in Southern Shanxi's Hongtong County, according to Lin Xu, deputy director of the county police department.
Guo Qiwen, is looking for his mother's body, which was stolen last March.
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Gang: The theft of bodies has become more common in the last three years
He said: "I have spent more than 50,000 yuan (£5,425) looking for her remains. It kills my heart not having her back."
At least three dozen bodies have been reported stolen in the past three years in Southern Shanxi's Hongtong County, according to Lin Xu, deputy director of the county police department.
The tradition, which was practised in mediaeval China, was banned by Chairman Mao when he came to power in 1949.
After the ban, peasants buried their loved ones with pictures or dummies made of paper or dough.
But as wealth has increased, the practise of using real corpses has returned to some rural areas of Shanxi Province, northern Henan Province and Shaanxi Province.
Chang Sixin, deputy director of the China Folk Literature and Art Association, said there are even matchmaking agents and companies to pair dead bachelors with the corpses of women.
But these are unable to keep up with the rising demand, and snatching bodies is very lucrative, with fresh corpse brides fetching over £11,000.
In 2011, a man was arrested for killing his wife and then trying to sell her body as a corpse bride.
Last year, three men were arrested after trying to sell bodies for more than £25,000.
Even old, decomposed bodies can be sold for over £500 according to Weird Asia News.
A man, Jing Gouzi, who bought a corpse to bury next to his single older brother told Xinhua News Agency : "I thought of using a woman made of dough, but the old men in our village insisted only real bodies could prevent misfortune."
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Theft: Distraught families have been trying to trace their stolen loved ones
According to Chinese criminal law, those who steal or defile a corpse are subject to up to three years in prison.
Corpse theft is difficult to investigate as it is hard to find evidence, Lin said.
Repeated corpse thefts have caused panic in nearby villages.
In one village, families have started to build tombs near their homes, rather than at distant mountain sites.
Some affluent families have hired people to watch their family tombs, reinforced the tombs with steel and installed CCTV cameras over graves.
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Originally Posted by David Jamieson
