Tag Archives: China

Upside down red envelope 🧧

Age: 19
Language: English

The informant was a Chinese international student from Shanghai who goes to UC Santa Barbara. He describes a tradition in his household that takes place during Lunar New Year where his family puts a lucky red envelope (红包 – ang pau) upside down on their front door.

“The character on the envelope means prosperity or auspiciousness. Upside down (福 – fu) in Chinese is the same pronunciation as arrival. So putting it upside down is like saying that prosperity has arrived. People put that on their door during the New Year. Some people also choose to put that only inside their door to signify that the prosperity has entered the household. There’s also belief that the character at the front door should not be upside down since that upsets the prosperity but you can put the character upside down onto other things (like a closet) inside the house. It is a very common and significant cultural practice in China. And my family does that too. We typically put the character upside down outside the front door to our apartment.”

Because Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language where one word can have multiple meanings depending on what tone it is said in, there are many opportunities for word play like this instance. The disagreement between people whether putting the envelope upside down brings or upsets prosperity and whether putting it outside or inside the door is the correct way is interesting because it shows how different people interpret the wordplay differently and that there is no clear cut answer.

Nonetheless, using a lucky envelope to bring prosperity inside the home reminds me of how people across a lot of cultures have rituals to bring them luck for the new year (eating a select amount of grapes, kissing on midnight, etc.) and indicates that many people see it as a hopeful new opportunity to change their lives for the better.

Holiday meal: Dried Oyster and Black Moss

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Parkside, USC

My informant E is from Hong Kong, China and there is a traditional dish that is eaten during Chinese New Year with dried oysters and black moss. E said that “Dried Oyster and Black Moss” is a Southern Chinese dish that is eaten on Chinese New Year because everyone wants to start the new year with health, prosperity, and wealth, which is what the dish translates to phonetically in Cantonese. They explained how “ho see” (dried oyster) sounds like the word for good deeds and “fat choy” (black moss) sounds very similar to the word for wealth and prosperity. As this dish relies heavily on the phonetics of Cantonese, E told me that it is not a very common dish outside of Cantonese homes.

Growing up in Eastern China, I had heard of this dish before, but I never had the pleasure of trying it. However, I have had dishes that have those ingredients in them as they are very popular and common vegetables in China. Dried oysters and black moss can be found in almost every Chinese market or grocery store and most families had them stored in their fridge or pantry. In Eastern Chinese culture, it is common to eat hotpot on Chinese New Year. “Hotpot” is a dish where you have an electric heating pot (hotpot) that you cook soup stock in and add in a variety of ingredients to cook like thinly sliced meats, vegetables, seafood, basically anything that cooks fast, in the stock and pull out when they are cooked and ready to eat.

Why the Great Wall was Built

Nationality: Dutch
Age: 45
Occupation: Stay-at-home mother
Residence: Maryland
Performance Date: 3/14/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Dutch, Fuzhounese, Cantonese

Text:

CF: A long time ago, there was an emperor and an empress. The empress was so beautiful that one time, the emperor–he was just fed up. He didn’t want anyone to look at her–look at his wife, who is so gorgeous. He’s like ‘I am done. I want to keep her just for myself and I’m going to build this great wall–I’m going to build the longest wall, the highest wall so nobody can look at my empress. So that’s what he did! And that’s how the Great Wall was built.

AJ: Oh, I remember!

CF: You remember that? Yeah the Great Wall–it shields her from the outside world and he will just keep the empress to himself-

AJ: I want to tell one… one story.

CF: “Okay–but do you remember that story I told you? That’s the reason why it’s built!”

Context:

I was eating at Glory Days with my mother (CF) and five-year old cousin (AJ). My cousin always loves to hear a good story, so my mother always has one prepared to tell. She keeps the stories short and concise, to make sure she holds my cousin’s attention the entire time. My mother mentioned that her mother told these stories to her at great lengths in Cantonese. This was just one of the many tales her mother had up her sleeve from her plethora of experiences, which feel so distant when examining the past through these stories. Even though my mother says she can’t tell stories “like Oma (grandma) can,” she tries to remember them to connect her back to her childhood. Her memory of the full story is fragmented, and she changes the length depending on who she tells it to. More often than not, however, she’s used to being an audience member.

