Dead Bachelors in Remote China Still Find Wives - New York Times

The importance the Chinese place on marrying off their children stems from a traditional Chinese belief that an unmarried life is incomplete, and consequently, will lead to unhappiness for the unmarried individual.

Believing that dead relatives continue to exist in the afterlife, many Chinese families whose sons have died as bachelors believe it is their duty to seek out a dead bride for their son to ensure that their son is happy in the afterlife. The price of finding a corpse bride is steep (costing as much as several years of income for a farmer). The price paid for the dead bride is a form of dowry.

As a Chinese man puts it:

“For girls, it doesn’t matter about their minds, whether they are an idiot or not,” he said. “They are still wanted as brides.” Dead or alive, he added…

Just as the family of a dead bachelor believes they are fulfilling their duty to their son by finding him a corpse bride, the dead bride’s family also believes that they are doing right by her by finding her a dead husband. Doing so secures her a proper place in the afterlife, since in patrilineal Chinese society, "a daughter has no place on her father’s family tree…. ‘She must marry and have children of her own before she has a place among her husband’s lineage. A woman who dies unmarried has no place in this world.’”