What Is Joss Paper and Why Do People Burn It?
Joss paper (vàng mã) refers to paper made to resemble money and goods, burned in rituals to send to ancestors and spirits. Research by Tran Dinh Hang (2015) describes joss paper as a social phenomenon tied to many rituals practiced widely in Vietnamese religious life for a long time1.
The basis of this custom lies in folk beliefs about the afterlife. In traditional understanding, material goods and their corresponding needs exist in the underworld just as in the living world1. Ancestors who pass away do not disappear but move to live in the other world, regularly present through incense bowls and ancestral tablets on the altar1. Therefore, burning joss paper is seen as a way to maintain the connection between the living and the deceased.
Tran Dinh Hang places this custom in the historical context of human sacrifice. His argument is that sacrifice creates sacredness for the person or object offered, thereby expressing dependence, submission, repentance, and supplication, and the more precious the offering, the more spiritual energy is returned1. From ancient agricultural civilizations, people observed that the harmony between Heaven and Earth directly relates to the proliferation of all things, and when that harmony is disrupted, communication through bridges is needed1. Joss paper, in this reading, is an evolution of sacrificial customs: instead of offering blood and live animals, people offer symbolic objects.
Kind of knowledge: School: Tran Dinh HangSchool's interpretation. How one school or one book reads it; other schools may read it differently. The five labelsThe author also notes that the symbolic value and sacred space of rituals should be placed within the civilizational and humanistic standards of each community, both morally and legally1. In other words, the author does not see joss paper as something to be completely eliminated, but as a social entity that needs to be properly understood for appropriate management1.
Joss Paper in Len Dong: Give a Little, Receive a Load
In len dong (mediumship) rituals, joss paper plays a special role. Nguyen Thi Hien (2006) studied offerings of paper goods in len dong rituals in the post-Doi Moi period and describes them as a form of exchange between practitioners and spirits.
The insider's understanding is summarized by the author as: a little sacred fortune for a load of worldly fortune. Those offering paper goods are not simply worshipping but participating in a reciprocal relationship: offering gifts to spirits to receive luck, health, and wealth in worldly life. This is a logic of exchange, not pure worship.
Nguyen Thi Hien also notes that the scale of paper offerings in len dong rituals increased along with living standards after Doi Moi. When people have more money, they offer more paper goods, and the goods are more diverse in type. This is an important observation: the scale of the custom is not fixed but expands with the economic capacity of practitioners.
Why Do Paper Offerings Keep Getting Bigger?
The increase in the scale of paper offerings can be explained from several angles. First, it is a consequence of income growth: when people have more money, they tend to spend more on rituals, including joss paper. Second, it is a consequence of social competition: when neighbors offer large paper goods, others want to offer comparable amounts to avoid being seen as less devout.
Le Tam Dac (2006) cites a statement published in the newspaper Duoc Tue in 1942 by author Pham Van Phung, arguing that paper goods have existed for a long time but consumption keeps increasing because previously only those with faith used them, while now many people offer paper goods out of face even without true faith. This observation was made over eighty years ago but still has reference value for explaining spending motives today.
Under the impact of modern society, this phenomenon is seen by Tran Dinh Hang (2015) as a variation of the joss paper burning custom1. According to the author, people in the living world are often subjective and emotional when reasoning, attributing, and sketching images of the other world, while that world remains an unknown that makes people uneasy1. It is this unease that drives people to offer more and pray more elaborately.
How Did the Bac Ky Buddhist Association Criticize Joss Paper?
One of the earliest organized criticisms of the joss paper burning custom came from the Buddhist community. During the Buddhist Revival movement in the North from 1934 to 1954, the Bac Ky Buddhist Association raised the issue of abandoning joss paper, as Le Tam Dac notes in his 2006 research.
The Bac Ky Buddhist Association was founded in 1934, later than the Cochinchina Association for Buddhist Studies (1930) and the Annam Buddhist Association (1932), but according to scholar Nguyen Lang, the Association developed very rapidly in many aspects. One of its activities was calling on Buddhists and the public to abandon the superstitious practice of burning joss paper.
Before the Revival movement, the custom of burning joss paper had been widespread in the North for many years. Le Tam Dac cites the section "Dot ma" (Burning paper) in the "Tang ma" (Funerals) part of the book Viet Nam phong tuc by Phan Ke Binh, published in 1915, showing that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this custom was both widespread and costly, as the book records a case where a family spent from seventy to several hundred piastres on paper goods.
