Chinese Paper Burning Culture and Traditional Festivals

I. Origins and Significance of Chinese Paper Burning Culture

Origins and Development

Paper burning, also known as burning "paper money," "ghost money," or "underworld currency," is one of the most distinctive customs in traditional Chinese sacrificial culture. This custom can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, when there were records of using paper to replace real objects in burials. With the development of papermaking technology and the spread of Buddhism and Daoism, the custom of burning paper gradually became popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties, reached its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and continues to this day.

Cultural Significance

The Chinese emphasis on paper burning is primarily based on the following deep-rooted cultural psychology:

1. Continuation of Life and Death Concepts: Traditional Chinese culture believes in "the immortality of the soul after death," considering that the deceased enter another world to continue their lives. Paper burning provides "expenses" for the deceased, ensuring they live without worries in the afterlife.
2. Embodiment of Filial Piety: Confucian "filial piety" culture emphasizes "being cautious in funerals and remembering ancestors." Paper burning has become an important way for children to express filial piety to deceased relatives, a concrete practice of the concept of "serving the living with propriety and the dead with grief."
3. Need for Emotional Attachment: When facing the death of loved ones, the paper burning ceremony becomes an emotional attachment for the living, helping people alleviate grief and achieve emotional communication with the deceased.
4. Influence of Ghost and Deity Beliefs: The concept of "respect ghosts and deities but keep them at a distance" in traditional Chinese beliefs prompts people to maintain a balanced relationship with ghosts and deities through ceremonies such as paper burning, expressing respect while seeking protection.
5. Adherence to Social Norms: In traditional society, paper burning has become an important part of funeral etiquette. Not burning paper might even be viewed as disrespectful to ancestors and could invite social pressure.

Evolution of Forms

The forms of paper burning have continuously evolved with the development of the times:

• Traditional Paper Money: The earliest paper money was mostly yellow paper cut into the shape of coins
• Gold and Silver Paper: Tin foil attached to paper, divided into gold paper (yellow) and silver paper (white)
• Netherworld Currency: Paper money in the style of real banknotes, with inscriptions like "Netherworld Bank"
• Paper Offerings: As customs developed, three-dimensional items appeared, such as paper houses, paper cars, paper furniture, paper appliances, and even modern items like paper mobile phones and paper iPads

II. Analysis of Important Sacrificial Festivals

Qingming Festival (Clear and Bright, around April 5th in the Gregorian calendar)

Qingming Festival is the most important ancestral worship festival in China. "Qingming" was originally one of the 24 solar terms and later became an important folk festival.

Historical Origins: The Qingming Festival originated from the ancient "Cold Food Festival" and later combined with ancestral worship customs. Legend has it that it was established to commemorate Jie Zitui of the Spring and Autumn Period, who followed Duke Wen of Jin into exile without seeking rewards. He was eventually burned to death under a cypress tree on Mount Mian. To commemorate him, Duke Wen ordered that fires be prohibited and cold food be eaten on the day of Qingming, and that people go up the mountain to pay tribute.

Main Customs:

• Tomb Sweeping: Sweeping ancestors' tombs, clearing weeds from gravesites, repainting tombstones
• Burning Paper Money: Burning paper money in front of tombs or at home to pay tribute to ancestors
• Willow Planting: Inserting willow branches in front of doors, symbolizing vitality
• Spring Outings: Taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather to go out and play
• Kite Flying: The custom of "cutting the kite string," symbolizing letting go of illness and misfortune

Cultural Significance: The Qingming Festival integrates multiple cultural connotations such as sacrificial culture, nature worship, and spring outings. It is both a cautious remembrance of ancestors and an expression of closeness to nature and love of life.

Shangyuan Festival (Upper Prime Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month)

The Shangyuan Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival, is the first full moon night after the Chinese New Year.

Historical Origins: The Shangyuan Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, when the emperor ordered "lighting lamps and fighting tigers" in the palace on the fifteenth night of the first month. By the Tang Dynasty, the celebration activities of the Lantern Festival were further enriched, forming the grand scene of "a forest of fire and silver flowers in a city that never sleeps." The name "Shangyuan" comes from Daoism, which refers to the fifteenth day of the first, seventh, and tenth months as "Shangyuan" (Upper Prime), "Zhongyuan" (Middle Prime), and "Xiayuan" (Lower Prime) respectively.

