Author Archives: Kaylee Hou

己所不欲，勿施于人 (Treat others the way you want to be treated)- Chinese Proverb

Text: “己所不欲，勿施于人” (Jǐ suǒ bù yù, wù shī yú rén).

Informant: “己所不欲，勿施于人 (Jǐ suǒ bù yù, wù shī yú rén). It means you want to treat other people you want to be treated, if there’s something you don’t want for yourself, don’t do it to others. It’s a Chinese principle of life. Everything is not about yourself, it’s more about the community and living in society. That’s a cultural difference from Western culture.”

Interviewer: “Is it different from the Western saying ‘treat others how you want to be treated’?”
Informant: “In American values they do have this idea, but the difference is that in Chinese culture it’s integrated into everything. In American culture there are also other proverbs that encourage you to be whatever you want to be. There are more choices between ideas. In China there are fewer contradictory principles like that.”

Interviewer: “When was the first time you heard it?”
Informant: “Since I was about seven or eight. I heard it from parents, neighbors, and teachers. Usually when you have conflicts with other kids, like when you fight with your brother or sister or with other students. For example, when my parents would bring good food or little treats, sometimes you try to keep the best one for yourself and give your brother or sister the one you don’t like. Then they would say this proverb.”

Context:
The informant first heard this proverb when they were around seven or eight years old from parents, neighbors, and teachers. It was commonly used in everyday situations when children were arguing with siblings or classmates, or when they were being selfish while sharing things like food or treats. The proverb was used as a reminder to consider others and behave fairly. As the informant grew older, they continued to hear the saying and later used it themselves when raising their own children.

Analysis:

This example is a proverb, a form of verbal folklore that communicates cultural values through a short and memorable phrase. Proverbs are often used in everyday conversations as a way to guide behavior, especially by parents and teachers when correcting children. In the informant’s explanation, the saying emphasizes thinking about how one’s actions affect others rather than focusing only on individual desires. Similar ideas appear in other cultures, such as the English saying “treat others the way you want to be treated,” which demonstrate multiplicity and variation. The informant describes the Chinese proverb as being deeply embedded in everyday moral teaching. Through repeated use in situations like family conflicts or lessons about sharing, the proverb reinforces Chinese cultural expectations about community and consideration for others.

Double Happiness Red Paper- Chinese Wedding Tradition

Age: 54

Text:
Informant: “When people get married, friends and relatives help prepare for the wedding. They cut out the double happiness character, ‘双喜 (shuāngxǐ),’ using scissors. It means double happiness. They cut the character out of red paper, it has to be red paper. The character is 喜 (xǐ) for happiness, and the wedding version combines two of them to make double happiness. People only do this for weddings, they make both small and big ones and place them everywhere in the house of the bride and the groom, like entry doors, windows, gates, the bed board, and furniture.”

Context:

The informant is from China and and explained that this practice of cutting the 双喜 out of red paper is widely performed in China and considered a cultural tradition and blessing associated specifically with marriage. The informant also shared that they personally participated in this custom when they got married and when their friends and family married.

Analysis:

Wedding decorations like the double happiness character (双喜) are a form of customary folklore tied to an important life transition. Weddings mark the beginning of a new stage of life, and symbolic objects are often used to express hopes for the couple’s future. The repetition of the character for happiness represents the union of two people and the wish for joy and prosperity in their marriage.

The decoration also has elements of material folklore, since the character is physically created by cutting it out of red paper. In modern times, people tend to buy the paper pre-cut, but there are still people who cut it by hand. The process of preparing and displaying these decorations is often done collectively by family members and friends, which reinforces the communal nature of wedding celebrations and an overall community emphasis in China. Placing the symbol throughout the home not only signals to others that a wedding is taking place, but also symbolically invites happiness and good fortune into the new household.

