Money for the Dead and the Pollution that it Brings

Joss Paper being burned

Normally when people think of Asian traditions, what comes to mind might be taking off your shoes when coming inside someones house, bowing, and respecting the elderly. This tradition involves the supernatural and is harmful to people, even though they might not realize it.

A block of Joss Paper that costs about a dollar... but worth a lot more in the afterlife. 

What is Joss paper?

Originally Joss paper was made from bamboo paper or rice paper. Nowadays that really isn't the case. It is made of regular paper and also has gold squares on it that represent wealth and the back of the paper is white representing mourning for love ones.

The burning of Joss paper, or ghost paper, comes from religious beliefs derived primarily from Toaism but also it comes from local traditions. It is believed to be a currency that is used in the afterlife that is transferred from this world to the next by burning it.  People also believe that when you die and if you have any debt remaining you still need to pay off that debt in the afterlife.  Burning the paper will allow their relatives to pay off their debt. It doesn't only allow the dead to pay off debt, but people also think that the spirits in the afterlife need currency to get what they need in the afterlife.  You can also can burn cardboard objects the dead might need in the afterlife like fake iPhones or rice cookers. 

The Jade Emperor

People not only burn Joss paper for dead relatives but they also burn it for the Taoist God called the Jade Emperor (the God of money). If you burn ghost paper specifically for him the belief is he will help you out and in turn you will become wealthier.

Furnaces that are sold everywhere

This paper is also burned in a specific way. Is not just thrown into the furnace. It is delicately placed onto the fire one by one. There's also specific ways you can fold the paper before burning it.

People burning Joss paper in front of our work.

Traditionally the paper is burned by a regular person every 15 days according to the lunar calendar. But people will also will burn it on holidays like Tomb Sweeping Day which we just had little while ago here in Taiwan, or at funerals. 

Behind the local Kindergarten

Below our apartment

Recently I read an article in the English newspaper Taipei Times about the air quality in Taiwan. When the wind is not blowing the air quality becomes almost dangerous here in my area in Taoyuan city or Taipei. I was surprised to hear that they give people the option to send Joss money to special incinerators that produce less emissions than burning traditionally at a temple or outside their homes. 

I hope one day that people might have these incinerators close by their homes so they can burn it in a nondestructive way. There are people outside of our apartment that burn the Joss paper and smoke goes into our apartment. Also by our school there's a kindergarten and the temple right next door that always seems to have paper burning and the kindergarten is overtaken by smoke from burning this currency. Researching online I've learned that some ghost paper uses mercury and lead in the ink. So, it's far from healthy to be breathing in these toxins.

Normally, I love to learn about and respect local traditions in every culture I come across, but when it's harmful to the general population I think people need to rethink the way they do things. If that takes new technology that will burn this paper with less emissions I think it should be looked into as soon as possible. But for now people will have to be on the lookout for clean air in Taiwan, because on most days it's very hard to find.