佛祖統紀 33.46

33.46

寓錢　事祖云。唐明皇使王璵為祠祭使。自漢世葬者有瘞錢。後世稍以紙寓錢為鬼事。至璵乃用之以禳祓。冥報記云。鬼所用錢即紙錢也。若綵絹者。亦紙為之。銀即錫。塗金即黃塗也。

Paper Money: The Shizu states: 'Emperor Minghuang of the Tang appointed Wang Yu as the Commissioner of Sacrificial Rites. From the Han dynasty onwards, those conducting burials had buried money; later generations gradually used paper simulated money for ghostly matters. When it came to Wang Yu, he used it for exorcisms and apotropaic rituals.' The Mingbao ji states: 'The money used by ghosts is paper money. If it is patterned silk, it is also made of paper; their silver is tin-coated, and their gold is painted yellow.'