The Way We Burn Paper Effigies Of Trendy Consumer Goods As Offerings To The Dead Now

“’Sometimes their stories are heart-wrenching and sometimes I’m numb to them. I try not to pry,’ says Au Yeung. ‘Making paper effigies of trend items makes death seem less frightening.’ His most popular requests are for cameras, video games and brand-name handbags — the things that Hong Kong kids desire while living.”
–This story about Au Yeung Ping Chi, who crafts effigies “burned at gravesites in order to ‘deliver’ them to the underworld where the dearly departed can receive them,” for those who have died young, is perplexing, because I’m not sure which definition of the word “tragic” applies. Probably all of them.