In Chinese tradition, a ghost marriage (Chinese: 冥婚; pinyin: mínghūn; lit. 'spirit marriage') is a marriage in which one or both parties are deceased. Other forms of ghost marriage are practiced worldwide, notably in France since 1959 (see posthumous marriage; compare levirate marriage and ghost marriage in South Sudan, i.e. marriage to a living relative of the deceased). The origins of Chinese ghost marriage are largely unknown, but reports of it being practiced today can still be found.