Just wondering, what is the purpose of this ritual? Do people honestly think that the dead won’t have enough money to support themselves in the afterlife? If they think that, why not burn real money? Or fake notes are accepted in the other world? Honest questions, I’m not trying to be snarky/facetious.
The afterlife in Taiwanese folk religion isn’t a heaven with people floating on clouds with the angels or what have you. It’s more analogous to the real world, with one having to make their way as best as possible among a bureaucratic array of deities and all manner of other spirits. Any help helps.
For most people it’s simply a ritual, obviously.
Our family burns ghost money as it is called, I married into it. The money goes to ancestors or gods.
The world of the afterlife is much like this world. You are not limited to money. People also burn little effigies of houses, boats, Iphones and everything else under the sun.
I love corny HongKong Movies where they tackle topics like vampires, ghosts and the afterlife.
I recall the ending of one movie where a man’s friend came back to this world for a visit and actually thanked the man for his new Yacht. And there the dead friend materializes on to his boat and drives away leaving the man with a please but surprised look on his face.
It’s not just any old paper cut up in banknote size. The question is, how do you tell a genuine Bank of Hell note from a counterfeit one? 
Actual “paper money” is a relatively new invention. At most it can be traced back to the Song dynasty. Before the concept of real “paper money”, paper was and still is used to indicate a burial is being maintained. People would decorate the burial with colored paper anchored with small rocks. People still do it today.
Later, paper was cut into the shape of coins to be buried with the deceased, so that the living can keep the actual money. They also cut paper into the shape of people at one point to replace actual human sacrifice. People also buried wine and food, hoping the deceased can continue to enjoy what they’ve enjoyed in life.
The burning portion of it likely came about when there was more contact with Central Asia, especially Persia and India. Burning things might have to do with Zoroastrianism, or Hinduism, where the fire god Agni could transport things across worlds by burning them.
Today you can buy paper iPhones and paper BMWs and offer them to the deceased. It’s just a ritual more than anything to most people.
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How are the BMWs , and iPhones powered? Maybe we should go into the business of selling paper batteries and paper gas cans. Unless these devices run on celestial power. Is there a cell network? I mean, when I’m not on line, my phone is just a brick.
Don’t know. Too bad they don’t make paper Note 7 because those things send themselves to the loved ones.
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Long story short, it is a common belief that the afterlife is a different continuum, and there’s life there as well. Consequently money, vehicles, houses etc. are all needed. That’s the basis of the construction of terra cotta in China and also how you see people burning paper cars and paper houses and shit sometimes. It’s quite an interesting spiritual practice, unfortunately it makes the air pollution even worse.
So people can’t tell the difference between real and fake money in the afterlife? If they can, shouldn’t we be burning real money? I understand this is a ritual and people who practice these rituals may be doing it just out of obligation. But, then, why even bother?
I think the idea is that the paper money (usually yellow with some red symbols and stufff on them) is the currency underground.
I wonder the same too. Why do people go to church? What’s the point of spending a shit ton of money on building churches? Can’t people see that God and Jesus are obviously made up? Why even bother?
These are the big questions of our time
For me it’s not.
Exactly, that’s why! Why bother with paper then?
It’s like bringing a plastic Christmas tree home.
How do we know what bills are legal tender in the afterlife and what are not? We could be offering them money which they can’t even use this entire time. The absurdity is endless.
Well if the underworld bureaucrats decide to stop accepting Bank of Hell notes, surely someone 
will inform the representative offices, right? 
(That’s the only issuing authority I’m aware of, but I’m no expert on underworld banking.)
Once upon at time, a long, long time ago, lived a happy farmer. He grew rice enough to feed his family, with a surplus that he could sell, and had a vegetable patch, a pig pen, chicken coup, and other accoutrements of a rural patriarch.
Then came a warlord to offer the farmer protection. “I will give you silver, and gold, in return for the surplus you produce”, the honourable, and powerful military commander said.
The humble farmer had no choice but to bow to the bully’s offer.
At harvest time, the Lord-General’s troops came to carry the surplus away.
“The Lord has granted thee three taels of silver per jin, but in order to protect you from bandits, we give you 1/10 in silver, and the rest as a paper script. We will protect the remaining 90% in our secure vault in the castle.”
The paper script constituted a promissory note representing the silver and gold promised in exchange for the rice.
It made good sense to the farmer.
After a time, both the farmer and the Lord-General passed away.
A new temple was built in honour of the Lord-General, and a likeness of him was carved into a statue, and placed upon the altar for people to pay homage to.
The farmer’s son took some paper scrips to the Lord-General’s son to claim some silver to pay for his father’s funeral.
The new Lord-General, who had inherited the debts to the farmer was happy to pay for the farmer’s funeral, and insisted the farmer’s son burn the rest of the promissory notes.
“By burning these pieces of paper, the promises made by my father to your father will be honoured in the afterlife”, the new Lord-General said.
“And I will look after you in this life.” the new Lord-General continued.
“Keep growing rice, and I will keep giving you paper promises, and when you die, your children will have paper to burn for you.”
In the meantime, we will keep your silver and gold safe in our vault for future generations.
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Maybe in the afterlife they have figured out a method for wireless power that can be used everywhere ones goes.
Aren’t Catholics and Muslims just as absurd, if not more? With all the religious wars and genocide and stuff? Taoism is extremely tame in comparison, apart from the contribution to air pollution.
These are big questions Gain, very very big questions. We used to sit around the campfire as kids musing over the absurdities of religion and war.
I still haven’t got the answers.
My gut tells me they’re all equally as absurd