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TAIPEI : Customised paper effigies for Chinese funerals are bringing in roaring business for one Taiwanese company.
Requests range from mansions to iPhones.
The offerings are meant to satisfy wishes that may have gone unfulfilled.
But some creations are so intricate that they might even be considered art.
A 70-centimetre high model of a luxurious two-storey mansion with an outdoor pool is no child's play, but a paper house for the afterlife.
Although it is customary for paper offerings to be burnt at Chinese funerals, such intricate designs are seldom seen.
These special offerings are the brainchild of Han Yean, the director of Skea Company. She got the idea when her grandfather died four years ago.
Her family wanted something different, so she and her friends made their own paper effigies for the funeral.
She said: "I see sadness becoming gladness. They (the relatives) become happy on seeing the house. They want to take photos, remember and talk about the departed. This is the belief that drives our business."
In two years, Han Yean sold over a thousand paper houses in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and North America.
She has been asked to create convenience stores, a full set of cosmetics, laptops, and dining tables that come with food.
Customers are invited to participate in the making of the paper effigies, as a sign of respect for the departed.
It is not just colour or size that matters when building paper effigies. For these young and enthusiastic designers, "going-green" is also one of the top priorities. Therefore, they insist on using materials that create as little pollution as possible.
Han Yean said: "Traditionally, people use bamboo, polyester and plastic board. We insist on using flammable materials, such as paper, organic corn plate, to reduce pollution."
Han Yean said these "made-for-heaven accessories" are only the first step in honouring the dead.
A creative mind like hers is now planning to offer after-sales service for the departed.
She said: "Our actual customers are not those who buy the products, but those in heaven. There is no mobile phone signal in heaven, no Internet service. But we have sent them these products. So we can build the headquarters to providing technical and housekeeping services."
And these earthly creations do not come cheap.
Sending a paper apartment to the heavens will cost you US$3,800, while it costs US$6,000 for a two-storey mansion. - CNA/ms
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