Addressing spirit money to deities and deceased ancestors in Chinese characters is a simple but important part of the rite of worship for popular religion in Taiwan. In most cases, the writer includes specific details about who the person sending it is and the place where it is being sent from, as well as what date the paper money is being transmitted on.
This information is usually handwritten in view of the community on a sheet of paper that accompanies the spirit money or on the envelope encasing the currency. Such inscriptions provide concrete evidence of the origins of the transaction and establish both a physical and psychological connection between the individual and the god or spirit.
Aside from including information about the sender, the documents addressed to the divine are also already printed with text, symbols and codes that include various auspicious messages concerned with achieving wealth, longevity, happiness, tranquility, unity and other prayers. The messages are then burned in a burner, a symbolic activity that has been compared to “mailing”, and the information is thought to be transmitted to the underworld.