Text:
“Well, there’s this one that I do know. I don’t know the details but there’s this one well inside the palace museum in Beijing. So there’s this well that makes strange noises at night or something and people say it’s because there was this one princess, or–I don’t think it was a princess–I think it was a servant for the nobles and what happened was she was mistreated and she was very young and she just decided to kill herself in the well, and that became her spirit there, and people say they can see her ghost wandering around the well late at night.”
Context:
Informant (XY) is a student aged 19 from Changsha, China. He spent a few years going to elementary school in Canada but has spent almost his entire life in China. He currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over dinner in the dining hall. He learned about this from Chinese TikTok. To him, the story is an example of the evils of the past nobility.
Interpretation
This piece demonstrates how new stories are told as a result of modern media. TikTok has created a new medium for folklore to be communicated amongst people. It is also rather interesting to note that this story came to (XY) not from family or friends, but from strangers on the internet. The story also demonstrates anti-imperialist ideas amongst the Chinese people. It is even possible that the story’s circulation was positively impacted by its anti-imperialist nature. It’s a well-known fact that the Chinese government has a group of people creating fake pro-CCP posts on Chinese social media. Could this even be an example of a fake ghost story being circulated by such groups? That question is beyond the scope of this interview.
Tag Archives: Chinese
Zongzi
Text:
“So there’s this interesting food we eat during this one special holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival. It’s a special kind of rice wrapped around some other food. Like we can put meat or sticky rice inside and then we wrap it in like a tree leaf. Then we steam it. It’s a lotus tea leaf. The food is called:
Chinese: 粽子
Phonetic: Zòngzi
Transliteration: Rice dumplings son
Translation: Zongzi, a type of rice dumpling
We don’t usually eat that food during other times of the year. It’s mostly a variation of it during other times of the year or the traditional form during the Dragon Boat Festival.”
Context:
Informant (XY) is a student aged 19 from Changsha, China. He spent a few years going to elementary school in Canada but has spent almost his entire life in China. He currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over dinner in the dining hall. He learned about this from his family. He doesn’t really see any larger meaning behind the food.
Interpretation:
This particular food demonstrates how one food specific to a particular festival can undergo variation with the growth in wealth of the lower classes. This dish was originally eaten very sparingly, but due to economic developments, it is now eaten outside of the original festival. In order to preserve its traditional meaning, versions eaten outside of the original festival must vary.
Speak of Cao Cao
Text:
“So there’s this proverb:
Chinese: 说曹操, 曹操到
Phonetic: Shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào
Transliteration: Say, Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives
Translation: Speak of Cao Cao, and he will appear
it’s a phrase, like, everyone uses but I’m not sure where it comes from. Apparently, he saved someone from dying once they spoke his name. That’s it I think.”
Context:
Informant (JG) is a student aged 19 from Beijing, China. Although she was born in Los Angeles, she has spent most of her life living in China. She currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over breakfast in the dining hall. She heard the proverb from numerous sources and uses it herself. She usually uses it to refer to someone she doesn’t want to meet/see, in the same vein as “speak of the devil.”
Interpretation:
As mentioned by (JG), this proverb functions in the same way as the English saying “speak of the devil.” This is an example of polygenesis in folklore as the two cultures created similar folk speech without a connecting thread.
The Mantis, The Cicada, and The Oriole
Text:
“Another proverb I’ve heard is:
Chinese: 螳螂捕蝉黄雀在后
Phonetic: Tángláng bǔ chán huáng què zài hòu
Transliteration: Mantis catches cicada oriole behind
Translation: The mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the oriole behind him
it’s one of my favorites. It basically means you need to be cautious and alarm.”
Context:
Informant (JG) is a student aged 19 from Beijing, China. Although she was born in Los Angeles, she has spent most of her life living in China. She currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over breakfast in the dining hall. She first heard this proverb in primary school. According to her, this proverb isn’t really spoken, more so kept in the back of the head. She interprets it as “always be aware of your surroundings.”
Interpretation:
This particular proverb calls for mindfulness. It encourages the individual to not simply think of themself. This idea can be found throughout Chinese culture, and in this instance, it is actually pointing out the danger of closemindedness.
100 Days of Life
Text:
“When the baby is a hundred days old or something, yeah, the parents put like different objects in front of the baby each meaning like a different career or something lets say there’s like a book meaning you’re going to be a scholar or money meaning the baby is going to get rich and you see which one the baby picks as a way of predicting its future.”
Context:
Informant (JG) is a student aged 19 from Beijing, China. Although she was born in Los Angeles, she has spent most of her life living in China. She currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over breakfast in the dining hall. She’s seen this on tv shows and knows people who practice this tradition. She thinks parents want something psychic to guarantee success for their children.
Interpretation
As (JG) mentioned, this belief is largely meant to guarantee success for the baby. None of the options are negative; there isn’t an item that symbolizes bankruptcy or homelessness. This reflects a larger belief that whatever the baby picks is what they will have in life, so best not to lay anything negative in front of them.