Traditional Chinese custom believes that those in the afterlife continue with a life in the physical world. People who have passed away can thus be married to people who are living- this is known as ‘spiritual marriage’. This may occur in extremis if, for example, a family has only one male heir who dies young and unmarried thus leaving the family without the possibility of ancestor worship.

To ensure that this continues, the family of a dead man will search for a bride- who may be the late man’s girlfriend- and her family is offered a sum of money. If a marriage results, the ceremony is similar to the normal marriage ceremony, the bride comes to live with the dead man’s family and may then adopt a child to thus continue the lineage.

Marriage between two dead people is also possible- if, by the help of a medium, it is ascertained that the dead man has not married in the afterlife- and a close nephew will be adopted as the dead man’s son. Spiritual marriage is very uncommon.