I’m confused about the Chinese practice of burning faux “money” in order to send it to the other world, to be enjoyed by the dead.
On one hand, most people here seem to use yellow squares of foil-embossed bamboo paper, called “paper money.” On the other hand, the famous “hell money” from Hong Kong and Singapore looks much more elaborate, like real banknotes:
For a long time I thought that Taiwan’s tradition was just different. But then I found a collector (yes, some people collect “hell money” in this life) who says that he has Taiwan examples.
So, what’s going on? Can anyone confirm that they have witnessed the banknote-style “hell money” being sold or burned in Taiwan? Are they used on different holidays, or perhaps for different purposes (e.g., one for ancestors, the other for ghosts)? And do the Taiwan notes also bear the English legend, “Bank of Hell”?
Thanks…and may you all be in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead!
I see all these different types of money being burned in the same ceremonies, along with fake gold ingots, pieces of paper with household items (combs, scissors, etc.) printed on them, etc.
I just wonder, with all the billion dollar bank notes being sent to ordinary people in the afterlife, there must be terribly hyperinflation in the underworld!
I heard that gold is for gods, silver for ancestors, and copper for ghosts. But all of these are the yellow squares–not the fancy “Bank of Hell” notes with the Jade Emperor’s picture on them. Those are for gods, you say?
Yes. Something like that. Big and gold for gods. I’ve never seen the fancier Bank of Hell notes used in Taiwan, just the yellow paper of different sizes with the different stamps. Just to check, I asked 3 different relatives and I got 3 shrugged shoulders and 3 different answers, which is about normal for these kinds of topics.
In Hong Kong the things offered up looked much more elaborate. In China they have no idea what they are doing. Kind of ironic isn’t it.