Author Archives: Belal Wang

Chang’e and Houyi

Nationality: Hong Kong
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin and Cantonese

The informant was told this as a bedtime story when she was little by her mother. She says it is of little personal significance, and obviously not true, but is a fun story nonetheless.

“There was a hero and his wife Chang’e and Houyi, I think Houyi was the hero. But a long time ago, there were 10 suns that burned the Earth, and Houyi was the one with his bow and arrow skills that shot down nine of the suns, leaving the one we have today and making the world liveable. Something like that. Anyways, because he did this service to humankind, some Empress or Goddess gave him a potion of immortality as a reward. However, he didn’t want to leave his wife Chang’e, so he kept the potion stored away where no one would use it. But one day, Chang’e became curious as to the effects of the potion, and when Houyi left on a hunting trip, she drank it. As a result, she became immortal and began flying towards the heavens. When Houyi came back, he saw what happened and immediately rushed outside and pleaded with Chang’e to stay with him. Chang’e wanted to be with Houyi, but couldn’t get back to Earth, and so she was stuck on the moon forever. I think she’s supposed to be the dark spot on the moon, but there’s also another legend about a rabbit flying to the moon and they might be related.”

This story tells how the Sun and the Moon came to be, making it an origin myth. The Sun was left to sustain life after Houyi shot down the other nine that were scorching the Earth. Chang’e’s curiosity and disobedience in turn, are the reason why there is a dark spot on the moon. Both are explanations for mysterious(at the time) natural phenomena.

It is interesting to see that this story matches the context of the Greek folklore, Pandora’s box, where the wife of a hero unleashes sin on the world when she becomes too curious, and even Adam and Eve, where Eve eats the fruit in the Garden of Eden. This perhaps hints at the patriarchal society China may have been when the story was imagined.

Werewolf Sighting

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 21
Occupation: Military
Residence: West Point, NY
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, Spanish

“I’m pretty sure I saw a werewolf or a witch or something once. In 5thgrade everyone went to some camp in Oklahoma called Camp Classen, and one night there was a bonfire. It was fun, we made smores and played games but then at the end we told some ghost stories too. So everyone was having fun but also thinking of all the weird stuff we heard about I guess, and on the walk back, we walked through the forest and it was really sketchy. Pretty much we were all 5thgraders so I was scared of everything after the ghost stories, but I’m sure I saw some animal at least the size of a human in the distance. Unless there were like bears or something at Camp Classen, I’m pretty sure it was a werewolf. And I told my friend and he saw it too. Plus I remember clearly there was a full moon that night so you know its plausible. Honestly it was probably just some counselor or groundskeeper or something walking around at night. Werewolves don’t exist, but I might have seen one at camps.”

 

This story highlights many aspects of childhood socialization and the nature of folklore. First, the informant goes to great detail to explain the setting: at camp, during the night after hearing ghost stories, and in the dark forest with a full moon. These are all factors that add to the credibility of the story, as they are the conditions in which werewolves and creatures thrive in popular culture. Thus, the informant has turned his story into an memorate, a story of personal experience that, combined with knowledge of popular culture and others’ influence fits a mold of stories that have been told before; in the case the werewolf.

Furthermore, it shows how folk belief can act as social glue for a group. The informant tells his friend who believes him and sees similar things. There is probably not actually a werewolf, but later on the group undoubtedly gossiped and discussed the existence of such a creature, further perpetuating the idea that they may be real, and setting the scene for future discussions and propagation of the folklore.

 

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Nationality: Japanese American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese, Spanish

“Oh you know this one for sure:

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take one down pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall. 98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer, etc etc etc.

We sang this one on school field trips when we had the long bus rides to pass the time. I don’t know if there was a goal like seeing how low we could get with the numbers, but damn, I didn’t realize I sang so many songs as a kid.”

 

This is another camp song that children sing to pass the time. However, this time it refers to beer, a subject that might be taboo to such a young age group. Taking one down and passing it around obviously refers to the consumption of beer, which is illegal for children but probably something they see as an adult action their parents do. Thus, this song is the childrens’ way of taking part in the action with their own friends, and acting like the adults that are their role models.

Gravity Hill: Loma Alta St, Pasadena, CA

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

“Basically, you’re driving, I’ve never been there so I don’t know how steep the hill is, but its on an incline. And you get to a certain point where your car is nearly vertical. And you put your car in neutral so you would imagine your car would go straight down, but apparently, what happens is that your car will start to roll upwards instead. And I guess the story is that there was a schoolbus that overturned or crashed, or there was an accident that happened on that hill and a lot of people died. So what happens now is I guess the ghosts of the kids are still there and they’ll push your car upward so no one dies like they did, and people say like you’ll see hand prints on your windshield when it happens.”

 

This is a standard ghost story from Pasadena, California. It tells the story of a tragedy that occurred within the community, concerning children who had full lives ahead of them. Thus, the story is perfect for ghosts as the childrens’ spirits would want to stay on the Earth to complete their business, in this case which is protecting others from suffering the same fate. Furthermore, it takes place at the top of a hill, a liminal space where boundaries blend together, another condition for the existence of ghosts.

It is interesting that this is also a FOAF tale, where the informant heard the story from a friend of a friend. However, I looked it up, and the effect has been confirmed by multiple people. The common explanation is that the hill is on a grade, and the rest of the view is skewed, which gives people an optical illusion that the hill is slanted downwards where it is actually going up. This is an excellent example of how people will try to explain mysteries with the supernatural when they do not understand how a phenomena works.

New Years Ghost: Nian Guay

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

“So there was this monster called Nien. Every year he would go into the village and eat all the people. This is for Chinese New Years and basically the customs such as wearing red, lighting firecrackers, and candles I guess. So every year on Chinese New Years eve, a monster would come out and eat people and animals, and so in order to avoid the monster the people would flee behind the hills of the village to hide out. And they called this day Nian Guan (the passing of the monster) But one year this old beggar came into the village but didn’t know the whole story with the Nian monster, but this old lady gave him food and told him, “You have to run into the hills if you don’t want to be eaten.” The beggar told her he will get rid of the monster if you let me stay in your house tonight. So the lady houses him for the night, but that night the Nian monster came out and saw that there was red on the door of the old ladies house, which was also brightly lit. So when the monster reached the entrance of the house the man came out in a red robe, and the monster was scared away, and the village was saved. From then on Chinese people have a lot of red on display for the New Year, and they have firecrackers to scare the Nian Guay, and a lot of other traditions come from this story.”

This is a myth that explains of where the Chinese New Year holiday came from, and why some of the traditions that take place exist. I’m not sure whether this story came first or if the new year existed before it, but Nian Guan also means “the end of the year,” which would give clues to the origin of Chinese New Year. Or perhaps the monster just happened to appear at the liminal time of the New Year, and the man scaring it away was the impetus of the New Year celebration.

Also, this story explains to modern cultures why they practice some of the traditions in place. Firecrackers, the color red, and candles are all things that would scare the monster, and thus these are things celebrated today and symbolize the time for celebration. I have also heard that the idea of red envelopes was developed because the monster would steal money from people, and the red kept it away. These are all derivative from this story, and give meaning to some of the actions that correspond to the holiday.