China village holds ceremony where 600 men bow in homage to ancestors, igniting gender debate
Major ceremony takes place in area considered the cradle of Chinese ritual culture; critics say patriarchal spectacle is ‘antiquated’
A traditional ceremony in a village in eastern China, where men bow and kowtow in reverence to their ancestors while women watch from the sidelines, has ignited debate over gender roles in cultural practices.
In February, a viral video captured a compelling scene from Dalei village in Yanggu county, Shandong province, during the Chinese New Year holiday.
The footage shows more than 600 men from the Lei clan lined up along a red carpet in front of the ancestral hall.
Arranged by age and lineage, they bow three times before kneeling to kowtow before the ancestral tablets.
The ritual is believed to have endured for over six centuries.
The men had returned from across the country to their ancestral village, offering prayers for the protection of their forebears as well as for family prosperity and health.