Analysis:

The passing down of a narrative contributes to a strong familial and cultural identity, as they are not only shared among people of the same culture, but they also have an ability to kindle intergenerational connections. My mother said that if there was anyone to collect tales and legends from, it would be my grandmother, as her wisdom and experience exceed anything my mother can tell right now. There seems to be a consistent relationship between the storyteller and the audience; the performers tend to be older and share these stories with younger generations to nourish their relationship to their cultural community. However, as my grandmother gets older, there appears to be a natural transition between who tells the story and who listens. Now, my mother has assumed the role of a performer and tells the story to my cousin and I. Oral performances grant flexibility in determining length and content–when we’re completely alone, my mother tends to flesh out the story and add her own humorous tidbits that only we understand together.

These tales on the speculative history of China pique curiosity and intrigue in the origins and meanings behind structures that hold a sacred value. There are countless tales and legends surrounding the Great Wall–it’s one of the Eight Wonders of the world, and its mystical aura lingers because of the stories that still circulate. Additionally, this ensures that the younger generations continue to appreciate and show interest in their cultural roots. After my grandparents immigrated to the US, it often felt like my family could be detached from Chinese customs and practices. However, the stories our ancestors carry can be everlasting; as long as we continue keeping them alive, these tales can constantly link us back to our cultural identity.

tattoo as taboolistic Sign: dragon on shoulder

Text:

“You should not tattoo a dragon on your shoulder because you cannot burden its weight. Eventually it will kill you.”

“The way to eliminate the effect of the dragon on he should is to tattoo a Nezha, or 哪吒 on you. Because Nezha can defeat the dragon, so that will keep you safe.”

Context:

My informant is a student at USC. Here is his intepretation of this piece.
“How I take this(tattoo) is like, you are putting a figure onto your body, then it really is on your body. And if you tattoo a dragon on your shoulder, there is a real dragon on your shoulder and you cannot possibly bear it.”

Analysis:

To provide some background, Nezha, or 哪吒 is a mythic figure in Chinese mythology. Nezha is a child that had a pregnancy of 3 years. He had the power to fight the dragon prince in the east sea of China. Eventually, he killed one of the dragon princes. Thus, in the case of the tattoo, putting Nezha as one of the tattoos by the dragon on the shoulder would serve as a suppressor of the dragon.

A tattoo is a sign. A dragon tattoo is a sign that one cannot bear on one’s shoulder. Fortunately, there is a remedy for those who had tattooed dragons on their shoulder without knowing the consequence. This remedy is the conversion of superstitious belief. However, this conversion is no less superstitious.

My informants’ analysis of the piece shows an interesting connection to the folk belief in magic. This tattoo is both contagious and homeopathic under his analysis. It is contagious because tattoo happens on one’s body. It is homeopathic that the tattoo dragon actually becomes a real dragon that kills people, and Nezha actually becomes real and kills the dragon. It’s fascinating isn’t it?

Tale: 狼 (wolf) by Songling Pu

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Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20

Text:

S: “ The original text is :

一屠晚归，担中肉尽，止有剩骨。途中两狼，缀行甚远。

　　屠惧，投以骨。一狼得骨止，一狼仍从。复投之，后狼止而前狼又至。骨已尽矣，而两狼之并驱如故。

　　屠大窘，恐前后受其敌。顾野有麦场，场主积薪其中，苫蔽成丘。屠乃奔倚其下，弛担持刀。狼不敢前，眈眈相向。

　　少时，一狼径去，其一犬坐于前。久之，目似瞑，意暇甚。屠暴起，以刀劈狼首，又数刀毙之。方欲行，转视积薪后，一狼洞其中，意将隧入以攻其后也。身已半入，止露尻尾。屠自后断其股，亦毙之。乃悟前狼假寐，盖以诱敌。

