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Stephen Chen

University students in China are just as eager to learn more about death as sex, according to a new study by Chinese researchers.
More than 56 per cent of students surveyed said they needed death education, the same proportion as sought sexual education, according to a study of 262 students from five universities in Beijing.
Death is a taboo in Chinese culture. Bringing up the topic is regarded as inappropriate or rude in most circumstances.
“While you don’t yet understand life, how can you understand death?” warned Confucius in The Analects.


Death education courses that are taught at some universities in China explain the biological process of death and teach some scientific methods for managing grief.
The findings suggested the Covid-19 pandemic and other worldwide unrest might have changed attitudes towards death among China’s younger generation, said Sun Yingwei, a professor at Capital Medical University and lead scientist of the study, in a paper published in the domestic peer-reviewed journal Health Vocational Education on February 21.
“It is a good time to launch death education now,” she added.
China produces more than 8 million university graduates a year, twice as many as the US.
This higher education boom has been critical to China’s rapidly developing economy and increasing competitiveness in the science and hi-tech sectors.
But having so many graduates has intensified competition in the job market. In recent years, topics such as “lying flat” – doing the bare minimum to get by – have been trending topics on Chinese social media because increasing numbers of young people say they can no longer live with anxiety.
About 1 per cent Chinese university students have attempted suicide, and an important factor driving up the suicide rate is anxiety about death, according to some recent studies.
Death Cafés, open forums to talk about mortality, spurred by Covid-19
Death education could reduce fear and anxiety about the end of life, said Sun and her colleagues.
Only 20 per cent of the students said such a course was available to them. Courses teaching on general health, emergency response, security and relationships were commonly offered in a life education curriculum, but most students reported they had less interest in these topics.
About 30 per cent of the students reported having access to sex education.


The mismatch between demand and supply raised the question of whether the Chinese universities could “effectively educate the students, who are the hope and future of our nation”, Sun wrote in the paper.
In the same issue of Health Vocational Education journal, a joint study by researchers from Capital Medical University and the special medical centre of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force – the military branch operating China’s nuclear and conventional missiles – said Chinese society as a whole was not ready to cope with massive deaths.
Their survey, involving nearly 300 residents in two unnamed cities, produced a mediocre score (3.5 out of 5) on a popular scale known as the death attitude profile.
Emojis for grief? How to respond on social media to someone’s loss
The participants in the study, aged 30 to 95, worried more about their family than themselves, according to the researchers.
But most found it difficult to talk about death with others, regardless of how close they were. This collective avoidance severely undermined Chinese people’s ability to cope with death, according to the researchers.
A study by Tsinghua University researchers in 2017 warned that when a deadly event suddenly happened in China, the taboo could lead to a sudden explosion of emotions across society and create unpredictable consequences.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255.


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Science

Amid pandemic and unrest, Chinese university students are desperate for death education: study

More than 56 per cent of students surveyed said they would benefit from death education.  Photo: AP Photo

Broken heart syndrome, triggered by stress from a traumatic event such as grief or winning the lottery, feels like a heart attack

Broken heart syndrome is caused by a traumatic or stressful episode, and while it is short-term and treatable, sufferers should seek immediate medical help. Photo Shutterstock.

Dr Jay Woody, emergency medicine physician and chief medical officer of Intuitive Health.

Grief is the most common stressor for broken heart syndrome. Photo: Shutterstock

Broken heart syndrome can have other physical stressors including low blood sugar, low blood pressure and stroke. Photo: Shutterstock

Dr Jennifer Haden Haythe is a critical care cardiologist at Columbia University Centre in New York.

Symptoms of broken heart syndrome can set in from minutes to hours after a stressful event. Photo: Shutterstock 

Although broken heart syndrome is considered less serious than a heart attack, you should seek medical attention. Photo: Shutterstock 

Meditation is useful as stress plays a role in triggering broken heart syndrome. Photo: Shutterstock

Revised law on mandatory sex education sparks debate on sexuality in China

Sex-education counsellor Ge Yeyi leads a sex education class in Cixi, Zhejiang province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

How exercise and outdoor activities help with grief and loss, reducing depression and symptoms of anxiety and PTSD

Exercise, sports and outdoor activities can help us deal with grief and loss, lifting our mood and allowing us to express our feelings. Photo: Getty Images

Grieving will never be easy, but physical activity can help reduce the pain and mental anguish. Photo: Getty images

Exercise and activities linked to the outdoors are recommended, especially walking, running, hiking, canoeing and cycling. Photo: Getty Images

London-based therapist and trauma specialist Olivia James says exercise can help to stimulate your nervous system, put your feet back on the ground and help regulate moods.

If you are exercising with other people don’t be afraid to talk through your emotions. Photo: Getty Images 

More Chinese getting HIV when cases in rest of world are falling. It’s because of ignorance about sex, say experts

The rising incidence of HIV in China over the past decade runs counter to the global trend of a decline in new cases of the virus. Photo: Huang Haojie

CIXI, CHINA - AUGUST 23: Sex-education counsellor Ge Yeyi shows middle school students how to use a condom during a sex education class on August 23, 2020 in Cixi, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Peijian/VCG via Getty Images)CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Rapid HIV testing kits can return results within 15 minutes., taken in China, 2019.CREDIT:  Xiao Dong

This photo taken on August 22, 2012, shows a researcher working inside a laboratory of the National Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and Control (NCAIDS), a branch of the Chinese Center For Disease Control. Chinese researchers said on April 23 that they have discovered an HIV-blocking agent that could be developed into a gel to limit the sexual transmission of AIDS. Unprotected sex accounts for more than 90 percent of AIDS infections in China, the researchers said in a statement.     CHINA OUT   AFP PHOTO (Photo by STR / AFP)CREDIT: AFP

HARBIN, CHINA - AUGUST 17:  Elderly people view marriage-seeking leaflets during a blind date event for Chinese valentine's day on August 17, 2018 in Harbin, China. More and more single elderly people are longing for love and companionship.  (Photo by Tao Zhang/Getty Images)CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

SCMP Graphics

Huang Haojie from the Wuhan LGBT Center gives teaches college students about HIV prevention in 2019. Source: Huang Haojie

A group of villagers, most of them suffering from HIV after selling their blood at a local hospital in Dongguangcun, in central China's Henan province, gather to tell their story to journalists, 28 January 2002.  More than half of the one-thousand-odd residents of the village have contracted HIV after selling blood, and more than twenty have died since 1999.  At least 100,000 villagers in Henan province have been infected by the HIV virus after selling their blood to collectors using insanitary methods, according to official figures, while local medical authorities have disputed the numbers, saying those infected could easily be more than 500,000.     AFP PHOTO (Photo by AFP)CREDIT: AFP

A social worker doing a rapid HIV test for a person in Beijing in July, 2020.CREDIT:  Xiao Dong

Schools 'should offer death education'

News

China


Paper says students are just as keen to know more about death as sex and such classes could reduce fear and anxiety about end of life among young people
Separate study by Capital Medical University and Army Rocket Force medical specialists finds Chinese society is not ready to cope with large-scale mortality



Paper says students are just as keen to know as much about death as sex and such classes could reduce fear and anxiety about end of life among young people.


Death and grieving

China education

Education in China

Mental health