Many foreign observers did not have a good understanding of the outpouring of grief that followed NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, or the cultural and hence political necessity of allowing that outburst to happen or the government's subsequent restoration of order. In such cases, there are no well-prescribed rituals. Instead, they must be handled with both caution and sensitivity.

It is in such contexts that we might consider the ongoing grief associated with the likely tragic fate of Malaysian Air Flight MH370, which vanished on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people, including a diverse group of 154 Chinese people of different ages, genders, professions and hometowns. It might well be the case that we are drawing closer to unraveling the mysteries of MH370's disappearance. Perhaps one of the consolations of today's modern age is that mysteries like this are quite rare; but more to the point they are short-lived. To be sure, the case has been hindered unnecessarily. The Malaysian handling of the crisis has not been beyond reproach; how it has shared information and how it has been viewed by some as gaming the situation for domestic political interests has likely contributed to the distress of those anxious for information and resolution. Valuable time has been squandered, and now searchers fear that the signaling devices on the plane's black boxes will exhaust their batteries before they are located.

Nevertheless, we are probably already past initial hindrances, indeed, we have also already peeled back many of the secrets that were protected by a patchwork of military radars and satellite surveillance from countries with competing territorial claims. Now that the search has moved into the open waters, new challenges have emerged, but so have new opportunities to bring unhampered determination and technology to bear. Ultimately, we will uncover a preponderance of evidence to determine the plane's fate. To be sure, it is unlikely that all questions will be answered to everyone's satisfaction, but many will be answered in time. It bears recalling that it took more than seven decades to find the Titanic; with today's technology it will take considerably less time to get to the bottom of MH370, even if it means getting to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. However, at present, none of this will do much to mitigate the pain and suffering of the friends and families of those who have likely perished. At this stage, such wounds are so fresh that they are still being inflicted. No doubt some feel as though they are only midway through a thousand cuts.

No doubt many reflected on the plane's fate during the recent China observations of the Qingming Festival—Tomb Sweeping Day—on April 5. All around China people took time to remember and honor their dead relations, as has been the custom since the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history (770-476 B.C.). It was a common sight to see many families solemnly burning offerings, even on the sidewalks in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, with even the faintest of springtime breezes scattering fine ashes. But such rituals and others, however transformed by modernity and diversity have been forestalled at present, as have any proper grieving. Instead, we have been left with the terror of uncertainty. Indeed, in the Chinese tradition, the first step that must precede any proper response to a death is that it must be ascertained that a death has in fact occurred, and further, the circumstances of that death, in general terms at least, must be determined. All of this is yet to come; but understanding such matters and related concerns can help explain some of the initial displays of anguish and grief that have been transmitted by international media.

The author is an associate professor of politics at East China Normal University; research fellow with the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Fudan University; and assistant editor of U.S.-based Journal of Chinese Political Science