You must know the methods and taboos of burning paper to worship your ancestors!
At the core of Chinese heritage, ancestral worship remains an enduring bond linking past and present. During festivals like Qingming and Zhongyuan, wisps of smoke rising from burning ritual papers carry swirling emotions of endless affection for our forebears. Beyond such seemingly simple rites lies generations of accumulated wisdom and rituals passed down through the ages.
The youth today might find such meticulous customs overly complicated, yet every observed detail embodies profound reverence for ancestors—a living embodiment of filial piety and loyalty that defines Chinese culture.
1. The Protection of Ancestors
Filial piety stands as a cornerstone of traditional Chinese virtue. While our parents and elders are alive, we must fulfill our filial duties wholeheartedly to live without regrets. Yet how do we honor this devotion after their passing? Through ancestral worship: visiting graves, burning spirit money, and offering rituals.
These practices serve not only to cherish memories of departed loved ones but also to seek blessings from our ancestors—much like the principles of yin abode feng shui, where favorable grave placement safeguards the prosperity and fortune of descendants.
From a Daoist perspective, each human life functions as a temporary vessel for the soul within the cosmic cycle of existence. Though the physical form perishes, the animating soul endures—eternally preserved in what Daoism calls the "imperishable hun."
After death, the soul enters a state of anticipation for reincarnation. This liminal period may span decades or even centuries. Until reincarnation occurs, souls remain in spectral form—caught in anguished suspension.
Some linger in their former homes, witnessing their family's daily lives. Others drift restlessly as wandering wraiths, enduring desolate existences. Here, ancestral salvation rites become crucial: through ceremonial intercession, deities empower these souls to transcend their ghostly state toward luminous rebirth.
During this transitional period, ancestral spirits yearn for sustenance and spirit money from the living, mirroring mortal needs. Even after reincarnation, the core hun remains immutable—continuing to receive offerings and incense from descendants. This reciprocity manifests most profoundly as the continuity of ancestral veneration—its foundation resting upon revitalizing the fortune of those performing the rituals.
Thus, conducting ancestral rites (especially burning spirit money) remains essential. For those experiencing adversity, ancestral worship offers one viable path to transform their destiny.
2. The correct way to burn paper for sacrifice
1. Choose the right time
Traditional festivals are the golden time for offering sacrifices: Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival (the 15th day of the seventh lunar month), Hanyi Festival (the first day of the tenth lunar month), and New Year's Eve are all important days for offering sacrifices to ancestors. On these special days, the passage between the Yin and Yang worlds is believed to be more unobstructed. If it happens to be a light rainy day, it is even better, representing that relatives are coming on the road.
The death anniversary or birthday of the ancestors is also a suitable time to express longing. However, burning paper on ordinary days requires caution, and frequent offering sacrifices may be considered unlucky.
If offering sacrifices at the cemetery, it can be done during the day and at night.
If it is not convenient to offer sacrifices to distant relatives at the cemetery, it must be burned after dark at night, and the burning location should be chosen at a crossroads, because the Yang energy will be relatively heavier during the day, which is not conducive to the communication between Yin and Yang.
2. Carefully prepare offerings and paper money
The sacrificial items can include petitions, gold ingots, yellow paper, incense, liquor, cigarettes, houses, clothes, coins for the afterlife, etc. There is no fixed number, and the amount depends on your own wishes.
The choice of paper money is very particular: traditional yellow straw paper should be used, and fancy color prints should be avoided. The ghost money with a face value of billions is actually "worthless" in the underworld, and is not as practical as yellow straw paper.
A traditional method is: take a stack of yellow straw paper (about 30 sheets), and then use a real 100-yuan bill to align it on the paper and press it, just like stamping a seal, covering the entire paper from right to left and from top to bottom. Such paper money is "hard currency" in the underworld. Then separate the stack of yellow straw paper and fold it into groups of three (the number three is often used as a number for sacrifice in Chinese history), and you can get a group of prepared paper money. The separated paper money is easier to burn during the sacrifice.
The offerings can be paired with the ancestors' favorite food, wine, fruits, etc. to express care and respect for the ancestors.
3. Choose a suitable incineration site
The cemetery is the most ideal place. Offering sacrifices directly at the place where the ancestors rest is the easiest way to convey your thoughts.
