Joss paper | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 金紙 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 金纸 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | gold paper | ||||||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 陰司紙 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 阴司纸 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | netherworld paper | ||||||||||
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Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 紙錢 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 纸钱 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | paper money | ||||||||||
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Third alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 冥幣 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 冥币 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | shade/dark money | ||||||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | tiền vàng mã tiền âm phủ đồ mã | ||||||||||
Hán-Nôm | 錢鐄𦄀 錢陰府 圖𦄀 |
Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). Worship of deities in Chinese folk religion also uses a similar type of joss paper. Joss paper, as well as other papier-mâché items, are also burned or buried in various Asian funerals, "to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has sufficient means in the afterlife". In Taiwan alone, the annual revenue that temples received from burning joss paper was US$400 million (NT$13 billion) as of 2014.[1]