Family Business Keeps Handmade Joss Paper Craft Alive

TaiwanPlus News

Joss paper, or ghost money, is a staple at Taiwanese temples. Offered to the gods and ancestors, most joss paper is now mass produced by machines. But one family is trying to preserve handmade techniques at their workshop.

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00:00Lost in the rhythm of a hundred-year-old tradition, the Chun family works in tandem to put together

00:10intricate sheets of joss paper, offerings for the gods and ancestors ahead of the tomb

00:15sweeping festival, also known as the Qingming holiday, when people visit their ancestors'

00:19graves and offer food, incense and paper money for their loved ones who have passed away.

00:28This is one of the last handmade joss paper shops in the world.

00:32Third-generation owner Chen Kunhui has been running his family's business for decades,

00:37and they're working hard to keep the tradition alive.

00:46Chen is responsible for operating this digital cutting machine, slicing through stacks of

00:50yellow bamboo paper for the rest of his team to attach foil, paint and red seals by hand.

00:57It's a painstaking process, but the Chens work quickly to make thousands of sheets a

01:01day.

01:02Over the years, Mr. Chen's workshop has gained a lot of attention, and it's easy to find.

01:07Just follow the yellow joss paper road.

01:10This stamped ghost money needs to dry in the sun for up to a week before it's ready for

01:14final processing.

01:21The Chens' joss paper is more expensive than mass-produced, machine-made ones.

01:26Although they're sticking to tradition, they have made some upgrades to set their paper

01:29money apart.

01:31The Chens have adjusted their processes to include less harmful materials so that when

01:35they burn the paper to send it to the underworld, they don't pollute this world's environment

01:39as much.

01:40But that's not enough to save this tradition from changing times.

01:56Many local governments have implemented measures

02:07to lessen environmental pollution from temples.

02:10At one popular temple in Taipei, many visitors still opt to buy joss paper as offerings.

02:15But they can't burn it themselves.

02:17Instead, they place it in these bags for temple staff to burn later.

02:48Some temples have come up with solutions so that people can still burn the paper themselves,

02:52like upgrading their furnaces to filter out pollutants, maintaining their connection with

02:57the gods and their ancestors.

02:59But the demand for handmade joss paper may face more challenges, as these intricate stacks

03:04of paper money are reduced, like all other matter, to ashes in the end.

03:10Kama Sri and Tiffany Wong in Sunan, Taiwan for Taiwan Plus.

03:17For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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