It’s been 52 years since Goh Khuay Par carved his first Mei Hua coffin.
asserted
Par → carve → coffin
The traditional Chinese design takes its name from the plum blossom, or “mei hua” in Mandarin, and has been part of his family’s trade in Malaysia for three generations.
“My father was my master,” said Goh, now 69, at the modest workshop he runs with his brother in the town of Muar, about 175 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Kuala Lumpur.
asserted
he → take → Lumpur
“He taught me for two and a half years.”
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He → teach → years
Goh no longer recalls details of his first coffin.
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Goh → recall → coffin
It was most likely a small, thin piece, like the ones his father had him make when he was just starting out.
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he → have → ones
His products became thicker over time for a more striking appearance.
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products → become → appearance
Each coffin is made by hand and requires extensive work.
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coffin → make → work
Years ago, when the workshop had more craftsmen and more orders, they could turn out up to five a month.
uncertain
they → have → five
These days Goh and his brother make about two every six to seven weeks.
asserted
Goh → make → two
“In the past there weren’t newer styles, so people used this kind,” Goh said.
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Goh → be → kind
His workshop has long served Malaysia’s Chinese community, where coffins are intertwined with traditions related to death and burial.
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coffins → serve → death
Ethnic Chinese currently make up about 22% of Malaysia’s population, according to the country’s Department of Statistics.
uncertain
Chinese → make → Statistics
On occasion, Goh’s workshop also made coffins for clients in Singapore, home to another large Chinese diaspora community.
asserted
workshop → make → community
Those orders have ceased.
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orders → cease → ?
“Times have changed,” he said.
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he → change → ?
“This line of work will eventually be phased out.
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line → phase → work
Chinese traditions maintain bonds between the living and the dead
Traditional Chinese beliefs envisioned an afterlife that in many ways mirrored the world of the living, rather than the Christian or Islamic conception of heaven or hell as a person’s ultimate destination.
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that → maintain → destination
Over time, Buddhism introduced ideas of reincarnation and karmic retribution, linking a person’s fate after death to their actions in life.
asserted
Buddhism → introduce → life
“Chinese funeral rituals, burial practices, and tomb designs must almost all be understood through this lens,” said Ling Tek Soon, a scholar at the University of Malaya’s Institute of China Studies.
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Soon → understand → Studies
Ling said Taoist funeral rituals include the symbolic crossing of the “Naihe Bridge,” or Bridge of Helplessness.
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rituals → say → Helplessness
The rite symbolizes the deceased’s final departure from the world of the living and helps the family come to terms with the loss.
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family → symbolize → loss
Other traditions, however, provide ways for the living to maintain a connection with the dead.
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living → provide → dead
During the Qingming Festival, observed each year in April, families visit ancestral graves with food offerings and burn incense and paper replicas of everyday goods for their ancestors.
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families → observe → ancestors
“The symbolism behind this practice is that burning transfers these physical worldly goods to the deceased,” Ling said.
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Ling → transfer → deceased
“These actions are all modes of communicating with the ancestors.”
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actions → communicate → ancestors
Traditional Chinese coffins embody respect for the dead
The bond between the living and their ancestors can also have a physical dimension.
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bond → embody → dimension
“In traditional Chinese belief, the coffin is viewed as the permanent physical resting place for the deceased,” Ling said.
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Ling → view → deceased
It should be made from natural, heavy and durable materials — much like the wood used by Goh — and, when affordable, from the finest timber.
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It → make → timber
“Providing such a coffin expresses the family’s respect and filial piety toward the deceased,” Ling added.
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Ling → provide → deceased
A high-quality coffin can also reflect the prestige and dignity of both the deceased and their family.
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coffin → reflect → deceased
But its significance can extend beyond status, reflecting an ancient aspiration for immortality.
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significance → extend → immortality
“Preserving the physical body in a premium-quality coffin subtly holds a lingering hope for a future resurrection or rebirth,” Ling said.
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Ling → preserve → resurrection
Those beliefs have long shaped the role of traditional coffins in Chinese funeral customs.
asserted
beliefs → shape → customs
Yet changing attitudes toward death and the body have gradually altered that role.
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attitudes → change → role
Cremation has become more widely accepted across generations, contributing to the decline of traditional crafts like Goh’s.
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Cremation → accept → Goh
“It was widely believed that burning the human form through cremation was an act of disrespect,” Ling said.
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Ling → believe → disrespect
“With changing times, the vast majority of Chinese people today — across the entire Greater China cultural sphere — have come to accept the concept.”
asserted
majority → change → concept
A craft with an uncertain future
Goh begins each coffin by tracing the outlines on the wood with a pencil before cutting and shaping it.
asserted
Goh → begin → it
He uses hand tools including an adze and an axe.
asserted
He → use → adze
His coffins are made from a Malaysian timber known as “keledang,” traditionally prized for coffin-making among the country’s Chinese community.
asserted
coffins → make → community
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
