Paper money ban controversy resumes, experts: changing customs should not be "one size fits all"

Qingming is approaching, many people have prepared to sacrifice and sweep matters, and "whether the paper money of the dark money is a feudal superstitious product" has recently aroused heated discussions on the Internet. Today, "Guangzhou Metro can bring a small amount of incense paper into the station during the Qingming holiday" has sparked discussions among netizens.

On March 26, Nantong, Jiangsu Province issued the "Notice on Prohibiting the Manufacturing and Sale of Feudal Superstitious Funeral Supplies", requiring any unit or individual to prohibit the manufacture and sale of feudal superstitious funeral supplies such as paper money and paper solid objects in the city. The Nantong Civil Affairs Bureau later responded that the local government was promoting this matter from the perspective of spiritual civilization construction and environmental protection in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and prohibiting the manufacture and sale of feudal superstition and funeral supplies was not prohibiting the common people from using these items during the Qingming Festival.

How do the public and experts view this measure? What other measures can be taken to advocate a new funeral fashion? This reporter recently interviewed citizens and folklore experts on related topics.

Citizens: A one-size-fits-all policy is not advisable

"I think paper money and dark money are folk goods, and they are also the carriers of the emotional sustenance of the living to the deceased, after all, there is not much we can do. "Post-95" Ms. Liu is from the Pearl River Delta, and every year during the Qingming Festival, she and her family will return to the countryside to worship and sweep. Her father once said that burning paper was partly in the hope of seeing the wisp of green smoke, as if it had connected to the "signal" of communication with the deceased.

In Ms. Liu's view, there is no need to spend a lot of effort to ban folk goods, wasting manpower and material resources. "If these things are lost all of a sudden, do you still have to channel this lack and confusion?" she believes that it will take time to advocate a new style of green and civilized funeral. For example, in the past, most of the people who returned to their hometowns to pay respects burned paper money and dead coins in front of the graves of their ancestors, but now, with the advocacy of the government and the continuous improvement of people's awareness of fire safety, everyone will burn paper money and dead coins in a fixed place in the cemetery. Over time, people may be able to embrace the new fashion of ritual sweeping, and the government can guide it more, but it should not be "one size fits all".

Ms. Zhou, from Jiangsu, believes that sacrificial sweeping and feudal superstition are not the same thing, and there is no contradiction between traditional folk customs and green burials, and the implementation of the policy should be considered thoroughly. In her opinion, the reason why paper money exists is precisely because people have a demand. The scale of family worship is not large, and each family does not use much paper money, and if the "one-size-fits-all" ban on the manufacture and sale of paper money will also affect the livelihood of workers in the relevant industrial chain.

"Post-95" Ms. Su is a "North Drifter", although she can not return to her hometown every Qingming Festival to worship and sweep, but she still remembers the solemnity when she watched the elders in her family prepare sacrifices when she was a child. She said that for thousands of years, the Chinese have always mourned their ancestors through various forms of sacrificial sweeping activities, cautiously chasing after the distance, and stopping the sacrificial sweeping activities overnight, just like using a blocked way to control water, which is easy to arouse antagonistic mentality, and cannot really change customs.

Folklore expert: Folklore carries public emotions

Traditionally, the deceased also needed to use "money", i.e., "stygian currency". On social media, some netizens said that a tradition that has been circulating for thousands of years should not be defined as feudal superstition. What is the historical origin of the act of burning paper "dead money" for the deceased?

Some studies have pointed out that in ancient sacrificial ceremonies, jade silk and actual currency were used as sacrificial objects. In the tombs at the end of the primitive society in Qinghai and Liaoning, sea shells and mussels were unearthed. Since then, with the transformation of physical money, copper coins, money, silver coins, etc. have appeared in the underworld coins. Paper money has been unearthed in tombs in the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

Some studies believe that this move can not only reduce economic costs, but also not trigger the idea of robbing the tombs of the greedy people, and it also reflects the change of social concepts - people realize that there is a difference between yin and yang, and that things in the world may not be able to pass through the underworld.

In the view of folklorist Zeng Yingfeng, the tradition of using paper money to mourn the ancestors has a long history, passed down from generation to generation, and these objects contain the thoughts of the living. There are no harmful factors in the paper money, and there is no bad influence, so it should not be regarded as a feudal superstitious product.

Zeng Yingfeng noticed that when the Qingming Festival swept and burned incense, the citizens would try to control the fire in a small area as much as possible and deal with it as soon as possible. She believes that if fire safety is taken into account, a designated area can be designated in the cemetery for the public to use fire, and supervision can be strengthened in a more humane way. While promoting green burial, it is also necessary to take into account the needs of the public, so that the public has a place of sustenance for the emotions of their ancestors, and cannot manage the sacrificial behavior in a "one-size-fits-all" manner.

In the view of Pan Jianming, vice president of the Guangdong Folk Culture Research Association, the act of sacrificing ancestors contains the national sentiment of attaching importance to filial piety and pursuing the distance cautiously in traditional Chinese culture. Burning paper money during the sacrificial sweep is a kind of folk culture, not superstition, which is full of awe, respect and nostalgia for the ancestors. Folk customs can be passed down to this day, which must carry the public's emotions, the development of Qingming Festival so far, it reflects the public's respect for ancestors, life, and history.

Guangdong: Initiatives such as "exchanging paper money for flowers" advocate sacrifices and sweep away new winds

In addition to the voices opposing the "one-size-fits-all" policy, some netizens said that they could understand the original intention behind the policy to promote green burial. In recent years, in many places across the country, green and low-carbon sacrificial methods such as offering flowers and fruits have become popular.

Taking Guangdong as an example, in recent years, in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan and other places, some funeral service agencies have set up "paper money for flowers" service points, free of charge for citizens who are willing to give up paper money, incense and candles to replace flowers, and guide citizens to accept "smoke-free sacrifices". Some citizens said that flowers can also express their sorrows, and they are more environmentally friendly and do not pollute the environment. This year, Guangzhou Ming'en Garden and Xintang (Zhonghua) Cemetery will continue to open flower vending areas, and will try to exempt the service fee for smoke-free worship areas.

Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and the Provincial Forestry Bureau jointly held a video conference on the 2024 Qingming Festival in the province. The meeting proposed that it is necessary to adhere to the change of customs, widely publicize and guide, organize and carry out land-saving ecological burial activities such as sea burial of ashes and tree burials, and vigorously promote civilized and low-carbon sacrifice methods such as offering flowers, greening and tree planting, and collective sacrifices;

The reporter learned that from March 20th to 22nd, Shenzhen held the 49th sea burial event, and the relatives of the deceased prayed for their relatives and sent condolences with a flower, a letter and a thread. During the Qingming Festival this year, Guangzhou will continue to provide off-site memorial sweeping services, and the public can write letters and postcards for their loved ones online through the "letter and mail mourning" activities, and the city's operating cemeteries and key memorial sweeping places will hold collective memorial sweeping activities to replace the masses who cannot go to the scene to express their feelings of remembrance.

For the public who are still accustomed to the traditional way of worship, in order to facilitate the public's travel, Guangzhou Metro reminded on March 28 that the incense paper candles used for worship can be packed in small quantities and carried into the station.

Text | Reporter Gao Enthalpy