The Underworld Coin is a kind of sacrificial item. Some people say that it is spent on the deceased in the underworld. Some people say that it is used to bribe the King of Hell and other lonely ghosts to ensure that the deceased walks peacefully on the road to the underworld. Of course, in my opinion, these are all feudal superstitions. I don’t believe in ghosts, but I will still burn them for the elderly at home during the Qingming Festival, because it is a ritual that expresses the memory of the living for the dead. The most important thing is sincerity. You can see on TV that some people use the heads of the deceased’s enemies to pay homage to him, and some people use letters from the deceased’s lover to pay homage to him. . . In short, some things have been completed that the deceased had not completed during his lifetime, but most people do not have so many grudges and hatreds. All they hope for is to have more money and a big house. Such wishes have no end. , how much money is considered rich, so just burn more appropriately. . . So it doesn’t matter if you draw a ghost coin yourself and think it can better express your thoughts about the deceased. After all, this thing is actually for you to see.
As for who regulates the underworld coins, there is a Han folk legend that says that Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty invented papermaking. His younger brother wanted to learn it, but he couldn't learn it. The paper produced was yellow and rough and could not be sold. Later, Cai Lun's sister-in-law saw the neighbors using pottery money and five-plant money to worship the dead, and she remembered that the yellow paper could be used as a sacrificial vessel. After her hard promotion efforts, it really spread among the Pinghan people. From then on, the yellow paper was used to replace road money, and there was also a special name of "yellow mounted paper", gradually forming paper money. Since then, Mingcoin has completed the transformation process from physical form to virtual form. However, it was the Tang Dynasty that Ming coins appeared in the form of paper money during sacrifices and entered the elegant hall. "Old Tang Book·Biography of Wang Yu" records that Wang Yu practiced rituals when he was young and was especially good at worshiping in ancestral temples. Both Xuanzong and Suzong of the Tang Dynasty were fond of gods and immortals, and they built temples to offer sacrifices. Wang Yu was invited to the palace by Xuanzong, but the sacrifices were expensive. In order to "sustainable development", he introduced the Han folk paper money sacrificial method into the palace. Even so, there are many people who oppose Mingcoin. The calligrapher Yan Zhenqing and the famous poet Zhang Jie of the Tang Dynasty openly resisted the burning of paper money on formal occasions such as ancestor worship. Therefore, Zhang Jie wrote in a poem "Beimang Xing": "Hanshijia sends paper money to every house, and black kites make nests. Hanging on the tree." Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty criticized Wang Yu, saying that burning paper money was like witchcraft and shamed those who practiced rituals. However, ghost coins have become a carrier of the living's thoughts about the dead during sacrifices, and are often included in poetry. Wang Jian's "Cold Food Journey" contains: "Three days without fire, burn paper money, and the paper money will lead to hell." Xu Ning's "Jiaxing Cold Food" is very interesting in life, "When there is cold food in Guoli, Jiaxing, every family worships and sweeps back at sunset. Only in the county Before Su Xiaoxiao, no one gave me any paper money. "Bai Juyi once wrote, "Who knows that if you don't get a generous salary now, blowing paper money into the autumn wind will be in vain." At the same time, Ming coins are also called "Chu money" because they are made from the bark of the Pu tree, and the fruits on the Pu tree can also be used to make Pu tofu. Therefore, sometimes Chu money is included in poetry. Yuan Jue of the Yuan Dynasty had a poem that said: "The rain on the bamboo leaves tears of silver candles, and the falling flowers and the wind blow up the dust of Chu money."