In ancient China, people often sent goods and wealth to deceased relatives by burning paper effigies and offerings—a practice rooted in the belief that material possessions could be transferred to the afterlife.
For instance, in Journey to the West, Xiang Liang, while alive, amassed great riches in the underworld for his posthumous use.
“Your Majesty,” said the judge, “there is in the World of the Living a man who has deposited great sums of gold and silver in our Region of Darkness. You can use your name for a loan, and your lowly judge will serve as your voucher; we shall borrow a roomful of money from him and distribute it among the hungry ghosts. You will then be able to get past them.” “Who is this man?” asked Taizong. “He’s a man from the Kaifeng District in Henan Province,” said the judge. “His given name is Liang and his surname is Xiang. He has thirteen rooms of gold and silver down here. If Your Majesty borrows from him, you can repay him when you return to the World of Light.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 11
Wu Zixu’s legendary tribute – A historical parallel
A notable historical example involves Wu Zixu, a general of the Spring and Autumn Period. Fleeing persecution by King Ping of Chu, Wu disguised himself as a commoner and sought refuge in the Kingdom of Wu. During his escape, he was aided by a washerwoman by a riverside. Years later, after exacting revenge, Wu Zixu returned to honor deceased benefactor by scattering three dou and three sheng of gold grains—resembling wheat or rice kernels—into the river where she had once helped him.
Dou and sheng were ancient Chinese capacity units, where 1 dou = 10 sheng. The phrase “three dou and three sheng” symbolizes an immense quantity of gold, not an exact measure.
Connection to Journey to the West
In the novel, a similar offering is mentioned in the Kingdom of Sravasti. However, the author substituted rice grains with wheat grains, likely adapting the tale to align with northern Chinese agricultural norms. Whether Sravasti historically consumed rice or wheat remains unclear—a detail the author may not have researched.
“Stop shouting!” said the Buddhist Patriarch with a chuckle. “I knew already that the two of them would ask you for a little present. After all, the holy scriptures are not to be given lightly, nor are they to be received gratis. Some time ago, in fact, a few of our sage priests went down the mountain and recited these scriptures in the house of one Elder Zhao in the Kingdom of Sravasti, so that the living in his family would all be protected from harm and the deceased redeemed from perdition. For all that service they managed to charge him only three dou and three sheng of wheat-grain gold. I told them that they had made far too cheap a sale and that their posterity would have no money to spend. Since you people came with empty hands to acquire scriptures, blank texts were handed over to you. But these blank texts are actually true, wordless scriptures, and they are just as good as those with words. However, those creatures in your Land of the East are so foolish and unenlightened that I have no choice but to impart to you now the texts with words.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 98
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