Why Do Funeral Processions Scatter Paper Money Along the Way? It's Not Just 'Giving Money to Ghosts' — The Meaning Behind Taiwan's Funeral Customs

If you've ever witnessed a traditional funeral procession in Taiwan, you may have noticed a distinctive scene: as the hearse or procession slowly moves forward, someone walks along, scattering stacks of paper money onto the road.

When children ask elders, "Why do we do this?" they're often told: "It's for the wandering spirits," "So ghosts on the road won't block the way," or even that it's "toll money" the deceased will use in the afterlife.

These are popular folk explanations, but when we look back at traditional Han Chinese funeral rites in Taiwan, the act of scattering paper money along the way has a specific name: "buying road money" (Mai Lu Qian). And its meaning is more profound than simply "throwing money to ghosts."

Why Do Funeral Processions Scatter Paper Money? The Tradition Is Called 'Buying Road Money'

When a traditional funeral reaches the burial stage, after family and public memorial rites are completed, the funeral procession officially departs to take the deceased to the cemetery or columbarium.

The Tainan City Funeral Information Service website, in its description of "Huan Shan" (road sacrifice), records that before the procession begins, family members first burn spirit money, and then "continue to scatter silver paper along the way." This custom is known as "buying road money."

Folklore researchers Hsieh Tsung-jung and Lee Hsiu-e, in their documentation of Han Chinese funeral customs in Taiwan, also note the same practice: after the procession officially departs, silver paper is scattered along the route, known as "buying road money."

Therefore, the sight of paper money being scattered during a funeral procession is not a random act, but a traditional ritual to accompany the deceased on their final journey.

The key lies in the word "road."

Is 'Buying Road Money' the Toll Fee for the Afterlife?

The name "buying road money" easily leads people to imagine it as travel money for the deceased's journey to the underworld, giving rise to folk interpretations like "travel expenses" or "toll fees."

However, more precisely, official funeral records confirm that the silver paper scattered along the route during the procession is called "buying road money," but do not specifically define who this money is paid to.

Yet, in traditional Taiwanese funeral culture, there is indeed a belief that the deceased must "travel a path" after death.

For example, Yilan County Government's Funeral Management Office, in describing traditional funeral procedures, notes that in Taoism and folk beliefs, a "foot-end lamp" is prepared to light the path to the underworld, and "foot-end money" is seen as funds for the soul to "pass checkpoints and cross bridges" in the netherworld.

It's important to note that foot-end money and the buying road money scattered during the procession are not the same ritual.

But when viewed together, they reveal a vivid cultural imagination in traditional Taiwanese funerals: death is not an instant transition from this world to another, but rather, the deceased must walk a journey.

Thus, the living light lamps, prepare money, and accompany the deceased to their final destination.

Why Not Burn All the Paper Money at Once, But Scatter It Along the Way?

This is one of the most interesting aspects of "buying road money."

If the paper money were solely for the deceased's use, it would theoretically be sufficient to burn it all before departure. Yet, traditional rituals involve burning spirit money before departure, then continuing to scatter silver paper along the route after the procession begins. The Tainan City Funeral Information Service website confirms this.

In other words, this ritual addresses not only the "money" but also the "path" of the procession.

For the living, the funeral may simply be a move from the memorial hall to the cemetery, crematorium, or columbarium. But in traditional funeral beliefs, this marks the deceased's formal departure from their former world.

Therefore, the paper money isn't burned at a single location but travels with the procession.

From a ritual perspective, it transforms the invisible "final journey" into a path that family members can actively accompany and complete.

Why Place Extra Paper Money When Crossing a Bridge?

A key moment that shows "buying road money" is more than just scattering money is when the procession crosses a bridge.

The Tainan City Funeral Information Service website records that when a bridge is encountered, additional silver paper should be placed "to ward off evil and pray for blessings."

Hsieh Tsung-jung and Lee Hsiu-e's research further notes that in some traditions, silver paper or red cloth is placed on bridges, also for warding off evil and praying for blessings, and this act is typically performed by the son-in-law.

Thus, interpreting all paper money scattered during the procession as "gifts for wandering ghosts" oversimplifies the ritual.

At least according to existing records, the paper money, while named "buying road money," also carries symbolic meanings of warding off evil and praying for safety, especially at critical points like bridges.

Moreover, the "bridge" itself echoes the common concept in traditional funeral culture of "passing checkpoints" or "crossing bridges."

