Category Archives: Life cycle

Tiger Auntie

Speaker: “When I was little, adults would always tell us the story of Tiger Auntie before bed. It was supposed to scare children into going to sleep early and not opening the door to strangers.

The story was usually about two sisters whose parents had to go out to work at night. Before leaving, the parents would tell them very seriously, ‘Remember to lock the doors and windows once it gets dark. Do not open the door for anyone.’

The two girls would stay home alone, and then later that night someone would knock on the door. The voice outside would sound just like their aunt or grandmother. She would say, ‘Open the door, it’s me, your auntie. I came to check on you.’

At first the girls would be scared and refuse to open it. But Tiger Auntie would keep talking and tricking them, pretending to be a relative. Eventually, one of the girls would believe her and open the door.

After Tiger Auntie came inside, she would pretend to be kind and caring. She might sit with the girls, tell them to go to sleep, or stay with them through the night. But actually she was a tiger spirit pretending to be an old woman.

Then in the middle of the night, she would eat one of the sisters.

The younger sister would wake up and realize something was wrong. Sometimes she would see bones, or notice that her sister was gone, or realize Tiger Auntie had claws or a tail. Then she would get very scared, but she would pretend to stay calm.

She would say, ‘I need to go outside to use the bathroom.’

Tiger Auntie would let her go, and then the little sister would run away and climb up a tree to hide.

Tiger Auntie would chase after her and stand under the tree, trying to figure out how to get her down. In some versions of the story, the little sister tricks Tiger Auntie into climbing the tree and then burns her. In other versions, she waits there until her parents come home and save her.

That was basically the story. Adults would tell it to remind children not to open the door to strangers and not to stay up too late at night.”

Interviewer: “Did people really think Tiger Auntie was real?”

Speaker: “When you are little, you definitely think it could be real. Especially because adults tell it in such a serious way. If you stayed up too late or wanted to leave your room at night, people would say, ‘Be careful, Tiger Auntie will come.’”

Interviewer: “So it was kind of like a warning story?”

Speaker: “Yeah, definitely. It was meant to scare children into listening to their parents, going to sleep, and not opening the door for strangers.”

Context: This story was shared in an informal conversation about childhood folklore and bedtime stories in Taiwan. The speaker remembered hearing the story of Tiger Auntie repeatedly as a child, especially from older family members. The story was treated as both entertainment and a warning, and was often used to teach children to obey their parents, stay inside at night, and avoid strangers.

Analysis: The story of Tiger Auntie is one of the most well-known folk tales in Taiwan. Like many cautionary tales told to children, it combines fear with a moral lesson. This type of story is passed by generations of people to let children be cautious. The tiger spirit represents danger coming from outside the home, especially danger disguised as someone familiar or trustworthy.

Shooting the Drum (Miao Courtship Custom)

Speaker: “This is a custom from a Miao(Hmong) village in Guizhou. It is called ‘shooting the drum.’ Yeah, shooting the drum. It is a pretty interesting one. From what I heard, the way people talk about it now is almost like a legend. It existed in real life in the past, but nowadays no one really practices it anymore. People say that back then, someone would use a stick in a very skillful way, almost like performing magic, to ‘shoot’ or strike the drum in a special way. It is one of those traditional customs that has been passed down in the local Miao community over time. Back in those days, people were very poor, you know, so life was quite different. Because of that, some of these customs were tied to relationships and marriage in ways that might feel unusual now. The story goes that after this kind of ritual or interaction, the couple might be brought back to the home, and then their relationship would basically be settled from there. It was not something easy to walk away from once it happened. People sometimes describe it in a joking way now, comparing it to something like being carried along by the situation, like once you are in it, you cannot really back out. But that is more how people talk about it today rather than how it was formally understood back then.”

Interviewer: “So is it more like a legend now than a real practice?”

Speaker: “Yeah, pretty much. It is something people talk about as part of history or folklore now. Not many people actually know how to do it anymore, and it is not really practiced today.”

Context: This conversation took place during an informal discussion about regional customs and lesser-known traditions in ethnic minority communities in China. The speaker introduced “shooting the drum” as a Miao custom from Guizhou, describing it as something that once existed but is now mostly remembered through stories and informal explanations. His description mixed fragments of historical practice with more modern interpretations and humor.

