Chinese Generation Z youth break traditions with honest talk on death

"I first became aware of death at my grandfather's funeral, but it wasn't until three years later that I finally dared to truly talk about how I felt at that moment," said Wang Chen, a 24-year-old master's student, at a death-themed seminar.

At this offline discussion organized by Generation Z youth, dozens of post-90s and post-00s participants are breaking traditional taboos and creating a platform for open conversations about life quality and death.

Gan Huatian, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a professor at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said that he believes that proposing "the implementation of death education among young people nationwide" is highly necessary.

He argues that only by understanding death can one better understand life, and only by facing the topic of death directly can young people develop a sense of reverence for life.

In the Dictionary of Medical Ethics, death education is defined as "education aimed at helping individuals deal objectively with the death of others and themselves." Such education and discussion are particularly important in China, where most people lack knowledge about death yet avoid talking about it. In a study covering 1,000 respondents, over 46 percent stated they lacked the knowledge to confront death, and more than 85 percent said they had never proactively sought death-related counseling.

The lack of death education is especially evident among young people. In November 2021, the Ministry of Education issued the Guide to Integrating Life Safety and Health Education into Primary and Secondary School Curricula, proposing specific measures for "incorporating life education into school curricula and practical education mechanisms".

After revisions, the ministry-edited junior high school textbook on morality and the rule of law added a life education theme. However, content related to death is only briefly mentioned, covering less than two pages in total.

"Our education system teaches us how to handle various exams, but it never teaches us how to face inevitable death," said Wang Hao, a 26-year-old internet industry worker. His father was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, plunging the whole family into the dilemma of "whether to tell him the truth or not". "This kind of sudden death education is too brutal," he added.

This deficiency has led to a chain reaction. A survey from a pilot palliative care hospital in Beijing shows that younger family members are more inclined than older ones to choose "excessive medical treatment" — most respondents aged 25 to 35 admitted it was because they "didn't know what other options were there."

Initiating Change

In cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan in Hubei province, death education salons and seminars are increasingly gaining attention, with most participants belonging to the Gen Z group.

At Tsinghua University, a student-initiated club called the "life care association", which focused on life quality, is inspiring similar initiatives at other universities across the country.

"Young people are not avoiding death; they just need the right way to talk about it," said a student who frequently participates in life care activities. The WeChat group she belongs to, which discusses related topics, has hundreds of members and holds irregular online sharing sessions. "We've found that when freed from preachings, young people are actually eager to explore the meaning of life."

Death education is also fostering intergenerational dialogue. Zhang Xiao, a 29-year-old, tried to discuss end-of-life wishes with her parents using exhibition booklets but encountered typical Chinese avoidance: "It's bad luck to talk about this." However, she noticed that when the topic was introduced through third-party works, her parents' resistance significantly decreased.

Digital technology is also changing how these conversations happen. Liu Yang, a 25-year-old programmer, expressed his hope to develop a "Life Notes" mini-program to help users document their life stories and final wishes. "Technology allows young people to engage with this ancient topic in a familiar way," he said.

"Death education isn't about making people unafraid of death, it's about helping them understand how to live better," said Su Xin, a 31-year-old head of a volunteer organization. Her team, known as a zhuniantuan (psychological support team), provides counseling to those nearing the end of life and helps families process grief.

"Death education is also part of our work. In practice, we hope families learn to face death. Many people actually gain more strength for life through this process," she said.