Monthly Archives: March 2011

Story – China

Nationality: Chinese, American, Brazilian
Age: 47
Occupation: ESL Teacher
Residence: Ossining, New York
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese

How My Grandfather’s Middle Name Came to Be (the Hong Mountain)

“My grandfather’s middle name is Hong. It is a prestigious name, it seems, after the Hong Mountain in the village of WuXi. The story goes that a close blood relative of a Chinese emperor was buried there; his tombstone standing alone on this mountain overlooking the village. This lonely man was the direct heir to the emperor’s throne. He, however, didn’t want to rule the Chinese empire. He wanted to be free of imperial duties so he could be a free man. He left the imperial palace and wandered off as far as he could. He ended up in the village of WuXi and entered a temple. There he became ill and was taken care of by the village people.

The emperor dispatched search parties all over the empire looking for his last relative. One of these search parties led by one of the emperor’s close ambassadors arrived at WuXi, after hearing news about a strange sick man, whose identity no one knew of, showing up at this village. Upon the search party’s arrival, the ambassador went straight to see this unidentified man. He immediately recognized the heir to the empire and sent out for the imperial doctors. Unfortunately, the illness was in such an advanced stage that no Chinese medicine or medical expertise could have helped. The heir to the throne died in this village. Before his death, he made his last wish. He wished to be buried in this village and not to be brought back to the imperial palace.

The village people wanted to honor this guest. They gave him a respectful and proper burial. They chose the highest site on the Hong Mountain where no one has ever been buried before and made a tombstone fit for a member of the imperial family.

That’s where my grandfather got his middle name.” –Lee Lee Wong

Analysis:

This legend is an example of ethnic folklore as manifested in a middle name. Every name stands for something different, whether it be a personal quality or in this case, the history of an emperor’s descendent. In the traditional Chinese culture, one’s middle name carries just as much value as the first name. A typical Chinese name reads in the order of last, middle, and first name.  Choosing a name in the Chinese culture relies heavily on the name’s underlying history and connotations. Perhaps my great grandfather’s parents gave him that name to honor the story of the emperor’s descendent. The story’s themes create the name’s significance, which include individualism and self-discovery. These were probably traits my great grandfather’s parents wanted to instill in him.

It is common for the Chinese to tell stories about the origins of a surname or middle name. Culturally, the Chinese honor their ancestors and look to the past for answers to the present. Unlike American culture, which is forward-facing in the social and cultural context, Chinese culture is reliant on past events and stories. A great deal of attention is paid to the surname, which can say a lot about a person’s character and background.

My mom learned about this story from her father. She unfortunately cannot write in Chinese as well as she can speak the language, which is why I could not document this story in its original language, Cantonese. She told me that her grandfather’s name is something he and our family should be proud of and has essentially become a part of our heritage. The name ties our family to royalty and reflects hopes for grand accomplishments in life. The name’s imperial traits include wisdom, culture, richness, and a long legacy of family ties. While my mother didn’t know him very well, she said he loved to read and learn which instill the name with even more meaning. My grandfather takes great pleasure in sharing stories of this kind because he believes the name’s significance will continue to run in our family and bring us good fortune.

Proverb – China

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 43
Occupation: Managing Director
Residence: Sweden, Beijing, New York
Performance Date: March 28, 2008
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English, Spanish

“????”

“Sai Won Shi Ma”

“Farmer’s Lost of Horse”

“Don’t get easily discouraged by a misfortune and don’t get too excited about a fortune”

“There is a farmer and son living on a farm. They raise nice horses. One night, the barn’s gate is accidentally left open and one of the black stallions disappears. The following morning, the villagers hear about the news and commensurate with the farmer and his son. For days, the son searches for the horse, but to no avail. In response to the villagers’ consolation, the farmer remains calm and tells them he is not too concerned. The following day, the black stallion returns to the farm with a white horse. The villagers rejoice and congratulate the farmer. Not only did the black stallion return, but they also gained a new horse, which was big news at the time. The farmer, however, does not partake in the celebration of the horses; he tells the villagers not to get too excited. He tells them they may not be so fortunate. A few days later, the son is riding the horses, loses control, and falls and breaks his leg. The village people sympathize with the son and express their sincere apologies for the misfortune. The farmer, however, tells the villagers that he wouldn’t call the accident a “misfortune.” Two months later, the village is invaded by enemies. As a result, everyone has to fight in the army, with the exception of the son who is still recovering from the accident. Ninety percent of the young men who fight in the army are killed. The moral of the story is that one should not get discouraged after a misfortunate event. At the same time, one should not get overly triumphant over good news, because it can easily be followed by misfortune.” – Ping Hu

