Author Archives: lee703@usc.edu

Pointing at the Moon

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 53
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: San Marino, CA
Performance Date: 3/30/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin (Chinese)

 Interview:

Are there any events of superstition that you heard?

 

“We were told not to point our fingers to the moon, or kids aren’t allowed to point fingers at the moon, in general, otherwise get punished by, like a god of the moon.

But particularly mentioned during the Mid-Autumn festival because you view the moon, and children tend to point to it.”

 

Background:

My father described this as something that his mother and other adults told him as he was growing up.  Some of the most common search results reveal that this is one of the traditional pieces of Hmong folklore.  The superstition goes, that if you point at the moon, the woman on the moon, known as Chang E, would come and cut the ear of the person who points at her.  While my father is from Taiwan, many other east Asian countries share this superstition.   While he told this story, he doesn’t believe in the superstition himself.

 

Analysis:

This story seemed a bit like the modern bloody Mary to me.  Often superstitions have a dual function to make children behave or teach morals but that doesn’t seem to be the motivation behind this superstition.  These stories fill me with a reckless curiosity to test the superstition to see if their promised curses really befall the performer.

The slender man

Screen Shot 2018-04-23 at 10.40.11 PM

Background:

Slender man, a supernatural creature that is often depicted as an incredibly tall humanoid wearing a suit, with a head possessing no features or face.  Inspiring many series such as the interactive web series Marble Hornets, the urban legend began as a creepypasta created on the Something Awful forums.  Creepypasta, or online horror legends or photographs, got their name from copypasta, which notes their tendency to be copy and pasted in blocks of text across various forums and social media websites across the internet.  This method of spreading information anonymously across the internet can be attributed to the popularization of this urban legend.  Although the story has been proved to be a fictional work with an original author that is identifiable, the story of slender man is seen to possess many traits of traditional folklore.  According to Professor Shira Chess of University of Georgia, the story of Slenderman provides collectivity, variability, and performance differences.  The story of slender man, is firstly, told by a collective.  While it began from one person, the story is told by many.  With many interpretations of Slenderman, it creates variation that shapes the legend.  Each unique story, adds to the creature known as Slenderman.  Often even when performing this folktale, the mediums will be different. They could be images like the original forum post, to text stories and movies, and even video games.

Analysis:

I believe this is representative of the collaborative nature of the internet.  A world where any one story or image can add on to the canon.  The course of slender man’s development is also reminiscent of many of the Lovecraftian stories.

Link to the CreepyPasta forum Entry: https://www.creepypasta.com/slenderman/

 

Chinese New Year

Nationality: American
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Marino, CA
Performance Date: 3/30/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin (Chinese)

Interview:

What holidays do you celebrate?

“We run this race during Chinese New Year called the firecracker race.  It takes place in Chinatown and there are many runs like kiddie runs and the 5k run or the 10k run.

Every year my family would go and run it and we would always have fun. After the race, by going by stands and getting free food and promotional things.  Then after that we would go to a sandwich store called Philippe’s.”

 Background:

The subject began running this race annually due to the fact her father and brother took part in the race every Chinese New Year.  Normally taking place on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, Chinese New Year traditionally is known as the spring festival.  Each year is named after one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac of which each is named after.  Traditionally the holiday is celebrated cleaning the house to sweep away bad luck and red envelopes with money are often given from the adults to the children.

Analysis:

It is interesting to see how traditions evolve from one country to another.  Family traditions that change as a result to new environments resulting in unique ways of celebration.

Birthday Noodles

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 55
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: San Marino, CA
Performance Date: 3/30/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin (Chinese)

Proverb:

“On your birthday you are supposed to eat noodles.  Really long, long noodles.  You almost choked on them.”

 

Background:

My mother told me this custom was passed through the family that was told to her by her family.  According to the folk lore, long noodles were indications of a person’s life span, therefore on the celebration of a birthday, the eating of long noodles represents the wish for the individual’s life to be long and prosperous.  While many no longer believe in the folklore anymore, the symbolism behind this custom becomes a wish of good health and prosperity.

Analysis:

While I distinctly remember that I actually choked on the noodles in this particular event, the retelling of this custom reminded me of the memories from the past.  It is interesting to see how superstitions and folklore can transform to represent something different.  In this example, it becomes a form of tradition that means wishes for a long life.

Qing Ming Jie

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 53
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: San Marino, CA
Performance Date: 3/30/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin (Chinese)

Interview:

“Every year once a year, visit the graveyard of my grandparents.”

So was it like holiday kind of thing?

“Yeah, it was called qing ming jie.  Was for grandma, because grandma died really young.  We would visit and clean the graveyard, and do the incense, and at home we would pray and burn paper money.”

 

Background:

The holiday qing ming jie is a festival known as tomb-sweeping day.  Traditionally taking place on as the 15th day after the spring equinox.  Paper money is often burned to provide the deceased with the ability to be prosperous in the afterlife.   There is an incredible emphasis on the importance of family and ancestors in Taiwanese culture.

Analysis:

This reminds me similarly of countries like Japan who would do similar tasks to pay respects to their ancestors.  Sweeping the grave and leaving flowers were some of the tasks that were carried out.