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Morticians show off skills in contest using real corpses

In an effort to upgrade morticians' skills and demystify their work, the Taipei City Government sponsored a make-up contest for morticians using real corpses.

During the contest which took place on Friday, the morticians were judged for their preparation work, make-up skill, work attitude and finish-up work.

Seven of the 15 contestants won "outstanding" awards.

The judges were keen on details like how the morticians cleaned the corpses' faces, closed their eyelids or mouths, applied face powder, did their hair and sterilized their own fingers and tools afterwards.

"Work attitude" included an assessment of whether the morticians were respectful towards the corpses.

Hsueh Cheng-tai (薛成泰), director of Taipei City Government's Social Affairs Bureau, praised the contest for having raised "the level of Taiwan's funeral service."

"Dying and the dead are a taboo subject in Chinese society. But like the living, the dead also want to present their best side to the world. So this make-up contest is very meaningful," he said.

Morticians earn a good salary -- about NT$ 50,000 (US$1,500) per month, but the work is frowned upon by many who think it is unclean and could bring bad luck to the mortician.

But Hsieh Pei-hua (謝佩華), 36, one of the seven winners, said earning the distinction had made her prouder of her work.

"I was lucky because the corpse I handled was in good condition. Some corpses assigned to other contestants were semi-decomposed with eyes sunken and mouths open," she said.

"After this contest, I now realize I need to receive further training and improve my skills. Maybe I should go abroad," she said.
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