Having Money To Burn

By Patricia Simone

People in almost every culture annually take time out to remember their departed. The Chinese are no exception since they believe filial piety is the basic virtue from which all the other virtues spring. A person who manifests filial piety is thought to be obedient to the parents and thus to the emperor and/or to the president of the country. As an outward symbol of this piety, residences no matter how small, always have space to set up an altar as a tribute to their parents of the residents. Framed pictures, candles, incense and bowls of fruit will traditionally dominate as a focal point for praying.

The Ching Ming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Festival in Taiwan, is a traditional festival and a national holiday (as it coincides with the date of death of the famed President Chiang Kai-shek) and is usually celebrated on April 5, although the dates may vary from district to district and even within family heritage. It is a time for families to gather from afar, to visit the grave sites of their ancestors, to pay their respects, clean graves, place fresh flowers and touch up the epitaphs with fresh paint. Offerings of golden or multicoloured slips of sacrificial paper money are dutifully laid on the tops of the graves with small stones serving as weights to prevent the paper from being carried away by the wind. Paper money is also burned in the belief that the smoke will carry the essence of the money to the ancestors in the spirit world. Lighting firecrackers and peeling a duck egg and placing it on the tombstone will express the meaning of renewal to all. A quantity of meats, vegetables, wine and often complete dinners are arranged on a tray and placed in front of the tomb, where the spirits can consume the essence of the food. These sacrifices are offered to the Earth God, who is charged with protecting the graves. The food offerings are then consumed by family members, (minus the essence), for good luck and reverence. Specially made "grave cakes" are the sweets shared at the end of the meal. Cemeteries are often so crowded with respectful family members, in this densely populated land, that they often look like crowded market places. Usually fire crews will be on hand at the larger hillside cemeteries in case flames from the burning paper/ghost money accidentally spread to other areas.

Taiwan's oldest district, Junan, is especially noted for its ancient temples. These temples, like many in Taiwan, provide employment in the industries manufacturing the paraphernalia for worship. Some shops specialize in religious statuary, while others sell incense and candles. Another age-old industry is the production of "spirit money" for the use of the deceased and for the deities.

The ghosts of the deceased, according to traditional Chinese wisdom, require money in the world beyond. However, since "you can't take it with you", everyone arrives in the afterlife absolutely broke. The living must "send" great wads of spirit money to their ancestors in the underworld. This is accomplished by burning it in a prescribed way. If the departed live well on the other side, it is believed they will bestow blessings on the living. Sometimes likenesses of servants, cars, residences and other symbols of good fortune are burned as well.

Looking After the Less Fortunate

If the deceased do not regularly receive offerings of spirit money, they may be reduced to strained circumstances and turn to malevolent ghosts. During Ghost Month, which is the seventh lunar month in the Chinese calendar, most shops and homes will make offerings of spirit money by burning it in pots or fireplaces outside the front door of the residence. Offerings of incense, food and wine are also made. This is done to appease the spirits of the underworld, who are allowed, during this month, to wander our world. Sometimes, the spirit money is printed with simple pictures of clothes, toiletry articles and other items that the dead are thought to require.

Buy A Blessing

Huge quantities of spirit money are also offered to the gods, often to thank them for some favour, such as winning a lottery, or to honour a good fortune to a family member or to celebrate a success at the workplace. Giant effigies of the temple gods may be paraded around the grounds of a particular temple, in ceremonies marking special historically significant or anniversary dates. Temple officials then will throw great handfuls of spirit money into the air; the paper notes seem to dance around the divine images like ticker tape in the old Macy's Day Parades in New York City! More spirit money is burnt in huge piles as further offerings to the gods. Worshippers believe that they and their gods are one in "community" and that the wealth they offer to the gods will strengthen their community and thus bring prosperity to everyone.

When driving along the dangerous mountain highways, one can't help but notice, what appears as much litter strewn about. People may throw large bundles of paper money out their car windows as they drive and at look out points in thanks to the gods for their safe journey over such treacherous terrain.

The bills burnt to the gods tend to be larger and more elaborate than those offered to ancestors. Actually, in Taiwan, there are about 400 kinds of spirit money, all with different symbolic uses. One of the most basic distinctions is between the gold and silver spirit monies. The gold is offered to the gods, while the silver is usually reserved for the spirits of the deceased. Red is also a favourite and "lucky" colour used on types of spirit money.

Is This Really Necessary?

Foreigners and tourists to Taiwan often comment that the burning of spirit money increases the already very polluted air and contributes to the pollution on the island's surface. Some find it hard to understand why this ancient custom is still practiced in the modern cities and with the younger, less traditional generations. Environmentalists actually seek out paper without chemical additives trying to ease the pollution crisis. The custom, however, dates as far back as AD105 when paper was invented. At the time, bamboo strips were used both as the writing materials and as the currency, so the inventor of paper in China struggled to have his product accepted by the masses. In the later years of his life, when his health had deteriorated terribly, his wife burned some of his invention as an offering to the gods to spare his life. Legend says that the offering worked, for his life was spared and his health returned! Those who later saw him and heard of the tale, naturally wanted to avoid an untimely death themselves and so the custom was born! The inventor had found a market for his product. Later, an important emperor of that Dynasty publicly confirmed the validity of the custom, based on a dream that he had! The burning of spirit money has been an indispensable part of Chinese ancestor worship ever since!

Production Techniques

Like many other industries, the old traditional factories who produced the spirit money by hand, have coped with changing conditions by buying paper in bulk from cheaper sources (often from the mainland of China) and printing it up by machine. The population rates in Asia have exploded, dramatically increasing the demand for spirit money as well. The time-consuming, tedious hand creations simply had to give way to the improved manufacturing methods of modern society.

Although some traditions are altered to meet the safety standards expected of our Canadian funeral homes, these values and reverences are expected and usually upheld in the persons of Chinese or Asian origin, whether they are Hakka or Fujian, Buddhist, Tao or Catholic.

Many thanks for the permission to provide this article from:

Patricia A. Simone, Cardinal Funeral Home Copyright 2000.

Three years ago, Pat spent six weeks in Taiwan as a Scholarship Recipient to the Professional Exchange Program sponsored by the Rotary Club International. She studied the funeral service practices of that country and had the fortunate experience of accompanying a friend's family to their Tomb-Sweeping experiences and festivities.