The Wider Image: Taoist priest honours China's coronavirus dead with memorial tablets
Memorial tablets are seen inside a hall at a Taoist temple Jiuyang Palace, in Laiwu of Jinan, Shandong province, China, September 7, 2020. A collection of 558 memorial tablets are inscribed with the names and hometowns of people who died after contracting the coronavirus or while battling the pandemic. "A person's true death is when the whole world has forgotten them," said priest Liang Xingyang, who started the collection on Jan. 29, shortly after Chinese authorities announced that the virus could pass between humans. "No matter what religion or beliefs they hold, their spirit deserves to be passed on. In fact, they live on in our hearts." Of those honoured by the tablets, only a minority died of COVID-19. Most died from other causes, like exhaustion from overwork, Liang said. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang SEARCH "TAOISM TINGSHU" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES