Superstitions
During our stay in Wuyuan County I noticed a lot of the houses had a small mirror hanging above the front door.
I asked C. about it and he told me it was for protection against ghosts and evil spirits: if they try to enter they will see their own reflection on the mirror and, because they are very ugly, will panic and run away.
I wasn’t very convinced of the validity of this explanation and retorted: “But are all ghosts so awfully ugly that they will be scared of their own image? And what if they come from one side?” Of course his replies were: “Yes, they are all very ugly” and “No, ghosts only descend from the sky downward in a straight line”. “But what if?” (I love what ifs). “There are no what ifs“. It seems that in the Chinese tradition all ghosts are horrendous and only move in one direction.
I found this superstition very amusing and tried to think of other Chinese superstitions I know:
– You can’t sweep the floor on New Year’s Day or you will sweep away your good luck (well, not that I was going to clean the house on New Year’s Day…).
– When celebrating New Year, getting married, opening a business, etc, you need to have a lot of firecrackers, the noisier the better. This will scare evil spirits away.
– When eating with other people, the mouth of the teapot shouldn’t point to anyone. If you put it pointing directly to one person it means you are wishing him/her to have a child without an arsehole (I swear someone told me about this superstition, I don’t think it is very widespread though).
– The number 4 brings bad luck because it sounds like death. In some buildings you won’t find the 4th floor. On an Air China flight years ago I checked and there was no row 4.
– If you attend a wedding, birthday or baby party and noodles are served you can’t cut them with your teeth, you have to swallow all of them into your mouth. The noodles mean longevity.
But we also have superstitions in Spain. Well, most of them I’m pretty sure can be found also in other countries:
– Black cats, passing under a ladder, breaking a mirror, or opening an umbrella indoors brings bad luck.
– Knocking on a wooden door or table after you’ve said that something bad could happen will avoid that it actually happens.
– Crossing your fingers for good luck (for example, if you wish someone good luck you’d say “I’ll cross my fingers”).
– If you knock over the salt shaker and salt spills on the table you will have bad luck. This can be counteracted if you take a little bit of salt and throw it over your shoulder.
– If you buy a lottery ticket you can rub it on a hunchback’s hump (if you know any hunchback) or on a pregnant belly for good luck (ask for permission first or you might get slapped).
– In Spain the unluckiest day is Tuesday the 13th. In other countries it is Friday the 13th.
– And my favourite: If someone sweeps over your feet with a broom you won’t get married.
Do you know any unusual or interesting superstitions, either from China or from other countries? I’d love to hear them!
Hey, the ghost thing makes at least as no sense as Halloween!
4 is the most popular superstition. Its so creepy that my shoe size is 44… (the highest shoe size most have incidentally). The counterpoint is that 8 is good luck, all those phone number ads saying 八八八八
Thanks for sharing, and sharing the Spanish ones as well. I hadn’t heard any of those except the black cat, ladder, and knock on wood.
Our car license plate is 444X2 :D So that should be 888, hahaha.
Ive started to hate the firecracker ritual…our new apartment is next to a temple and there are firecrackers going off every day almost. Even on the 25th floor the noise is still unbearable.
That said, its fun to see weddings and other unknown celebrations on my way to the metro station of an evening.
Oh no!! I just hear firecrackers some weekends, if someone is getting married in the neighbourhood. Well and if I spend Chinese New Year here. Did you spend last Chinese New Year in China? It is like the Third World War…
Got to love those superstitions, I for myself don’t believe any of them however my wife is a bit more concerned with them (both Chinese and Western ones!). As soon as she wont put up any mirrors at the door I will be happy though
Hahaha I don’t believe any of them either, but I think they are interesting. I should check how they developed…
Love your blog post! I know a *biggie* here in China is to never stick your chopsticks in your rice (or any food). You always put them on the table or balance them on the rim of your bowl. The reason this is done is because your chopsticks sticking out of your food resembles incense offerings which can be related to death. So, it’s an omen of death (and very rude to do anywhere in China).
Also, I’ve recently heard it is improper to eat with “uneven” chopsticks. I always tap my chopsticks on a plate to even them out (because who can pick up food good if they don’t?)… but, I read that uneven chopsticks resemble the look of the old style coffins used here in China. If you’ve ever seen one they have pieces of wood that are longer than the rest of the casket. So again, it’s considered rude and a bad omen if you do this.
I’ve never heard of the teapot thing, though… and I drink a LOT of tea!! :)
Hi Rene, thanks for your comment! I didn’t know the one about the uneven chopsticks!
This post really made me laugh! Yes, we Chinese do believe that ghosts are ugly and malevolent. Am not to sure that they always come by the front door where a mirror is put up to scare them. Not sure about the teapot spout too. Yes, the no “4” is bad, real bad and no 8 is auspicious. I have been told too about the noodles eaten at a birthday. And sticking the chopsticks into a bowl of rice, as mentioned by a commenter, is a definite taboo too among the Chinese community in Malaysia.
Some of the western or Spanish superstitions you mentioned may have a scientific wisdom for them. Like knocking on a table after you have said something bad. It seems things happen exactly the way they do because everything else happens exactly they way they do. Have you heard of the theory of synchronicity? A flutter of butterfly wings in place “A” could affect everything else in place “B”. So, knocking on the table may just change the whole gestalt, how knows? Nothing to lose if you did! Interesting to think of it, anyway!
oops, should read “too’ and “who” instead of “to” and “how” where the mistakes appear. The devil at work! haha. The mirror not working?
Uhm, interesting, I hadn’t thought of the knock on wood that way, I had thought that maybe people think wood has magical properties, haha.