女娲补天 (Nuwa repairs the Sky)- Chinese Myth

Text: 女娲补天 (Nǚwā bǔ tiān)- translated to English as “Nuwa repairs the sky”

Informant: “In ancient times there was a water god and a fire god who were in war with each other. The water god lost, and in his anger he crashed into the huge columns that supported the sky. In ancient Chinese belief, the sky was supported by giant mountain-like pillars so when the columns broke, the sky collapsed and everything fell apart. There were floods everywhere, fires burning, and people were dying. So there was a female goddess named Nuwa who saw all the humans suffering and wanted to save them. She found special stones and used fire to melt them down to patch the hole in the sky. Then she needed something to support the patched sky, so she fought a giant turtle monster that was as tall as a mountain. After beating him, she cut off its four legs and used them as four pillars to hold up the sky. Also during this time, because of the floods and destruction, many other monsters appeared on earth. Nuwa fought all these dragons and monsters and defeated them, finally restoring peace and order to the world.”

Context:

The informant explained that they first learned the story of Nuwa repairing the sky in elementary school through children’s picture books.

Analysis:

Stories like Nuwa repairing the sky belong to a group of sacred narratives that explain how the world came to be ordered the way it is. Unlike folktales, myths are not constantly invented or changed. They tend to become canonical stories that are repeated over long periods of time and eventually written down, often becoming closely tied to religion or cultural tradition.

The story also demonstrates the concept of multiplicity and variation. Many cultures have different myths about how the world was created or repaired after catastrophe. The flooding and destruction in this story are similar to flood narratives found in other traditions, such as the biblical flood story. While the details differ, these stories address similar questions about why disasters happen and how order is restored. Because events like the formation of the world or large natural disasters are difficult to explain, folklore often emerges to help societies make sense of the unknown. In this sense, myths function as early cultural explanations for the natural world, helping people understand chaotic events.

Ghost at Winchester Mystery House- Folk Legend

Age: 20

Text:

Informant: “One time I went and visited the Winchester mystery house when I was 12 and the tour guide was telling us different stories of things people have witnessed while being in that house. And so one of the stories was that in the living room there was a fireplace and one of the men that worked there was a wheelbarrow guy and helped clean up. In the middle of the night, you can see his ghost cleaning the fireplace very rarely.”

Interviewer: “What is his ghost supposed to look like?”
Informant: “His ghost is covered in the ash.”

Interview: “Did you see the ghost or experience any paranormal activity yourself?”
Informant: “No, we went in the daytime.”

Context:

The informant heard this ghost story while visiting the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose with their family when they were about 12 years old.

Analysis:

This story is an example of a legend, a form of verbal folklore that takes place in the real world and is presented as something that could be believable or believed. The ghost of the wheelbarrow worker is tied to a specific location, the Winchester Mystery House, which helps make the story feel more realistic since there’s a tangible location already associated with anecdotes of experiences with paranormal activity. Legends are often connected to real places because the setting encourages listeners to question whether the event might actually be true.

At the same time, legends allow people to debate beliefs and explore uncertainty. Listeners may not fully believe the story, but they also may not completely dismiss it, and creating that sense of ambivalence that is central to how legends function. This specific tension between belief and skepticism encourages discussion about whether ghosts or supernatural events might exist. Even though the informant did not personally witness the ghost, sharing stories of reported sightings through tours or conversations help keep legends alive and continue to circulate and renew the legend for new audiences.


Force it Down Mid- Verbal Folklore/Slang

Text:

Informant: “Its from League of Legends, I’ve never played the game before but I’ve heard people say it before and I know how the game works. I know its played on a field that has three lanes, top, middle, and bottom lane. And the middle lane is the most contested, so to ‘force it down mid’ means to be stubborn and tunnel vision and push it down without any worry about challenges. So you’d say it if you need to persevere through something challenging.”

Context:

The informant learned this expression through online gaming culture and conversations with friends who play League of Legends.

Analysis:

Like much of verbal folklore and especially for slang, this example relies on shared knowledge within a folk group. In this case, player’s of the game League of Legends, or people in the gaming sphere. It also functions as a folk metaphor and can be used in everyday situations. The “mid lane” becoming a metaphor for a challenge, and “forcing it” implying stubborn determination. This reflects the growing influence of internet and gaming culture, where inside references circulate rapidly among online communities and spread into everyday conversations.