　　狼亦黠矣，而顷刻两毙，禽兽之变诈几何哉？止增笑耳。

So, what this means is that there is a butcher who is going home after he had sold all the meat that he brought with him. On his way home, two wolves start to follow him. The butcher gets scared and throws a bone to one of the wolves. But the other wolf is still following. So he throws another bone to the other wolf. Now he has no more bones, but the two wolves continue following him. He is very scared of being attacked from the front and rear. He sees a large wheat stack nearby and leans on it while drawing his butcher knife. The wolves see the knife and stop approaching. After a while, one wolf leaves, and the other wolf sits in front of the butcher. The sitting wolf appears to be sleeping. The butcher quickly jumps up and kills the wolf with his knife. Right before the butcher leaves, he discovers that the other wolf is digging a hole behind the wheat stack! Thus, he kills this wolf as well.

Wolves are cunning, but they can die in an instant. How many tricks do these beasts have? It only adds to the laughter.”

here is the pingyin version of the original text:

Yī tú wǎn guī, dān zhōng ròu jìn, zhǐ yǒu shèng gǔ. Tú zhōng liǎng láng, zhuì xíng shén yuǎn.

Tú jù, tóu yǐ gǔ. Yī láng dé gǔ zhǐ, yī láng réng cóng. Fù tóu zhī, hòu láng zhǐ ér qián láng yòu zhì. Gǔ yǐ jìn yǐ, ér liǎng láng zhī bìng qū rú gù.

Tú dà jiǒng, kǒng qián hòu shòu qí dí. Gù yě yǒu mài chǎng, chǎng zhǔ jī xīn qí zhōng, shān bì chéng qiū. Tú nǎi bēn yǐ qí xià, chī dān chí dāo. Láng bù gǎn qián, dān dān xiāng xiàng.

Shǎo shí, yī láng jìng qù, qí yī quǎn zuò yú qián. Jiǔ zhī, mù sì míng, yì xiá shén. Tú bào qǐ, yǐ dāo pī láng shǒu, yòu shù dāo bì zhī. Fāng yù xíng, zhuǎn shì jī xīn hòu, yī láng dòng qí zhōng, yì jiāng suì rù yǐ gōng qí hòu yě. Shēn yǐ bàn rù, zhǐ lù kāo wěi. Tú zì hòu duàn qí gǔ, yì bì zhī. Nǎi wù qián láng jiǎ mèi, gài yǐ yòu dí.

Láng yì xiá yǐ, ér qǐng kè liǎng bì, qín shòu zhī biàn zhà jǐ hé zāi? Zhǐ zēng xiào ěr.

Context:

S: “This is a short story written by Songling Pu, so I think this fits your description of tale.This is the story that I have studied for my language art in my elementary school in China. The original text is Classic Chinese. If I haven’t studied during class I wouldn’t be able to understand what the words mean as well.”

Analysis:

Wolves, as a symbol of cunning and deception, serve as a foil to the human protagonist. The story’s vivid imagery and Classical Chinese language contribute to its appeal as a piece of folklore passed down through generations, often as part of an oral tradition or in this case, as a written work by Songling Pu. This story is included in Songling Pu’s work of 聊斋志异, or Liao zhao zhi yi, which means strange stories from a Chinese studio. It’s a tale collection about faires, ghosts and monsters.

This tale is also a padagogy that teaches a moral lesson that animals can be cunning, but eventually they are only animals and the human wisdom also oppress the animals. It also teaches the kids in the elementary school that when they meet bad and cunning people like the two wolves, they need to fight like the butcher, and in smart ways. I am not sure if this is the best lesson to elementary school students.

The structure of the tale follows a classic format, with a protagonist facing a challenge or a series of obstacles, in this case, the two cunning wolves. The butcher’s fears and actions are relatable to the reader, as they convey the human instinct to survive and adapt when facing danger.