During Ching Ming and the Ghost Month, the Taoists would burn Hell Bank Notes to those in the spirit world. The Hell Bank Notes are a special form of joss paper. You can consider them as an afterlife currency which is burnt by the living to their ancestors as a form of worship or veneration. The Chinese burn these notes during funerals and other festivals for the dead in order to ensure that spirits have lots of good things in the afterlife. One belief is that Hell Bank Notes are sent by living relatives to dead ancestors as a tribute to the ‘King of Hell’ for a shorter stay in His realm or to escape punishment, or directly to the ancestors to be used for spending on lavish items in the afterlife.
So, now back to my question ... why are there only hell bank notes and no heaven bank notes? I have come up with a hypothesis about this. I think that not many people will qualify to go to heaven and if they do, they don't really need to use any form of money there at all. Those who are deemed not fit to enter heaven would be placed in hell and they would most probably be in the majority. Thus, the no-gooders would have a lot of vices and would need money to spend to continue their indulgences in the netherworld. Anybody has any other ideas about this? Do comment.
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