Superstitions, every culture has them all of them are crazy.
Today
we are looking at the top 5 Chinese Superstitions and old wives tales.
Why top 5?
Well, because I’m too lazy to do 6,
let’s go!
Number 5.
So, Let’s get some of the more well-known ones out of the way first.
According to Chinese beliefs
you should not wear a green hat,
as this signifies that your partner
is sleeping with someone else.
Called dai lu maozi in Chinese
its origins are linked to three stories
one being about the Tang dynasty magistrate Li Yang
who required all of his subordinates who broke the law
to wear green hats as an attempt at humiliating them.
The second comes from the Yuan dynasty
where prostitutes were not only required
to wear green or blue clothing
but their relatives were required by law
to wear green head wear as well.
And the third origin comes from a folk tale
about a merchant’s wife who was having an affair with a tailor,
together they made the husband
a bright green hat
so that he could be easily spotted coming home.
So ...
unless you want everyone thinking
your girlfriend is cheating on you,
do your best to avoid green hats in China.
Number 4
Number 4 is obviously the number 4.
I can’t do an episode about Chinese superstitions
without talking about the number 4.
In Chinese the number 4 is si
and the word for die is si
as they are homophones
the number carries the connotation of bad luck.
You will rarely meet someone
with a phone number that has 4 in it,
lives on the fourth floor,
or has anything about the number 4 linked to them.
This is so well known that it has spread throughout Asia
to every country that has any kind of linguistic link to Chinese.
As further evidence,
look at the buttons on my elevator,
no four, no fourteen
and just to be extra safe no thirteen.
Number 3
Number 3 is yuè zi
also called zuo yue zi or the sitting month.
Nothing is more joyous than having a baby
(or so I’m told),
but the month after giving birth
might not be so great for a Chinese mother.
According to Chinese superstition,
a mother is extremely susceptible to becoming ill
after giving birth
so for the entire month
she must do nothing except sit and breastfeed.
No going outside
and especially no bathing!
It is commonly believed in China
that bathing reduces one’s immune system
so to ensure that a new mother stays healthy,
she must sit around in her own filth for at least one month.
Now there might be some kind of scientific evidence to justify it,
but I still think it it’s pretty gross.
Number 2
Number 2 is Good Luck Statues,
Specifically the three legged Toad, Cabbage and the lucky cat.
Before some of you go crazy and start shouting
that the Lucky Cat is Japanese, well you're right.
Called Maneki-Neko in Japanese
It first started being sold during the 19th Century
in either Tokyo or Kyoto.
The cat is used to welcome customers into stores
and is sold throughout the world as a lucky charm.
There are a metric ton of Japanese folk tales
that claim to be the origin of the Maneki-Neko,
but surprisingly enough the true origin is most likely Chinese.
Duan Chengshi a notable Tang Dynasty Scholar
famously wrote the adage
“"If a cat raises its paw over the ears
and washes its face, then patrons will come".
As this is the oldest reference to a cat acting in this manner
for this specific purpose,
it’s not crazy to assume this is the true origin of the cat statue.
Either way the Three-legged Toad statue
is 100% Chinese in origin.
Called Jinchan in Chinese
the three legged toad sitting on a pile of money
is supposed to help generate wealth.
Like most superstitions, it’s origins are unclear,
some link it to Chang’e
a woman who transformed herself into a three legged toad
and hid on the moon from her angry husband with a rabbit.
Yeah, .... Don’t worry we will cover that story eventually.
Others link the toad to a doaist immortal named Liu Haichan
who carried with him a three legged toad.
There was also a story of the wife
of one of the famous 8 immortals
who transformed into a toad,
but that story is more about not being greedy
than generating wealth.
Considering that the story of Chang’e is older than the others
it is most likely attributed to her.
And finally the most visually interesting statue ...... the cabbage:
Compared to the other statues
there is no complicated origin story,
rather it’s a simply a homophone for wealth.
Baicai means cabbage and bai cai means a hundred wealth.
Thus through the power of puns,
the cabbage statue can make you rich.
Simple to understand and ridiculous to look at!
Number 1
And the number 1 strange Chinese superstition is:
Hot water.
It is famous among the expat community
how Chinese people recommend
hot water as cure-all for every situation.
Got a cold, drink hot water.
Got cancer, drink hot water.
Lost your job, well you see this is going.
Most people attribute this belief to either two origins,
the first being that hot water helps align your qi,
the second relates to the fact that in past
the only way to ensure you have clean water is by boiling it.
While it is crazy the extent that Chinese people
recommend hot water medicinally,
the scientific truth is,
that compared to cold water,
hot water is actually more beneficial for one’s body.
It aids in digestion, clears the sinus,
improves circulation, eases abdominal pain,
and ridiculously
according to the University of Ottawa’s school of human kinetics
a boiling glass of H20
can reduce one’s body temperature on hot days.
So It is definitely not a magic cure all
but there is scientific evidence to say that hot water
is somewhat better than cold water.
Does it mean I’ll start drinking it from now on?
Well ........ No!
No it does not.
So, once again thank you for watching another one of my videos.
Don't forget to like, comment and definitely subscribe.
If you like this video and would like to see other videos about Chinese culture,
Why not check out this one on the true story of The Journey To The West.
As always .... thank you so much for watching.
I'm WooKong,
and goodbye.