They may go by many different names, but what all these festive money packets have in common is that it is the inside that excites more than the outside. Ang pow, hong bao, lai see, sampul duit raya and so on have considerable effort and expense put into them in order to look expensive, attractive or, more recently, humorous. Despite this, recipients go straight for the contents.
If the nomenclature seems complicated, the etiquette of how much money should be stuffed into those lucky packets is even more so. It’s supposed to be an even number of notes for the lunar new year, preferably with an auspicious number involved, and no fours. For funerals and weddings, there are different rules. In their native China, customs are regional, just like the names. In Malaysia it is the Hokkien version, ang pow, that has won out.
Although collectors have appreciated the designs for years, I have yet to find an exhibition of the packets themselves. Not in Malaysia, at least. Nor is the movement to make ang pow more recyclable, reusable and generally friendly to the environment gaining much traction here. Online delivery is catching on though, as the focus is still on the payout and who should be receiving how much.
Remarkable though the packaging may be, the history of banknotes is even more so. Just as the ang pow is very much a tradition of China, adapted by other Chinese communities, the banknote is also a product of the Middle Kingdom. Recipients tend not to look beyond the denominations they prise out of the packets. Perhaps they should spend a bit more time pondering the magic of paper money.
CHINESE INNOVATION
The current banknote series in Malaysia is the outcome of enormous effort from Bank Negara Malaysia, and in particular, the governor before last. Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s many skills include an eye for design. Malaysian banknotes are among the most colourful available today, but they are far from being the oldest.
The concept, as with many of the world’s great innovations, came from China. There are still examples of 700-year-old notes around today. One was displayed at the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery in 2016. It’s unlikely that any would have been stuffed into a little red packet in days gone by. For one thing, being about A4 size they are very much larger than a modern note; they were also worth considerably more in their day. Their value was 1,000 copper cash coins.
Although the Ming-dynasty banknotes became victims of hyperinflation, their inspiration lived on. They even made it into the BBC’s legendary show, ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’. It was a Ming example that was used, despite paper money having been created as long ago as the 7th century.
The real achievement of the Ming imperial government of China was in convincing the populace that a piece of paper had actual value attached to it. The entire concept of modern banking and credit is built on this simple act of faith.
There appear not to be any paper survivors from those pioneering pre-Ming times. There is an abundance of copper coins in existence today, of course, and an early version of ang pow entailed a string of these coins with holes held together with – of course – red string.
The Ming-dynasty banknote was still far ahead of its time. Aesthetically, it has a certain presence although not as much red as a Chinese New Year enthusiast might hope for. It also contravenes new year custom by mentioning death. Clearly spelled out on each note is the warning: “All counterfeiters will be decapitated”. The currency was also very advanced in terms of environmental awareness, being printed on recycled mulberry bark paper from discarded documents and exam papers.
As with so many innovators in history, the Chinese banknote issuers rested on their laurels somewhat. Five hundred years after the Ming dynasty issues, China was still issuing what looked very similar to their ground-breaking prototypes. Up until the middle of the 19th century, they were large sheets with similar printing and lots of red seals. With Western examples flooding the world by that stage, China woke up to the new techniques of printing without fully realising their aesthetic potential.
Chinese banknotes looked like everyone else’s most of the time. There were exceptions, such as images printed vertically on a portrait-shaped rectangle. These have a retro Ming feel to them. The Temple of Heavenly Peace turns up a lot, as do leaders such as Sun Yat Sen, Chiang Kai Shek and in more recent times, there is the inevitable Chairman Mao. Despite the precedent, there is no sign of Xi Jinping trying to put his face on the currency although it appears almost everywhere else in China.
During the Cultural Revolution it was workers galore on banknotes, and yes, there were girls on tractors. Today the emphasis is more on the geographic marvels of China, and the Great Hall of the People.
The diversity of China plays an important part, with different examples of minorities proudly displayed, along with workers, who these days include an example of an “intellectual” – something you wouldn’t have seen during the Cultural Revolution. The Tibetans might have mixed feelings about the Potala Palace being on the 50 Yuan note. On the front of every one is Mao.
HELL MONEY
China’s greatest contribution to paper currency since the Ming banknote is Hell Money. It is about the only currency that recipients will not be looking forward to at Chinese New Year. Just as the authorities in China are coming down hard on Muslim and Christian practices, there is unease about Hell Money too. Its associations with ancient superstition hardly seem to fulfil China’s destiny as the second largest economy in the world.
Other burnt offerings, including paper images of cars, mistresses and necessary accoutrements of the super successful were banned some years ago. In Malaysia, where Hell Money has always enjoyed a huge audience and superior production, its demise is more likely to be brought about by rules on semi-open burning.
For those who feel like collecting the packets rather than the contents, bear in mind that although fresh banknotes may sometimes smell peculiar, at least they do not use ang pow glue – a magnet for cockroaches.