What Is Joss Paper & Why Does It Interest Me?

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This article is not AI generated. This article is about how some cultures believe that the living can affect the afterlife by burning joss paper and how I became interested in this particular topic.

How Did I Become Interested In This Topic

I am a big fan of superhero stories. I was recommended an article on my Google news feed about upcoming DC Comics that are going to be released in May. I checked out the article and read the section about a brand new series called "Spirit World".

The main character of the series is a superhero who can burn joss paper representations of items and immediately turn them into real objects. When I initially read this description, I had no idea what joss paper was. The concept of the power sounded really cool, so I decided that I wanted to learn more about what joss paper is and how it is used in real life.

What Is Joss Paper?

Joss paper is a special form of paper that some believe can be burned to provide people, places, or things for those in the afterlife. There are special joss paper notes that, when burned, act as money for those in the afterlife. There are also representations of items made out of folded joss paper that can be burned to transform into what they represent in the afterlife.

For example burning a representation of a house made of folded joss paper, creates an actual house for someone in the afterlife. Burning a joss paper doll can create a servant for someone in the afterlife. If I understand how this works correctly, it seems like you can make almost anything for someone in the afterlife by burning joss paper folded in the shape of what you want to make.

The Implications Of This Idea

Assuming that burning representations of items made of joss paper actually spawns those items in the afterlife, it seems as if the afterlife is a world that is easily shaped and molded by the living. I am used to imagining the afterlife as a world that is beyond the reach and control of the living, so if this is true my perception of the afterlife is entirely wrong. I actually find this concept extremely interesting.

It implies that we have more influence over the afterlife than we do in the world of the living, until we die and depend on the living to provide us with what we need in the afterlife. I would love to see some of the cool joss paper creations people have made to help expand the world of the afterlife. 

Conclusion

I became interested in learning about joss paper from an article I read about an upcoming superhero comic, featuring a character who burns joss paper to summon items in the real world. Some believe that joss paper representations of items can be burned to spawn those items in the afterlife. If this is true, then the afterlife is a lot more interesting than originally thought it was.