Analysis:

I collected this proverb from Ping, a good family friend. She was born and raised in Beijing. She moved to New York for high school and attended undergraduate and graduate schools in the States. Altogether, she has lived in the country for 19 years. However, she currently travels back and forth between Beijing, Switzerland, and the States for work. According to Ping, both stories- the “monkey” and “the boy who lost his horse”- are extremely popular and originated in mainland China.

Ping remembers learning all kinds of proverbs during her elementary school years, which sheds light on the functional and cultural role of proverbs. According to Ping, proverbs are used in a wide range of contexts, whether that be in public speaking, education, business gatherings, etc. Often times, people hold contests to see who knows more proverbs, since they are so prevalent in the Chinese culture and play such a big role in the way people communicate.

Like most people I interviewed for folklore, Ping prefaced her stories by telling me she could go on and on about proverbs. Her favorite aspect of a proverb is that it can convey a powerful message in only four Chinese characters. She says, “No one needs to rehash the long story to make the point which comes handy in social networking and business speaking.  I guess that’s what we usually refer to as “culture” – it’s a set of understanding, value and belief deeply embedded in the people who shared the same background.” This one in particular is one of her personal favorites. It has guided her in both her personal and professional life. The moral of the story is as follows: “you will not be successful if you don’t keep your perspective intact. By the same token, a major setback in life is not necessarily a lost cause if you approach the situation with calm and patience.” Ping told me that she constantly reflects on this proverb when faced with either triumphs or setbacks as a way to boost her confidence and maintain an optimistic outlook on a situation. Perseverance is not as easy task but is rewarded once a person overcomes whatever obstacle presents itself.

I myself take comfort in the story’s message. It takes will power and a positive attitude to be able to come to terms with reality and face life’s difficulties. I am further drawn to the message because people have pointed out that I am a “Negative Nancy” and have a hard time staying positive in unfavorable situations. The proverb calls us to question and re-evaluate our attitudes because attitudes ultimately drive our behavior and the way we outwardly live our lives. It also stresses the importance of balance; we should not be overly accepting or critical of life’s fortunes and misfortunes. We should learn from our mistakes and constantly push forward no matter how difficult a situation is.

Another interesting element of the underlying story is its attention to luck. The father never seems to engage in celebratory actions, but rather detached from the triumphs and setbacks that take place in the story. He constantly reminds the villagers to stay levelheaded across good and bad situations, which is similar to the saying, “the bad is always followed by the good” and “the good is always followed by the bad.” The proverb is commonly used in social networking and business practices, which demonstrates its functional nature in the Chinese culture.

Recipe – Finnish

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Auburn, WA
Performance Date: April 30, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Krospu- Finnish Pancake Recipe

3eggs
2 C milk
½ C sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1 1/4 C flour
½ C butter

– Mix all ingredients except butter together.
– Melt butter in 4 9” glass pie pans in 375 degree oven.
– Pour batter over hot butter and bake approximately 30 minutes
– Serve warm with powdered sugar and syrup.

Analysis:

This recipe was passed down by Natalie’s great grandmother, Faye Joki McLean, who is full Finnish. She passed away, but would be around 90 years old if she were still alive. She was a single mom who raised her large extended Finnish family in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, which has a large Finnish population. She spoke Finnish growing up, but as she got older, had fewer opportunities to speak to other people (outside of her family) in her native tongue.

Her great grandmother always made an effort to preserve their family heritage. Natalie has known about this recipe since childhood. She says they are a staple in Finnish food, sort of like American pancakes, but not as sweet. Her great grandmother passed it down to Natalie’s mother. Every now and then, her family eats Kropsu for breakfast. Also, they will eat them with a special Finnish meatball dish during large family gatherings.

There is no better way to preserve a culture than to preserve its food and pass down traditional recipes. Most often, the preparation of the food makes the dish unique to the culture. After all, the ingredients for Kropsu do not seem any different from the ingredients of a generic, American pancake. In my family, most of the recipes that have been passed down are relatively easy to make. The one that comes to mind is the Brazilian dessert, brigadeiro, which requires only condensed milk and Nesquick. However, it is the process and timing that make it distinct from other desserts that may require the same ingredients. If you cook it under time, it will not solidify into a concrete ball. If you cook it over time, it will be too hard and lose its smooth texture. The same idea probably applies to the Kropsu.

