“My mom kept me and my sister’s umbilical cord stump and put it together in a box. Apparently this means that we will have a good relationship in the future.”
The informant was born in Taipei, and grew up in Shanghai. The informant’s mother heard this from her mother.
After thoughts:
“男的要让女的，姐要让弟“
Context: Whenever my sister and I used to fight, my dad would always tell us that “the boy must let the girl, but the older one must let the younger one.” So in the end, we shouldn’t actually be fighting at all.”
After thoughts: Similar to China’s traditions and beliefs about familial roles, the man is viewed as the head of the household and should be respected. However, the elders of the families are also well respected.
“Every rose has it’s thorn”
Interviewee: My grandmother used to say this to me. Not everything beautiful is perfect and everything that is beautiful has its flaws. Sometimes the most beautiful.”
The informant is Persian. A similar proverb, believed to be from Persia, says “he who wants a rose must respect the thorn.” Here the idea of imperfection is expressed and teaches people to love and respect one another despite individual differences and flaws.
Interviewee: “The idea that no one owes you anything and there isn’t an overarching power or system that prevents you from getting what you want to achieve”
Interviewee: “and it’s always your fault”
Interviewer: Where did you hear this and what is its’ significance?
Interviewee: “everytime I tell my mom something didn’t go my way…she says its your fucking fault, and don’t blame anyone else for something that didn’t go your way”
Interviewee: “…and its significant because now we live in a time where victim blaming is not allowed and when something doesn’t go someone’s way it’s always someone else’s fault.
Interviewee: “people lack accountability and responsibility for their own decisions and how they approach solving their problems and I think this is why Asians fare well in America’s capitalism structure. if you work hard, if you try, if you don’t blame other people for putting you down, then you’ll naturally come out on top because Capitalism has no color but green…but when you persist on saying that there are people holding you down…and focus on why people, not you, don’t let you achieve what you want then you naturally prevent yourself from doing what you want to do and it’s significant because it instills resilience, perseverance and that you control your life.”
Interviewee: It starts with a boy who tricks nearby villagers into thinking wolves are attacking his flock. When the wolf actually appears, the boy calls for help but the villagers believe that this is another false alarm…and in the end, the sheep gets eaten by the wolf.
Interviewer: What does this mean to you?
Interviewee: okay, so when I was little I had a really rebellious attitude and was always looking for trouble. So that really made me stop and think twice before I did anything so I would make sure I didn’t regret it. it’s significance is that that story always stuck with me and it shaped how I go about approaching things
For another version of this fable, see: Adams, Elizabeth, Daniel Howarth, and Aesop. The boy who cried wolf. London: Franklin Watts, 2015. Print.