Many Jingshans

In places where such "trans-generation exploitation" is common, waves of senior suicides have begun to emerge. Liu calls this phenomenon "pathological."

"Since 2000, the suicide rate in rural areas has grown steadily. It's not too much to describe it as 'extremely serious,'" Liu said.

Liu believes that this pathological suicide wave is driven by the collective anxiety of the younger generation, which is itself the result of the country's wide income gap.

"My burdens are too large already, how can I think of my parents?" some young villagers told Liu bluntly.

Liu and his team's research took place against the backdrop of a rapidly aging Chinese population. Dou Yupei, vice minister of China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, revealed at a press conference at the beginning of this year that by 2013, China had more than 200 million people above the age of 60, accounting for 14.9 percent of the population. This ratio far exceeds the United Nations' 10 percent standard for defining an aging society. The China National Committee on Aging predicted that the country will move through an "aging peak" during the next two decades.

According to Liu Yanwu, 60 percent of those committing suicide were over 70. "As the aging situation becomes more intense, what happened in Jingshan county will become commonplace elsewhere."

Tackling the problem

Liu believes that there are three problems driving the wave of suicides — harsh living conditions, illness and emotions. "So if we want to reduce the suicide rate, we have to tackle all three problems."

He suggested that a new sense of collectivism could be established to help provide emotional and medical care for elderly people in rural areas.

To this end, He Xuefeng has established four associations for the elderly in Hubei Province. Chairmen and boards are selected by the seniors themselves, and help direct the association in caring for members as they age. The suicide rate in these places has dropped.

Liu hopes to increase awareness around the issue of elderly suicide. "The seniors should die in a dignified way rather than using abnormal means. We will all become old."

"Those who committed suicide didn't want to die, actually." Liu said, recalling a case he researched in the winter of 2011.

"He was a disabled man. His children wanted him to die before the Spring Festival, but the old man was very stubborn. He cursed everyone although he was still lying on the bed. But eventually, two days after the start of the holiday, he died."