Proverb – China

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 43
Occupation: Managing Director
Residence: Sweden, Beijing, New York
Performance Date: March 28, 2008
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English, Spanish

“????”

“Zhao San Mu Sz”

“Morning Three Evening Four”

It is necessary to understand the following story to be able to understand the proverb:

“There is a new zookeeper assigned to the monkey section. His first assignment is to announce the monkey-eating schedule. He gathers them around and tells them, “You will have 4 bananas in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.” The monkeys don’t respond well; they are upset and throw a fit. The zookeeper then asks himself what he should do. He proves to be a smart, young man by rewording his announcement. He tells them the next day, “You will have 3 bananas in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.” The monkeys cheer and the zookeeper knows he has done his job successfully. The moral of the story is that there are many ways to be creative. Sometimes, all it takes is presenting the same information in a different way to achieve unexpected positive results.” – Ping Hu

Analysis:

I learned this proverb from a family friend who is in charge of an entire business and operation division of her company, Phillip Morris International in China. Over one hundred people report to her on a daily basis and she often uses this technique to get people’s consensus and support, which often leads to critical business implications. She is forced to think outside the box on a daily basis in recreating new strategies to market the product, cigarettes. After sharing this story with me, I couldn’t help but equate the monkeys in the story with consumers and zookeepers with the media. Evidently, we are embedded in a consumerist culture. While the zookeeper successfully persuaded the monkeys, the media does not always elicit positive feedback. It has infiltrated our society, bombarding us with information left and right (some of which is unreliable information). It becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from the media’s construction of reality. To be a success in advertising, one must constantly think outside the box to appeal to a wide audience.

This story also pertains to patterns of communication. I am in a communication course entitled “communication as a social science” and we just learned about the importance of question phrasing. The way one phrases a question can have huge implications as to how the listener interprets the message and responds. A famous experiment conducted by Loftus came to the following conclusion: after an accident, the investigator asked a group of witnesses if they had seen “a broken headlight” versus “the broken headlight.” The witnesses who were asked the latter were more likely to remember the broken headlight and provide assistance. Merely changing the article of the subject changed the meaning of the question and influenced the way the witness responded. Anyone can be creative; even a zookeeper on the first day of his job. Evidently, creativity almost always leads to success, which is the message I took away from the proverb.

Story – Native American

Nationality: Black, Native American, White
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Story of the Moth

“So, um my aunt was telling me a story about why we have stars in the sky. Um and so she told me that before we had moths and butterflies, we just had butterflies. One night, they realized they wanted light at night; something beautiful to look at. So some of the butterflies decided to fly all the way up to the top of the sky and when they got to the top, they poked little holes in the sky. But on their journey up, they lost a lot of their color because the journey was really stressful! So then when they came back down they were different and no longer just had butterflies. We have butterflies and moths and even though moths are not as beautiful as butterflies, they gave us stars in sky and for that they’re more noble. They sacrificed what they look like for a good cause.” –Kim Mills

Analysis:

Kim heard about this story from Olive Kelly, her great aunt who is half Native American, a quarter white, and a quarter black. She learned about it from her a long time ago. Olive thinks it’s important to preserve their Native American culture (they are descendants of the Cree tribe) and make sure they understand their roots and are proud of them. When I asked Kim about her thoughts on Native American folklore as a whole, she said that they always have some underlying meaning and simple message. They offer great advice in life and encourage us to recognize the world around us. There is usually an emphasis on nature and animals to demonstrate the importance of nature and encourage appreciation and celebration of the world around us.

I really like the underlying message of this particular story. When I think of moths, only negative attributes come to mind. They create holes in clothes and are almost impossible to get rid of when they fly inside the house. However, this story sheds a positive light on their character. The story shows how a negative attribute can also serve a positive function; creating light in the sky so we can see at night. Maybe this was not the intention of the story, but my take on it is to not judge a book by its cover. After all, moths are not as attractive as butterflies. However, they evidently have good intentions and work for the greater good of society. I would like to think that everything that lives and breathes exists for a reason, even moths whose attributes initially seem more negative than positive.