Professional mourners, people who are paid to lament the dead during a funeral and help grieving families can earn more than $28,000 in year in China. Photo: Screenshot from video by Pear Video

Some professional mourners, who are compensated for weeping, wailing and generally lamenting the dead at funerals of people they have never met, can earn a very good living, according to a video posted by Pear Video on Monday. 

According to the video, a professional mourner attends a funeral for only about half an hour and is paid between several hundred and several thousand yuan. Some are earning an annual income topping 200,000 yuan ($28,000). 

"This is my hobby. I started when young and I have been doing it for more than 20 years," said a mourner in the video who had just taken part in a funeral in Xingyang, Central China's Henan Province.

"I have no problem supporting my family from doing this and have already bought a house," she said. "I am able to raise my two children with the money I earn and my eldest son has gone to college," a pro-mourner said in a telephone interview with a disguised voice. 

The professional mourning occupation has some health risks including a hoarse voice from the intense wailing that the job requires and eye trouble from shedding so many tears, said a relative of a professional mourner in the video. 

The video went viral on the internet and has been viewed more than 4.7 million times as of Wednesday.

Some netizens thought this ritual is not a good tradition as those mourners do not cry from their hearts.

"It's disrespectful of the dead," said one netizen. "Why would anyone want someone they don't know at their beloved ones' funeral?"

Others said there is nothing wrong with the occupation if the mourners help family members grieve their loss. 

Pear Video