Condoms and Viagra

Here is an interesting article. Many mainland Chinese have been observing a age-old tradition of burning gifts for their dead ancestors. However, recently, some of them have gotten creative and starting thinking that on top of the paper car and house that they burn, would not their dead relatives also need a little "fun" up there? So they start burning paper condoms, viagra and karoke hostesses!

China bans tomb-sweepers' "vulgar" burned offerings(Reuters)BEIJING - China has banned its citizens from burning paper models of condoms, luxury villas and karaoke hostesses when paying respect at the graves of their ancestors.Many Chinese burn paper money as a sacrificial rite to honor deceased relatives, but economic development has brought more unusual tokens of gifts for the after-life.Now, anxious to curtail a modern version of what they see as feudal superstition, the authorities have issued new funeral and internment regulations that include fining citizens who burn "vulgar" offerings, a Chinese newspaper reported Tuesday."The burning of luxury villas, sedan cars, mistresses and other messy sacrificial items ... will be investigated and punished," the Beijing News quoted Dou Yupei, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as saying.Over the last two years officials have discovered people burning paper offerings of the potency drug Viagra, extra-marital mistresses and even "Supergirls" -- dolls modeled on winning contestants of Chinese television's hugely popular American Idol spin-off, Mongolian Cow Sour Milk Supergirl."The tomb-sweepers' feelings are understandable," said Dou. "But burning these messy things -- not only is it mired in feudal superstition, but it just appears low and vulgar."The new regulations follow reports earlier this month of authorities calling for people to honor relatives online through special Web sites' virtual memorial halls.

Having been reading some comments regarding this move by the Chinese government, and one particular comment cracked me up. This guy suggested that the Chinese government should instead allow the following to be burned:

Copies of the People's Daily, so your ancestors can be up on the party line on current events.
Effigies of Chinese communist leaders and great Marxist thinkers, so that your ancestors can have civilized (if dull) company in the afterlife, rather than those loose, paper hussies you've been sending them.
Copies of Mao's Little Red Book, so they can brush up on Mao Zidong thought and poetry in the afterlife.
Chinese propaganda posters, to encourage proper behavior and appropriate worship of model workers, towns and industries.
All the proceedings and proclamations from the recent National People's Congress, so that your ancestors are fully up to date on the latest workings of the government.
Copies of the 11th five-year plan, so that your ancestors understand the priorities of the government moving forward.
Copies of the political theorems and philosophies of the third and fourth generation leaders, so that your ancestors are fully acquainted with the Three Represents, the New Socialist Countryside, the Scientific Concept of Development and the increasingly omnipresent Socialist Honors and Disgraces.

Of course, all done in tongue in cheek. But it lets me to wonder indeed why do not these people who believe in burning paper offerings, not burn things that are more "edifying" instead of things that only greedy (cars and houses and food) and lustful (viagra and condoms) people want. Is that as high an opinion they have of their ancestors?