Brenton
Hell Bank Notes
May 1st 2008 21:56
In Chinatown the other day I bought myself a wad of ‘Hellbank’ notes. I thought the name was just one of those cute mistranslations. However, browsing a bit of reading, I found the truth was quite different.
Hell Bank notes are simply paper money with ‘Hell Bank’ written on them. They are not play money though, and have a specific ritual purpose to be used at funerals. When a person dies, the money is burnt, in a careful way (either folded or put in an envelope, due to the concept that burning real money brings bad fortune). The basic concept is, as within other cultures where paper effigies of consumer products are burnt, that the money can be used in the afterlife.
Hell Bank money is never given to other people, as it is seen as wishing their death.
Hell Bank money got its name from a loose translation of the ‘Underworld’, where the departed are said to go to atone for their mortal sins. The term Hell does not hold negative connotations in China.
It is rumored the term was introduced by Christian Missionaries, and adopted with new meaning as a term for the underworld.
Hell Bank notes are simply paper money with ‘Hell Bank’ written on them. They are not play money though, and have a specific ritual purpose to be used at funerals. When a person dies, the money is burnt, in a careful way (either folded or put in an envelope, due to the concept that burning real money brings bad fortune). The basic concept is, as within other cultures where paper effigies of consumer products are burnt, that the money can be used in the afterlife.
Hell Bank money is never given to other people, as it is seen as wishing their death.
Hell Bank money got its name from a loose translation of the ‘Underworld’, where the departed are said to go to atone for their mortal sins. The term Hell does not hold negative connotations in China.
It is rumored the term was introduced by Christian Missionaries, and adopted with new meaning as a term for the underworld.
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