Main Customs:

• Appreciating Lanterns: Making and viewing various colorful lanterns
• Guessing Lantern Riddles: Hanging riddles on lanterns for people to guess
• Eating Yuanxiao: Consuming tangyuan or yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls), symbolizing reunion
• Dragon and Lion Dances: Performing folk arts to add to the festive atmosphere
• Worshipping Deities: In some regions, there are customs of worshipping the Heavenly Official of Shangyuan for blessings, including burning incense and paper

Cultural Significance: The Shangyuan Festival is the climax and finale of the Spring Festival series of celebrations, symbolizing a bright and beautiful start to the new year, and also carrying the meaning of praying for blessings from the Heavenly Official of Shangyuan.

Zhongyuan Festival (Middle Prime Festival, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month)

The Zhongyuan Festival, commonly known as the "Ghost Festival," is an important day for folk worship of ancestors' spirits and deliverance of wandering souls.

Historical Origins: The Zhongyuan Festival integrates the Buddhist Ullambana Festival and the Daoist Zhongyuan Sacrifice. According to Buddhist legend, Mulian prepared a hundred flavors and five fruits to offer to monks from all directions on the fifteenth day of the seventh month to deliver his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts. Daoism believes that the King Yama opens the gates of the underworld on this day, allowing ghosts to return to the mortal world to visit their relatives.

Main Customs:

• Universal Salvation Ceremony: Setting up altars with offerings to deliver masterless lonely souls
• Floating River Lanterns: Placing lit paper lanterns in rivers to guide the way for departed souls
• Burning Paper Money: Burning paper money for ancestors and masterless lonely souls for their use
• Ancestral Worship: Worshipping ancestors at home or in ancestral halls
• Burning Incense and Candles: Lighting incense and candles to add a solemn atmosphere

Cultural Significance: The Zhongyuan Festival embodies the traditional Chinese virtue of "being cautious in funerals and remembering ancestors," as well as reverence for life and care for the deceased. At the same time, through the ritual of universal salvation, it expresses the expectation of social harmony.

Xiayuan Festival (Lower Prime Festival, the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month)

The Xiayuan Festival is one of the three prime festivals in Daoism, also known as the time when the Water Official resolves calamities.

Historical Origins: Daoism believes that there are three Heavenly Officials who preside over human blessings, fortune, and longevity throughout the year: the Heavenly Official of Shangyuan bestows blessings on the fifteenth day of the first month, the Earth Official of Zhongyuan bestows fortune on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the Water Official of Xiayuan resolves calamities on the fifteenth day of the tenth month. The Xiayuan Festival worships the Water Official of Xiayuan, who is responsible for resolving disasters in the human world.

Main Customs:

• Worshipping the Water Official: Setting up altars at Daoist temples or homes to worship the Water Official of Xiayuan
• Lighting Lamps for Blessings: Lighting lamps to pray for disaster resolution
• Releasing Life: Releasing fish, shrimp, etc., to accumulate virtue and do good deeds
• Burning Paper Money: Burning paper for ancestors and deities, praying for protection
• Offering Winter Clothes: In northern regions, there is a custom of burning winter clothes for ancestors to use during the cold winter

Cultural Significance: The Xiayuan Festival embodies the concept of "respecting heaven and ancestors" in traditional Chinese culture, as well as respect for natural laws. At the same time, it is also a way for people to pray for safety during the coming winter.

III. Paper Burning Culture from a Modern Perspective

With the development of the times, paper burning culture faces new challenges and transformations:

1. Environmental Pressure: Traditional paper burning methods cause air pollution and fire hazards, raising environmental concerns
2. Modern Concepts: With the popularization of scientific knowledge, some people's mysterious beliefs in paper burning have diminished
3. Innovative Methods: New forms such as electronic sacrifices, environmentally friendly paper money, and centralized burning have emerged
4. Cultural Protection: As an intangible cultural heritage, the spiritual core of paper burning culture is worth preserving and passing down

Conclusion

The Chinese custom of burning paper, seemingly simple, actually carries rich cultural connotations and deep emotional attachments. As an important embodiment of the Chinese national concept of life and death and filial piety culture, it connects the living and the deceased, reality and faith, past and future. While preserving the essence of traditional culture, we should also find more environmentally friendly and rational ways to allow this cultural custom to coexist harmoniously with modern society, continuing to play its role in emotional comfort and cultural inheritance.