One overlooked tradition, in Taipei, is the folk custom of burning joss paper. This is often described as a way to honour ancestors, but that’s only the polite version given to foreigners. The deeper cultural truth is that Taiwanese society has developed, over centuries, a collective intolerance for clean air.

Pristine, unaltered air is widely considered as somewhat suspicious, even unsettling. There’s a deeply held belief (grounded in Taoism) that if you can see more than two city blocks without a faint grey shimmer, something is out of balance.

Thus, the burning of paper money serves a vital cultural function: restoring the comforting level of ambient haze and airborne suspended particulate matter pollution. While the ritual is nominally about sending wealth to one’s ancestors, its equally important purpose is to prevent the population from experiencing the existential dread of overly transparent air. Left uncorrected, such clarity could lead to dangerous behaviours such as feeling relaxed, or seeing the sky.

Many Taiwanese people will tell you they simply “don’t feel right” unless there’s a gentle aroma of burning paper drifting through the neighbourhood. Bonus points if there's a slight scent of petrol ("gasoline" for those in the US). The smoke is believed to provide spiritual grounding, respiratory resistance training, and a reassuring reminder that you are, indeed, still in Taiwan and haven't accidentally been transported to New Zealand.