Zheng He
Zheng He (1371–1433), formerly romanized as Cheng Ho, was a Hui court eunuch, mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral during China's early Ming Dynasty. Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433.
As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whose usurpation he assisted, he rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing (the capital was later moved to Beijing by Yongle). These voyages were long neglected in official Chinese histories but have become well known in China and abroad since the publication of Liang Qichao's Biography of Our Homeland's Great Navigator, Zheng He in 1904. A trilingual stele left by the navigator was discovered on the island of Sri Lanka shortly thereafter.
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Professional mourner wails and cries for people she has never met
AP Television
Taipei - 9 March 2013
1. Tracking shot of Liu Chun-lin, a professional mourner, wearing linen hood, joining relatives for funeral
2. Wide of relatives putting on linen garments and white head cloths for funeral
3. Various of Liu in white linen head cloth singing mourning song
4. Mid of relatives crying
5. Liu on ground, in front of relatives
6. Close-up of Liu wailing and singing
7. Various of Liu wailing and pounding ground at entrance to funeral home
8. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Liu Chun-lin, Professional mourner:
I accompany the grieving relatives to wail hard and help them to release their sadness. Sometimes grieving relatives are just too numb or too shy to shed their tears at the funeral. So, I am here to help them to get into the mood for sorrow. I have been working as a mourner for 18 years. I started when I was 12-years-old and now I am 30-years-old.
9. Close-up of Liu wailing
10. Mid of Liu leaning on coffin in funeral house, wailing
11. Wide of relatives kneeling down and crying before coffin
12. Low shot of Liu crawling under coffin, wailing
13. Mid of relatives crying on floor in front of coffin
14. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Liu Chun-lin, Professional mourner:
When I was a little girl, I always questioned myself about why I needed to cry for someone's parents who I didn't know. But I have learned that this is just a job and I am like a actress. I need to do my best to play my part well and to get my job done.
15. Wide of Liu with her team members, as relatives arrive at funeral
16. Tilt up of Liu's brother Liu Wen-chi ringing bell and blowing horn at funeral
17. Various of Liu dancing at funeral
Taoyuan County - 14 March 2013
18. Wide of Hsu Fu-chuan, Professor of Ethnology at Ming Chuan University, sitting at tea table
19. Mid of Hsu placing tea jar on table
20. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Hsu Fu-chuan, Professor of Ethnology at Ming Chuan University:
During the agricultural period in history (late Qing Dynasty), a lot of traditional opera female singers were hired to mourn at funerals because they could sing wailing dirges well. They were in white saintly dresses while singing mourning songs at funerals to pay respect to dead people. Then, they gradually became the professional mourners of today.
Taipei - 9 March 2013
21. Wide of Liu and relatives wailing and burning paper money before coffin
22. Close-up of Liu wailing into microphone
Taoyuan County - 14 March 2013
23. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Hsu Fu-chuan, Professor of Ethnology at Ming Chuan University:
Today, professional mourners are skilled in creating an atmosphere of sorrow. Relatives can be easily touched by the voice they wail in and the mourning lyrics they sing at the funeral.
Taipei - 9 March 2013
24. Wide of Liu sitting at home
25. Close-up photo of Liu and her grandmother
26. Close-up of Liu putting on makeup
27. Wide of Liu walking in street
28. Various of Liu getting into van, van driving away
29. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Liu Chun-lin, Professional mourner:
Young people today don't understand the deep meaning of the ceremonies. I will continue to do this job as a professional mourner. I feel I need to pass down the traditions that I have learned from my grandmother.
30. Zoom in on Liu as mourning relatives pass by
LEAD IN:
Wailing and crying for people she has never met and crawling under strangers coffins are all part of a days work for Liu Chun-lin, a professional mourner in Taiwan.
STORYLINE:
Liu Chun-lin puts on a white mourning garment and a linen head cloth.
She joins relatives at a funeral in a suburb of Taipei, leading them in their mourning and encouraging them to express their grief.
But she has no relationship with the deceased or the relatives.
And such funerals do not come cheap.
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