As noted in the Yilan County Government's materials, foot-end money is understood as funds needed for the soul to "pass checkpoints and cross bridges."

In other words, people are not just concerned about whether the deceased "has money," but whether they can safely complete this journey.

Is the Scattered Paper Money Given to 'Good Brothers'?

Many people grow up hearing that scattering paper money during funerals is "sharing with the good brothers along the way," so that wandering spirits will accept the money and not block the deceased.

This is a widely circulated folk explanation, but it shouldn't be treated as the only answer.

Official funeral records from Tainan City clearly refer to the scattered silver paper as "buying road money" and note that placing paper on bridges serves to "ward off evil and pray for blessings," but do not explicitly define buying road money as "money for wandering ghosts."

Similarly, Hsieh Tsung-jung and Lee Hsiu-e's documentation of traditional Han Chinese funeral customs in Taiwan records "buying road money" and the practice of placing silver paper or red cloth on bridges, but does not reduce the entire ritual to "giving money to ghosts."

Therefore, a more accurate understanding is:

The silver paper scattered along the funeral route is called "buying road money" in traditional funeral customs. As for who this "money" is for, and how it "buys the way," different regions and oral traditions may offer varying interpretations.

What is certain is that the core of this ritual revolves around one thing: ensuring the deceased's final journey is safe and smooth.

Why Prepare Lamps, Money, and Paper Offerings After Death? It's All About 'Seeing Off'

When we place "buying road money" within the broader context of traditional funeral culture, we see that the items prepared for the deceased are deeply rooted in everyday life.

Afraid the path will be dark? Light the foot-end lamp.

Worried they might need money along the way? Prepare foot-end money.

When the procession begins, scatter buying road money along the way.

In modern times, people even create paper houses, cars, phones, and designer bags for the deceased.

Hsiao Wei-shan, from National Taiwan University's Institute of Building and Urban Design, in studying Taiwan's paper offering culture, points out that paper offerings symbolically extend social relationships between "this world and the next." Modern paper offerings have even evolved into a "gift culture," extending shared memories of life into the afterlife.

While this research doesn't focus on buying road money, it offers a valuable perspective on traditional funeral items.

We don't know what the afterlife holds, so we extend our familiar way of life into the unknown.

If a family member were traveling far, we'd ask, "Did you bring enough money?"

When it gets dark, we'd remind them, "Be careful on the road."

If they don't know the way, we'd worry, "Can they find their destination?"

For the journey of death — one we cannot accompany to the end — people still express care in similar ways.

Only this time, the one being seen off will never turn back to answer.

The True Message Behind the Paper Money: 'Safe Journey'

This may be the most overlooked meaning of "buying road money."

On the surface, it's paper money scattered on the road. But within the full funeral ritual, what matters most isn't the monetary value of the paper, but the act of family completing one final send-off for the deceased.

Scattering silver paper along the way is called "buying road money," placing extra paper on bridges to ward off evil and pray for safety, lighting the foot-end lamp to illuminate the path to the underworld, and foot-end money symbolizing funds to pass checkpoints and bridges. While these are not all the same ritual, together they reflect a traditional Taiwanese funeral culture that imagines death as a "journey from this world to another."

So, the next time you see an old photo of a funeral procession scattering paper money, don't just interpret it as "throwing money to ghosts."

Those fluttering pieces of paper, in traditional funeral culture, are the last thing a family can do for the deceased:

Walk with you on your final stretch of life, and hope you arrive safely.

Is 'Buying Road Money' Still Required in Modern Taiwanese Funerals?

Of course not.

Different regions, religions, and families in Taiwan have always had diverse funeral practices. With changes in modern funeral systems, religious beliefs, and lifestyles, the external forms of traditional Han Chinese funerals have undergone significant transformation.

Hsieh Tsung-jung and Lee Hsiu-e note that due to influences from religious culture, policy, and funeral systems, traditional funeral forms have changed considerably.

Hsiao Wei-shan's research on Taiwan's paper offering culture also mentions that with shifts in funeral governance and rising environmental awareness, traditional paper offering customs are gradually changing.

Therefore, not scattering paper money during modern funerals does not mean "something was missed" or that the deceased is disrespected.

Folk customs naturally evolve with time, place, and family beliefs.

What truly endures may not be a fixed action, but the simplest wish behind these rituals:

The person is gone, but the living still hope their final journey is peaceful and safe.

References

- Tainan City Funeral Information Service, "Huan Shan (Road Sacrifice)" - Yilan County Government Funeral Management Office, "Funeral Etiquette