Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
Is Ji Shi Teng 鸡屎藤 (a Chinese fever vine herb) able to ward off evil spirits? According to the older generation (like my mum and some of my older relatives), they all truly believe so! I first came across this Ji Shi Teng via listening to Mr Zhou’s Ghost Stories podcast on 13th May 2022.
Are creepers and climbing plants bad for feng shui? Recently, my mum came to the UK to visit us and she noticed that I had a climbing plant outside my son’s room (he lives in an annexe, away from the main house) and wasn’t very pleased with it. She told me that according to feng shui masters, climbing plants is a big no-no for a house. They not only damage our wall structure, but they will also create a strong negative force for everyone living in the home.
Several years ago, I wrote an article on Gifts to avoid buying for Chinese People and one of the items is an umbrella. Now I would like to expand on the Chinese superstitions regarding the umbrella taboo in our Chinese culture. In the feng shui study, they believe that used correctly, an umbrella will bring you luck and wealth. However, if you use it wrongly, it will bring you misfortune. Do you believe it?
I hadn’t heard of this taboo of never hanging clothing out overnight until I heard from Mr Zhou’s Ghost Stories podcast. Some people believe that hanging clothing at night will attract wandering spirits to get attached to the clothing. It will cause us to have bad luck. I will list a few examples later in the post.
Buying your new home is a very proud moment for you and your family. It is likely one of the most expensive purchases you will make and therefore it’s a big deal for everyone involved. Many Chinese people observe or believe in several Chinese customs.
Many Chinese people are very superstitious, particularly among the elderly and I would include myself in that. If you read the blog post that I wrote earlier this year on the meaning of 15 days of Lunar New Year, you will recall that some Chinese (Taoism and Buddhism) would pray to the God of Wealth for blessing. For this blessing money in Chinese, we called it 偏财 (Piān cái). It is an expected income or floating assets such as bonuses, lottery winnings, stock benefits, etc.
In my earlier post on the meaning of the 15 days of the Lunar New Year, I mentioned that on the fourth day, it is the day to pray 太岁/Tài Suì for a year of protection and to avert adversities. Now I am going to tell you more about him.
In my many Chinese New Year blog and craft posts, I’ve regularly mentioned that the Lunar New Year celebration lasts for 15 days, but have yet to explain the special significance, meanings and traditions behind each day. Finally, I have time to sit down to gather the information on the meaning of the 15 days of the Lunar New Year. Yes, the 15 days are now over and we are heading towards the end of the first month of water Rabbit 2023! Nevertheless, please do check it out!
Four colour cards or 四色牌 was my grandmother’s favourite game to play when she was still around. Every Saturday afternoon, her sisters and her children, like my mum and aunties, will gather around her house to play. It was a regular thing even on Chinese New Year. There was always a big group of at least six to eight of them sitting around the big round table to play with at least two sets of Four Colour cards (224 cards) mixed.
Do you believe that the soul of a dead person will return to visit his/her family home on the seventh day after their death? Some Chinese believe this is what we call 回魂夜 (Huí Hún Yè) – the return of the dead’s night or 头七 (Tóu Qī).
During my visit to Haw Par Villa in August this year, one of the free exhibitions was the Yeo Swee Huat Paper Agency, which runs until the end of December 2022. It is located at the Cloud Pavilion that is next to the Culture Courtyard. It is an exhibition on the vanishing paper offerings trade which is typically used for temple festivities and funeral offerings.
A few months ago, I blogged about my Singapore trip to Haw Par Villa Hell’s museum and the 10 courts of Hell. One of the highlights of this trip was also learning about our dying cultural heritage: The Traditional Chinese Grave. This made me research Chinese tombstones and my uncle managed to provide me with my maternal grandfather’s tombstone photo, which is no longer around. They had exhumed his tomb and placed him along with my grandmother at Toa Payoh Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in 2013. I will tell you more about why we needed to exhume him in a minute.
One of the highlights of Haw Par Villa Hell’s museum in Singapore is their infamous 10 Courts of Hell. We Chinese believe that in the afterlife, we will get judged by our sins and punishments evolved as ancient civilisations shared their cultures across time and space.
This is my third hotel ghost story and hopefully the last story I will ever write. This happened in England UK, while I was travelling with my family. I don’t practise the hotel rituals before entering the room. It is not that I don’t believe in ghosts, but I just don’t want to acknowledge their existence, especially in a hotel.
To be honest, I can not remember when this incident happened and which Travelodge we stayed in. I just remember it was very dark when we checked into our room. We often booked Travelodges in the early days as it was often the cheapest option for a family of four. Their family rooms are usually pretty spacious and you know what you’re getting.
This is my second supernatural encounter in a hotel, but this time, the location was in Osaka. Before I go into details, why not check out my post on Chinese superstitions entering hotel room.
This happened in 16 May 2010; my sister-in-law, husband and I went to Japan for a holiday. On this occasion, my sister-in-law stayed in one room by herself, whilst my husband and I were in another room. It was a very compact room, but it had everything we needed. The moment you open the door, there was the landing and a toilet on our left. Then there was a double bed and a small table with books near the window. The room was bright and well decorated. I was very surprised to see a range of holy books displayed on the table. I did not look into the details but I’m pretty sure they were the Shinto holy book and bible.
