On the occasion of the first observance of Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival) as a public holiday in modern Chinese history, I’d like to return to a topic that I mentioned in February. Namely, the unfortunate tendency of honored, filial neighbors to burn ghost money in the stairwell of my apartment building (for additional instances of this practice, see my February post and the related comment thread). Let me be clear: I think that the burning of ghost money – not to mention, tomb sweeping – is a wonderful tradition, and I respect it. Again, my only issue is when it is done in stairwells.
Like on Sunday, when my morning coffee was interrupted by smoke billowing from under my door (see photo, above). To be honest, I had a pretty good idea of the source, but I was nonetheless astonished by the scale of the commemoration. It looked like somebody was holding a barbecue – not a solemn ceremony (why did they cut the lights?). I won’t go into the argument that ensued – let’s just say that it was less solemn than what was taking place before I interrupted the whole mess with my camera.
[Update 4/5: ISpyShanghai has found a Shanghai building were the management has gone through the trouble of posting an explicit ban on the indoor burning of ghost money. Thanks to Micah for the tip!]
Anyway, I think it’s worth pointing out that – not only is the burning of large quantities of fake paper money unsafe indoors – it might very well be hazardous to one’s health outdoors, too. According to the Taipei Times, tests conducted by a private foundation and relevant government departments found unsafe levels of lead in six of thirty ghost money samples in a recent test (done to EU standards).
And I probably shouldn’t, but I will … bet RMB 1000 (in ghost money) that the lead-contaminated ghost money being burnt in Taiwan was manufactured in Mainland Chinese paper plants that utilize recyclable paper and cardboard recovered from domestic Chinese garbage. I’ve been in those plants (low-quality Chinese paper manufacturers), and I am prepared to testify: pre-sorting isn’t the highest priority.
This photo was clearly taken below the fire. How could smoke be getting into your apartment?
I guess these days everybody’s an investigative reporter.
I wanted a photo, and I knew that the neighbors weren’t going to allow me to shoot it from the landing that we share. So I rode the elevator down one level, entered the stairwell from there, and pointed the camera … up.
Somebody is listening:
http://ispyshanghai.com/wdpress/2008/04/04/633/
(Or great minds think alike?)
I doubt anyone is listening; the link above shows a management request from a high-end property in Shanghai not to burn ghost money, but written in English. Now, how many Europeans or Americans do you know who burn ghost money in stairwells, smoking out their neighbors?