Analysis: This folklore practice reflects how certain traditional practices, especially those tied to courtship or community rituals, can fade over time and become more like folklore than lived reality. The speaker’s uncertainty and casual tone suggest that knowledge of the custom is no longer widely preserved in detail. Instead, it survives in fragments part storytelling. The mention of poverty and social conditions also hints at how older folklore were shaped by economic and social constraints and evolved by time.

Gender Appreciation Days at Tsinghua University

Age: 53 Performance Date: 04/19

“Every year on March 7th — the day before International Women’s Day on March 8th — people started calling it 女生节, Girls’ Day. That’s when the guys in class buy gifts for the girls. And then on November 10th, the day before Singles’ Day on the 11th, that becomes 男生节, Boys’ Day, where the girls are supposed to buy gifts for the guys. This has been going on for maybe ten, fifteen, almost twenty years now. It’s just one of those things everyone does.

And there’s another thing that goes along with Girls’ Day on March 7th — the guys in class will make these big banners. Like, they’ll write stuff on them about how great the girls in their class are, how much they like them, and then they put them up all over campus. That’s always been part of it too.

I think it’s a nice tradition. It’s a way for guys and girls to show appreciation for each other, which feels meaningful. And it’s kind of fun. I think people genuinely like having a day like that. It’s already become semi-official at this point. Kind of like how in Japan, Valentine’s Day became this thing where girls give chocolate to guys — it grew into its own custom over time. I think this one will stick around too.

As for whether it goes beyond Tsinghua — I honestly don’t know. I can only speak to what I’ve seen on campus.”

Context: This account was shared in a casual recorded conversation with a college student who attended Tsinghua University. The informant spoke entirely in Mandarin, recalling these campus customs in a relaxed and reflective tone. The interviewer prompted the informant to share their own thoughts on the tradition and whether it might evolve further, which led to a brief comparative discussion touching on Japanese Valentine’s Day customs and the semi-official status these days have already taken on within the university community.

Analysis: The campus holidays described here — 女生节 on March 7th and 男生节 on November 10th — represent a grassroots form of calendar folklore, where unofficial commemorative days are created by students to mirror and playfully subvert existing holidays. Girls’ Day slots itself in just before the officially recognized International Women’s Day, reframing a political holiday into something more personal and celebratory among peers. Boys’ Day, meanwhile, carves out space the day before the wildly popular Singles’ Day shopping holiday, turning a commercial phenomenon into a moment of reciprocal social gesture between genders.

The banner-hanging tradition tied to Girls’ Day is especially worth noting — it transforms private sentiment into a public, communal performance, filling the campus with visible declarations of appreciation. This kind of collective display is a hallmark of student folk culture, where participation in the ritual matters as much as the content of the message itself.

The informant’s comparison to Japanese Valentine’s Day customs reflects an awareness of how gender-coded gift-giving traditions can evolve organically into something institutionalized over time. That these days have already achieved what the informant calls “semi-official” status at Tsinghua suggests they are well along that trajectory — beginning as informal student invention and gradually becoming part of the campus’s cultural calendar.

Angel Kisses

Text:

“Angel Kiss”

Context:

As a child, my mother would call my sister’s freckles “angel kisses.” As I got older, I was curious about “angel kisses,” so I researched them online. Apparently, “angel kisses” often refer to both freckles and birthmarks – especially on children.

Analysis:

I believe parents call their children’s freckles and birthmarks “angel kisses” to instill them with confidence and self-love. It is a form of esoteric communication between a mother and her child. Society can sometimes look down upon features such as birthmarks and freckles, so the labeling of them as “angel kisses” evokes a sense of sacredness and beauty in spite of the world’s cruelness. It teaches children to wholly love themselves and see their beauty in uniqueness.

Golden Birthdays

Text:

S: “A golden birthday is the year you turn the same age as your birthday”

Context:

My sister turned 17 this year, and she told me that it was her golden birthday. She then explained that a golden birthday is the birthday when you turn the age of the day you were born on. For example, my sister was born on the 17th and she turned 17 years old.

Analysis:

A “golden birthday” is a form of folk speech used especially by kids. I remember hearing others at school excitedly talking about their golden birthday. It was believed that your “golden year,” the year you’re the age of your birthday, was suppose to be one of good luck. As I’ve gotten older, I haven’t heard it used or discussed much, leading me to believe that it is primarily an “esoteric” – insider’s – form of communication amongst children. I remember always being a little sad that my golden birthday is when I turn 30 – it felt very far away for a child, and I wanted to be a part of the community, an insider.