Papier Mache Offerings in Hong Kong

Do you know that the papier-mache offering (紙紮品) industry used to be prosperous in Hong Kong during 1940s – 1980s?

In case you don’t know what I am talking about, papier-mache offerings are offerings that used and burned in Chinese culture for sacred or festive purposes. Yes, burn. In the sense of “burning with fire”. Because for some reason, we believe that the deceased and the spirits will receive things we burn to them (hopefully excluding the trash we burn in incinerators). So, whenever festivals like Ching Ming Festival and Yue Lan Festival come, there will be lots of burning in Hong Kong.

The paper offerings are not just bunches of colored papers, they come in many shapes and forms. While we used to have ghost money made with rice and metallic papers only, try visiting those papier-mache offering shops nowadays, and you will be amazed by the amount you get to choose from: clothes, money, sport cars, houses, LCD television, smart phones, barbecued food and even dolls representing servants…Everything made with papers, with finely-made details as well. You can even order something really peculiar. Say, when the famous Hong Kong singer, Anita Mui, passed away, her apprentices burned a paper-made replica stage for her so that “she could keep performing even in the otherworld”.

And papier-maches are not only for the deceased, there are those used for other occasions, like the fai chun decoration we have during Lunar New Year that aims to bring good luck and the paper lantern kids like to play with during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

So next time, when you see Hongkongers burning the offerings, you know that it’s not about the paper money, it’s about sending a message: tradition has to live on.