A great-grandchild of Lin Chin-Lien at Lin’s funeral in Taiwan. A portrait of the family matriarch stands outside the family home where her funeral was held. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
Relatives kneel while listening to a prayer asking for prosperity and protection for Lin’s family. From left are her three sons and her eldest grandson. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
Relatives of Lin Chin-Lien touch her scroll-draped coffin during the ritual funerary ceremony. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
At an altar in the crematorium, a Buddhist nun leads a prayer in honor of Lin Chin-Lien before Lin’s body is put to the flames. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
A machine is used to move Lin Chin-Lien’s coffin inside the furnace to be cremated. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
Henry Lin, the eldest grandson of Lin Chin-Lien, carries his grandmother’s spirit tablet, believed to hold part of her spirit, on the way to the crematorium. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
A Buddhist nun performs the last part of the funerary ritual for Lin Chin-Lien at the columbarium, the final resting site for Lin’s ashes. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
The family of Lin Chin-Lien, led by her eldest son, Rong-Gong Lin, prays at the columbarium where her ashes rest. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
After his grandmother’s coffin was put to the crematorium flames, Rong-Gong Lin II washes away sadness over her death. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
Before leaving the columbarium, daughter Sue-Jean Lin burns yellow pieces of paper representing money. The yellow pieces of paper are traditionally burned to symbolize the giving of money to the dead to use in the next life. (Alberto Buzzola / For The Times)