If you cannot go to the cemetery in person, you can choose to burn and offer sacrifices remotely at a crossroads, or ask a professional to offer sacrifices remotely on your behalf. Crossroads are connected in all directions and symbolize the intersection of the yin and yang worlds. However, you should avoid roads with heavy traffic and excessive yang energy, and it is not advisable to burn paper under telephone poles.
4. Standardize the incineration process
Before burning, you need to draw a circle on the ground with a wooden stick, and burn the paper money in the circle. Leave a gap when drawing the circle.
At the same time, be careful not to stand in the circle to burn the money, and do not step on the ashes of the offerings in the circle. Stepping on the ashes can easily bring bad luck, and standing in the circle to burn will also have a negative impact on your own luck.
After drawing the circle, you can start burning the paper. Before burning the paper, you need to take out three pieces of yellow paper and burn them outside the circle in advance.
The first one is burned to the God of Land. When burning, silently say: Thank you, God of Land, for lending your precious land.
The second one is burned to the ghost messenger who helps deliver things.
The third one is burned to the lonely ghosts who have no relatives to prevent them from robbing the ancestors' money.
After burning three pieces of yellow paper, start burning paper money for the ancestors in the circle. During the burning process, you must indicate who you are, who the offering is for, and where the ancestor lived before. For example: I am XXX, and I come to worship my grandfather today. My grandfather is called xxx, and he lived in xxxxxx before he died. Only after indicating your identity can you continue to talk about your thoughts and recent situation for the ancestors.
If you are afraid that your relatives will not receive it, you can write a petition. There are different types of petitions. A petition that can simply write the address of the cemetery and the name of the relatives is also acceptable. The petition is equivalent to the same function as an envelope. For example:
Spending money to ancestors
I bow down to the True Lord of the Underworld, the King of the Five Palaces, and the King of the Ten Palaces, and sincerely ask the local land god, the mountain god, the five generals, and the guardian gods to escort and transfer the deceased ancestor XXX of Fengdu Underworld to receive the gold ingots ×××, the underworld money ×××, and clothes of the underworld. All checkpoints, outposts, temples, villages, and all powerful gods and evil ghosts along the way shall not arbitrarily rob, plunder, detain, and release them all without any mistakes. This is a witness.
After sending the money, the xx family will be safe, prosperous, and healthy
Sender: XXXX
Deceased ancestor’s address: XXX
Xxxx year, lunar calendar, X month, X day
If you want to burn for two or more ancestors at the same time, you must divide the money into several parts. Draw several circles for each family and burn them by family. Do not burn them together. If you want to burn for both your grandfather and your maternal grandfather at the same time, it is best to burn the same content and quantity to avoid the ancestors complaining about the uneven distribution.
After lighting, use a small wooden stick to gently move the paper pile to allow air circulation to help the combustion, but do not stir it hard to avoid "breaking" the paper money. You must ensure that the paper money is completely burned before leaving. Unburned paper money is considered broken and invalid.
3. Taboos and considerations for burning paper during sacrifices
1. Taboos on behavior
When burning paper, you need to be solemn and dignified. You must not laugh, play, or make loud noises. This is the basic respect for the ancestors.
Clothing should be simple and dignified. Avoid wearing bright clothes. Wear plain colors. Do not wear red clothes.
2. Taboos for special groups
Pregnant women, children, and the weak should try to avoid participating in paper burning activities. Traditionally, it is believed that these people have weak yang energy and are easily affected by yin energy.
Women who are menstruating or unwell are not recommended to participate in the paper burning ceremony.
3. Taboos during the burning process
Do not blow out the flames with your mouth, which is considered disrespectful to the ancestors.
After burning paper, do not look back on the way back. People believe that looking back may cause "ghosts to follow people back home." Do not go home directly. Go to crowded stores and other places to wash away the yin energy before going back. When going home directly, pat your shoulders at the door, just like shaking off the dust on your body, and then go into the house. Wash your hands before entering the house.
If you encounter someone burning paper on your way home, take a detour if possible, or hide if possible. If you can't avoid it, don't look around, talk or point. You must never step on the ashes of paper. If you accidentally step on the ashes of others' burned paper, you should apologize quietly.
For the ancestors who have just passed away, you need to burn more for them in the first few years to help them establish their own livelihood in the underworld, just like people in the world who just entered society.
The sacrificial ceremony is not only the continuation of traditional culture, but also the protection of family memory. When we silently recite the names of our ancestors in the firelight, we are also passing on the warmth of our blood, letting future generations know where we came from and where we will go.