The movement to abolish joss paper launched by the Bac Ky Buddhist Association received support from many sectors. Among them were monks, notably Venerable Thich Tri Hai; lay Buddhists such as the poetess Tue Quang, Do Nam Tu Nguyen Trong Thuat, Pham Van Phung; a large number of Buddhists; and some court officials also cooperated. This shows that criticism of joss paper was not an isolated view but once had broad social support.
What Does Current Law Say About Burning Joss Paper?
Decree No. 110/2018/ND-CP of the Government on the management and organization of festivals, issued on August 29, 2018, and effective from October 15, 2018, stipulates that burning joss paper must be done in designated places during festivals.
This regulation does not ban the joss paper burning custom in general but regulates burning behavior within festivals. This approach matches the recommendation by Tran Dinh Hang (2015): when planning policies, managers should aim to reduce negative aspects while preserving the core sacred element, by applying various forms and doses that society can accept1.
Previously, illegal production of joss paper and burning it in public places became subject to administrative penalties under Decree 31/2001/ND-CP issued on June 26, 2001. According to Do Lan Hien (2013), the Party and State launched many campaigns and directives guiding people toward a civilized lifestyle in weddings, funerals, and festivals, but results were minimal, because some superstitious practices stubbornly persisted, infiltrating all aspects of life and waiting for opportunities to flare up again.
Comparison with Korea: Superstition Labels and Religious Spending
Laurel Kendall (2011) compares the consumption of ritual goods and the superstition label in Korea and Vietnam. This research raises the question of how society classifies religious spending: the same act of spending money on rituals can be seen as devotion in one place but labeled superstitious in another.
In Korea, spending on ritual goods in ancestor worship and spirit offerings is an important part of religious life but is also frequently debated for its reasonableness. In Vietnam, joss paper is in a similar field of debate: between symbolic value and risk of abuse. Kendall notes that the superstition label is often applied to others' spending, rarely to one's own.
This comparison helps view the joss paper burning custom in Vietnam in a broader context: it is not unique to one culture but a common form of using material goods to maintain relationships with the invisible world, and there is always debate about its reasonableness.
Table Comparing Research Sources
| Research | Data Scope | Main Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Tran Dinh Hang (2015), Journal of Religious Studies | Historical and anthropological analysis, no sample size stated | Joss paper originates from sacrificial customs, tied to beliefs about the afterlife; needs management to reduce negatives while preserving sacred elements |
| Nguyen Thi Hien (2006), in Possessed by the Spirits | Fieldwork on len dong rituals in post-Doi Moi period | Paper goods in len dong are a form of exchange; scale increases with income |
| Le Tam Dac (2006), Journal of Religious Studies | Analysis of historical documents on Bac Ky Buddhist Association 1934 to 1954 | Bac Ky Buddhist Association campaigned to eliminate the superstitious practice of burning joss paper |
| Kendall (2011), in Engaging the Spirit World | Comparison of Korea and Vietnam | Superstition label applied to others' religious spending, not one's own |
Where Evidence Is Still Lacking
Kind of knowledge: UnprovenNot enough evidence. Someone has claimed it, but no source or study is strong enough to confirm it. The five labelsThere is no data on total joss paper spending nationwide in the sources referenced for this article. Estimated figures on total joss paper spending are often cited in media but lack reliable national survey basis. Therefore, this article does not provide any estimated figures.
There is also no large-scale quantitative research on the impact of Decree 110/2018 on joss paper burning behavior during festivals. Existing assessments are mainly qualitative observations.
So How Should We Understand This Custom?
Joss paper is meaningful to practitioners because it is a concrete way to maintain relationships with ancestors and spirits, in a worldview where the underworld is imagined like the living world. Research by Tran Dinh Hang (2015) shows this custom has deep origins in sacrificial history and in the institution of ancestor worship1. Research by Nguyen Thi Hien (2006) shows that in len dong rituals, paper goods operate on a logic of exchange: give a little to receive a load.
The Buddhist community criticized this custom not because they denied the spiritual world, but because they believed that widespread joss paper burning wasted people's money and increased the superstitious nature of worship activities. That criticism was made from 1934 to 1954, but the issue remains current.
Current law does not ban the joss paper burning custom but requires burning in designated places during festivals. This approach lets practitioners decide for themselves what level is moderate, within the framework of law and public order. This article does not give advice on specific spending levels, as that is a decision for each person and family, based on their own circumstances and beliefs.
To learn more about folk offerings, you can read the article Cung co hon ram thang 7: y nghia cua le xa toi vong nhan trong dan gian.
