Different cultures have constructed different definitions of "good death", a means to make sense of death for the dying and their family. In Chinese culture, death is seen as a transition from the worldly realm to the other worldly realm of dead ancestors, who have the power to bring blessings or malevolent influence to the living. Having a good or bad death, as such, not only defines the spirit's happiness and luck in the next realm but in turn affects the living. To the highly interdependent families of Hong Kong, enabling a good death for their loved ones more than love, but also filial duty. In a culture where sense of self is relational, the lives of the living and dead are intertwined.
The definition of "good death" in Chinese culture is shaped culturally and socially, stemming from the philosophical teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Through the lens of these teachings, death is transcended if the life was meaningful, virtuous, and moral, and the death itself harmonious with nature. These have adapted as practices and beliefs such as having a natural death at home, and for the body to not be tampered with.
However, the definition of good death has been reshaped over time to adapt to social changes. A 2004 study on "good death" by the Society for the promotion of Hospice Care in Hong Kong found that whilst physical factors such as having a painless death have endured, psycho-social factors were an especially important criterion. These factors were focused on family relationships, prevailing over traditional criterion such as passing away at home.
This change is a result of adapting to new sociopolitical restrictions and advancements. It was once the cultural norm to pass away at home, the body removed from the premises through the window and down to street level with bamboo scaffolding. Today, the practice is no longer possible with modern skyscrapers and the depreciating economic effect of death on property. Technological advancements have allowed Hong Kong to boast one of the longest life expectancy rates in the world, but has also turned death into a medical event. The policies around death also prevent people from passing away outside of hospitals, leading to the elderly being rushed to the hospital to die. The cultural life event of dying has been replaced by institutionalisation.
