Two individuals in China were caught dumping rice into a river, claiming they were doing “something good”. -- Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
SHANGHAI (SCMP): Two elderly citizens in eastern China sparked a heated discussion about the traditional practice of “releasing life into nature” after they were filmed pouring bags of rice into a river, claiming they were doing “something good”.
The ritual of fang sheng has been observed in China for thousands of years. Rooted in Buddhist teachings of mercy and compassion, the practice is popular among those who believe that releasing animals – primarily fish, birds, shrimp, and turtles – into nature will generate good karma.
On December 10, an elderly man and woman were recorded dropping several bags of rice into a river in Ruian, Zhejiang province, as reported by the news portal The Paper.
When passers-by questioned their unusual actions, they simply stated they were doing “something good”.
Fang sheng is a practice rooted in Buddhist teachings of releasing animals into nature to generate good karma and luck. -- Photo: 163.com
This led many to speculate that they were following the ritual of fang sheng, even though the object being released was not the typical living creature.
“It’s beyond comprehension. I do not understand their actions,” said a man surnamed Liang, a witness near the river.
“Usually, people release fish or turtles into rivers. Why are these two releasing rice? It’s too strange,” he added.
An official from the local water conservancy authority stated that they could take no action regarding the pair’s behaviour.
“We cannot punish them because rice is not a pollutant. I think we can only continue monitoring the area near the river to see if there are more such behaviours,” the unidentified official told the media.
The news of the rice release quickly gained traction online in China.
The man, above, accompanying the woman in dumping the rice into the river was a pedicab driver she had hired. -- Photo: 163.com
One netizen commented: “What a serious waste of food!”
Another remarked: “If they do not need the rice, they could donate it to the poor.”
In a recent follow-up on the incident, the New Yellow River newspaper reported that the woman featured in the video, whose surname is Pan, explained that the rice had spoiled after being soaked in water. Consequently, she brought the rice to the river to feed the fish.
The man accompanying her in dumping the rice into the river is a pedicab driver she had hired, Pan clarified.
In recent years, cases involving the practice of fang sheng with unconventional items have frequently become viral stories on mainland social media.
Earlier this year, a woman in northern China’s Hebei province released dozens of cockroaches in a residential community, outraging local residents concerned about health hazards.
In 2022, a group of older men and women sparked debate for carrying hundreds of bottled mineral water onto a bridge in southern Guangdong before pouring the contents into a river. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
