- By Supratik Das
- Sat, 15 Nov 2025 02:05 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A 57-year-old sports industry professional from China has triggered a nationwide debate on love, loyalty, and the ethics of cryogenic preservation after entering a new relationship while his wife remains in long-term cold storage.
According to the South China Morning Post, GuiJunmin, whose wife Zhan Wenlian became the first cryogenically preserved person in China, has faced sharp criticism online, with many questioning whether his decision to move on emotionally is compatible with his wish to one day reunite with her.
Wife Becomes China’s First Cryogenically Preserved Patient
Zhan Wenlian, then 48, was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in 2017. As her condition worsened and doctors reportedly gave her only months to live, Gui sought an unconventional option to “keep her alive in another form”, hoping scientific advances might eventually allow her revival.
After her death the same year, Zhan’s body was preserved under a 30-year agreement with the Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, which had partnered with Qilu Hospital of Shandong University on experimental cryopreservation trials. Early volunteers, including Zhan, received the procedures for free.
Loneliness Pushes Husband Toward Another Relationship
For the first two years, Gui remained committed to living alone. But in 2020, he suffered a severe gout attack at home. Unable to reach his phone, he lay immobile for two days before relatives broke in to assist him. The incident, he later admitted, changed the way he viewed ageing and solitude.
Soon after, he was introduced through friends to Wang Chunxia, who worked in insurance sales. What began as a client meeting gradually evolved into companionship. Wang, coming from a rural background and having held various jobs, including factory work and running a small salon, soon became a steady presence in Gui’s life.
Gui has described Wang as caring, sincere, and straightforward. She prepares his tea, reminds him to take medication, and supports him through health issues, including a recent coronary stent surgery. Despite this, Gui admitted the relationship had a “utilitarian” aspect, saying she had “not yet entered his heart”.
Sharp Public Reaction And Moral Questions
As news of Gui’s personal life spread, public sentiment turned sharply divided. Some praised him for acknowledging his emotional needs and finding support. Others accused him of trying to keep “two emotional lives running side by side”.
One viral comment read, “He is holding one woman while waiting to reunite with another in 30 years. What is this if not emotional polygamy?” Another critic wrote: “His devotion to the frozen wife feels less like love and more like an obsession with performing grief.”
Gui himself has acknowledged the moral and legal grey areas. He openly wonders whether marrying Wang could be seen as bigamy if cryogenic revival ever becomes possible, and what would happen to their assets. “I cannot forget my wife,” he said. “But I also need someone to help me live.”
Gui continues to visit the cryogenic capsule where Zhan’s body is stored, maintaining that she remains “irreplaceable”. Yet he also concedes he now depends heavily on Wang for daily life. As China’s interest in cryonics grows, his story has become a flashpoint for larger questions about love after loss, the limits of technology, and what society owes to both the living and the preserved.