The "Dying Field," or "Dying Place," was a small plot of land in Canton (now Guangzhou), Qing China, at the turn of the 20th century, where the sick, poor, and those who had given up on life could go to die undisturbed.[1] [2]
The field was located in Canton, close to the Pearl River. According to American teacher James Ricalton, who visited and photographed the location in 1900, the field was a littered common area scavenged by stray dogs. Vagrants and the sick would travel from different parts of the city (or sometimes country) to "choose to die." Once in the field, they would be unbothered by passersby. After they succumbed to disease or starvation, their bodies would often remain in the field for several days until authorities came to remove them. The bodies would then be buried in a potter's field.[3] Ricalton, describing a scene he photographed in the field, wrote: