It’s not just the human world that has been globalized — now it appears that even the afterlife has been unable to resist the pull of globalization. Worshippers no longer need to confine themselves to burning the traditional ghost money printed to look like New Taiwan dollars. Companies printing ghost money now offer US dollars, euros, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan as well as gold nuggets and gold bars made of paper, perhaps indicating that the market for offerings to the deceased has become more diversified in response to consumer demand.
A ghost money retailer from Taichung City’s southern district explained that in recent years society has undergone rapid changes. Many innovative products are hitting the markets, such as the foreign currency ghost money that is now in production. Although these new products are two or three times more expensive than regular ghost money, they’ve gone down very well with consumers.
The retailer, surnamed Lin, said that a few years ago ghost money manufacturers came up with the idea of producing replica NT$1,000 notes that could be offered directly to a ghost to spend in the afterlife. Later on, some manufacturers shook up the market by producing look-alike US dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen and Chinese yuan. It’s even possible to buy five currencies in one package, giving yet more choice to the consumer.
But is burning ghost money in foreign currencies as effective as burning traditional notes? Lin said ghost money is intended to be spent in the afterlife, so burning foreign currency could let the ghost travel overseas, which is a positive effect.
(liberty times, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
國際化現在已經不限於陽間,近日往生後的世界,似乎抵不住世界潮流,也跟著吹起一股國際化風潮。目前市面上傳統的金紙之外,除了新台幣,製造廠也推出美金、歐元、日幣及人民幣的金紙,而且還有紙製的金塊、金條等物品,以供民眾購買焚化,可說是因應市場需求而變化多端。
台中市南區販售金紙的一個業者解釋道,近年來社會變化較快,許多創新的產品紛紛出籠,其中廠商推出以各國紙幣為圖案的金紙,其價格雖然比傳統金紙貴上二到三倍,卻最受大家歡迎。
林姓業者說,在幾年前就有金紙製造商想到了好點子,以新台幣千元大鈔圖案來製作金紙,讓消費者可以直接「燒」給好兄弟使用,後來又有製造商推陳出新,目前已有美金、歐元、日幣及人民幣等外國貨幣的金紙出現,甚至有製造商將五種貨幣的金紙打包在一起,讓消費者可以有多種選擇。
至於燒這些外幣的金紙是否能達到原本的功效?林姓業者表示,其實金紙就是讓陰間的好兄弟花用的紙鈔,燒外幣給他們,就是讓好兄弟能出國旅行,也算是功德一件。(自由時報記者林良哲)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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