The tradition holds that burning joss paper and paper models transforms those material offerings by fire (and smoke) so that they become usable provisions—money, goods, or comforts—for deceased ancestors and other spirits in the afterlife; such offerings thereby ensure the deceased have sufficient means and help appease restless ghosts.
Burning joss paper (also called spirit money, ghost money, or hell money in some English-language accounts) is a central praxis of Chinese ancestral worship and related folk-religious contexts. Joss paper takes the form of sheets printed or crafted to represent currency or valuable articles; papier-mâché models of goods may be burned or buried alongside them. The ritual is performed in domestic ancestor rites, at funerals, on graves, and in temples that maintain communal fires for offerings. It commonly occurs together with other offerings—incense, food, and drink—and is understood within the tradition as a way for the living to provide for the dead, sustain reciprocal obligations, and propitiate potentially troublesome spirits. Sources describe the practice across mainland, Taiwanese, and overseas Chinese communities and note its institutional presence in temples (which often have a fire for offerings). While accounts consistently identify burning as the core transformative act that makes offerings available to the spirit realm and emphasize the ritual's role in provision and appeasement, the provided sources are descriptive and do not supply a fixed liturgy, uniform verbal formulas, or standardized step-by-step script. Variations exist by locality and context (funerary, graveside, temple-managed communal offering), and detailed ethnographic or liturgical manuals would be required to document localized verbal formulas or specialized priestly roles.
- 01Assemble offerings at the chosen ritual location (domestic altar, gravesite, funeral area, or temple offering fire) including joss paper, any papier-mâché models of desired goods, incense, and food/drink to be offered together (sources describe these categories being offered together).
- 02Light incense (joss sticks) and place them at the altar or offering area to accompany the paper offerings (sources note incense and joss sticks are burned together with joss paper and function as part of making the place sacred).
- 03Place the prepared joss paper and any papier-mâché models into the available burn area or fire (temple fires, graveside fires, funeral fires, or a safe domestic burning container) — sources state that joss paper copies of money have historically been burned at funerals and graves and that temples normally have a fire into which worshippers throw such money.
- 04Burn the joss paper and paper models completely so that they are consumed by the fire; the act of burning is described in sources as the central action that transforms material offerings into provisions for the deceased.
- 05Conclude the offering by leaving or placing food/drink at the altar or gravesite as companion offerings, according to local or familial practice (sources note food and drink are commonly offered alongside spirit money).
- ⚠No formal contraindications are specified in the provided sources; detailed warnings, taboos, or prohibitions are not documented in the supplied material (absence noted as an explicit limitation).
Community Record
- [1]Joss paper (Wikipedia). "Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship."wiki
- [2]Chinese folk religion notes (Dr. Rollinson). "the worshipper may offer incense, food, and, spirit money."other
- [3]Hell Money (Paul Slade / Planetslade). "Joss paper copies of this money have been burned at funerals and graves for almost as long" (discussion of 'hell money' terminology).folk
- [4]Religious Space and Place in Modern China (Arbutus Journal excerpt). "A key ritualistic element which makes a place sacred is the lighting and burning of incense, joss sticks and joss paper..."academic
- [5]Chinese funeral customs / ancestral worship (Hollywood Forever resources). Discusses burning joss paper as central to funerary and ancestral offerings (incense, food, spirit money together).other
- [6]CIA reading room: The Overseas Chinese in Burma (section on community practices). Places joss-paper practices within overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.other
- [7]Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia (Wikipedia). Notes presence of similar joss-paper practices among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia and mentions Lên đồng parallels.wiki
- [8]Facts and Details: Rituals, religious practices and mountain worship in China. Notes temples of ancestor worship normally have a fire into which worshippers throw money made of paper.other