Is burning paper a tradition in China?

Burning paper is not only a tradition in China, but also a tradition in East Asia when offering sacrifices to ghosts and ancestors.

When burning paper, paper is called paper money, also called paper money, Qian Qian, money, money, paper, gold and silver paper. Most paper money must be burned with fire.

Of course, there are also paper money that does not burn, such as tomb paper. The ancient tomb sacrifice was cut into long shares with colored paper, and hung on the tomb called hanging money, which inherited the ancient custom. Modern tomb paper does not need to be burned. When sweeping the grave, crushed stones and clods are pressed on the grave, representing the meaning of the main cemetery and repairing the grave.

When the deceased is mourning and moving coffins, some family members will also sprinkle paper money on roads and rivers for ghosts and gods on roads and rivers, so as not to make things difficult for the deceased. This is the so-called "buying money for roads". In the early days, every time I went to a dangerous and accident-prone place, I would throw paper money along the road, in order to protect the mountains and rivers, avoid their pranks, and even capture my body. Some people put paper money in coffins and bury it with them.

Regarding the origin of burning paper and paper money, there are the following statements for your reference.

one

Paper money originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Southern Qi Dynasty, filial piety was abolished, and paper-cutting was used as funeral money. History:

"Nanqi abandoned the emperor's spirit and often cut paper for money instead of silk, but there was paper money."

According to another record, on the day of Zhou Shizong's funeral after the Five Dynasties, Bai Sidao made gold, silver and Qian Bao with paper and lettering, which was the beginning of the shape of gold and silver paper.

two

There is a folk saying that burning paper originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is related to Cai Lun, an improver of papermaking.

Cai Lun has an apprentice named You Xiucai. He looked at the unsalable paper made by the teacher and came up with a way to promote "paper":

He pretended to be seriously ill and died, but his wife told all the neighbors that if the paper was cut into "copper coins" and burned, the dead could be brought back to life by bribing the gods. Neighbors don't believe it. Later, especially his wife burned down and immediately came back to life.

After you Xiucai used his method, "paper" immediately became a best seller and the source of burning paper. But this statement is ridiculous, and many people disagree.

three

The paper money burning device originated from the custom of ancestor worship in primitive times in China.

The primitive custom of ancestor worship is to mourn the dead of ancestors and pray for ancestors to bless their families. Traditionally, there is a concept of' death is like life'. When people die, they should be served as before, so they have the practice of giving them money to enjoy. It was buried with real money at first. Later, due to grave robbery, he was buried with fake money made of pottery or other materials, and finally changed to burning paper money.

Since gods are often made by mortals, the custom of burning paper for gods evolved from burning paper for ancestors, which means burning paper for ancestors to enjoy.

four

There is a saying that the custom of burning paper money originated from the religious ceremony of burning paper symbols in Taoism, especially that burning paper money, like burning paper symbols, has the sacred function of passing it on to ancestors or ghosts.

Fu You first existed when Daoling in Zhang Tianshi in the Eastern Han Dynasty founded Zhengyi Road, but by the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the development of Fu You was very prosperous, and burning paper money began to become a part of funeral. By the Tang Dynasty, it was quite common to burn paper money, not only for the families of the deceased, but also for ghosts and gods.