Meaning of paper money | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Cash in the form of banknotes.
   uncountable
2. A type of joss paper resembling banknotes burnt to venerate the deceased, ancestor spirits, deities, etc.
   uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Moreover, you say⟳ that serving Fuh is a profitable service; that if you burn paper money, present⟳ offerings, and keep⟳ fasts before the face⟳ of your god Fuh, he will dissipate calamities, blot out your sins, increase⟳ your happiness, and prolong your age!”

“Tablets in honour of the dead are set⟳ up in every house over a sort⟳ of family altar; and at certain times flowers are offered and paper-money is burned at these shrines.”

“Tsze Chien means “paper money” – not the real bank notes which are so extensively used in China as money but the make-believe tinsel money which the Chinese burn as part of their religious worship⟳.”

“People had also begun to burn paper money (it was believed that burning transformed it into real money that could be used by the departed souls in hades) instead of placing actual coins in the tombs.”

““Let’s burn the paper money,” Mai Mai said. She brought out a stack of yellow paper from her pocket – coarse paper with small circles cut⟳ in it to represent⟳ coins. Longevity lighted the paper money and kowtowed another time.”

“The paper money for the spirits consisted of imitations either of metal coins or of real money, but the latter had different sets of inscriptions and patterns to distinguish it from counterfeit money.”

“After paying homage to the departed, the ritual is concluded by a libation of rice wine poured on to an additional stack of burning paper money.”

“Supplicants burn paper money and joss sticks, and pray for good fortune to the temple deity, Tua Pek Kong.”

“Many societies follow⟳ traditional funeral rites and practices. In China, this may involve⟳ burning paper money or possessions for the deceased to use⟳ in the afterlife.”

“If a mourner is either Taoist or Buddhist they may hold⟳ a burning joss stick⟳ while bowing. A family member will usually be kneeling nearby to burn joss sticks and paper money.”

“Built in the early 19th century by the first Hokkien and Cantonese settlers in Penang, the temple isn’t so impressive architecturally, but it’s very central and popular with the Chinese community, and seems to be forever swathed in smoke⟳ from the outside furnaces where whorshippers burn paper money, and from the incense sticks waved around inside.”

CEFR level