For this assignment, I chose to focus on Chinese funereal practices for the residents in Chinatown in San Francisco. I chose to examine this culture because the residents of Chinatown exist in a unique community that is a blend of traditional Chinese and Western cultures. As we learned in from Trask and Harmon (2007), we must view cultural practices about death and dying within the context of their individual experiences. Some immigrant cultures can preserve many of their old traditions when assimilating to their new home. For those residents of Chinatown this is exactly the case and when it comes to their funeral practices; there is a beautiful hybrid of traditions where old meets new.
In San Francisco’s Chinatown, the funeral is a big