The war on strippers at funerals has been a long one for China. Authorities first began clamping down on ‘‘obscene’’ performances in 2006 and launched a second campaign in 2015.

The latest is focused on 19 cities across four provinces, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hebei, a statement on the website of the Ministry of Culture said.

Some communities in rural China reportedly believe that bigger attendances at funerals help to honour the dead and bring them good fortune.

The media has blamed it on increasing materialism as the country opens up to the West, while experts say the shows pay tribute to fertility.

‘‘According to the interpretation of cultural anthropology, the fete is originated from the worship of reproduction,’’ media professor Kuang Haiyan said, according to the Global Times.