Old Chinese Superstitions

Míxìn de yìsi shì  “xiàngxìn le cuòwù de dōngxi ”。zài zhōngguó ，yǒu guò zhèxiē jiù míxìn ，jīntiān wǒ dài dàjiā liǎojiě yī xià。

迷信的意思是 “相信了错误的东西”。在中国，有过这些旧迷信，今天我带大家了解一下。

Superstition means one believes in something that is in fact wrong. In China, there are some old superstitions. So let’s take a look at them today.

1. 筷子不能插在饭上面 Kuàizi búnéng chā zài fàn shàngmiàn

Never insert your chopsticks in the rice

Zài zhōngguó ，chīfàn shí búnéng bǎ kuàizi chā zài mǐfàn shàng ，yīnwéi zhǐyǒu jìdiàn qùshì de rén de fàn ，cái huì bǎ kuàizi chā zài shàngmiàn ，rúguǒ huórén zhème zuò ，rénmen rènwéi zhè shì búhǎo de xiàngzhēng 。

在中国，吃饭时不能把筷子插在米饭上，因为只有祭奠去世的人的饭，才会把筷子插在上面，如果活人这么做，人们认为这是不好的象征。

In China, one cannot insert his or her chopsticks in the rice, because it is done only at the memorial ceremony for the deceased. If one does it when having a meal, it would be considered ominous.

2. 送礼物时不能送时钟 Sòng lǐwù shí búnéng sòng shízhōng

Don’t present a clock as a gift

Zài hànyǔ lǐ ，sòngzhōng hé sòngzhōng de fāyīn shì yīyàng de ，sòngzhōng de yìsi shì sòngbié kuài yào qùshì huò zhě yǐjīng qùshì de rén ，suǒyǐ rúguǒ nǐ sòng le shízhōng gěi péngyǒu ，rénmen huì rènwéi nǐ xīwàng tā kuàidiǎn sǐdiào ，shì bú jílì de 。

在汉语里，送终和送钟的发音是一样的，送终的意思是送别快要去世或者已经去世的人，所以如果你送了时钟给朋友，人们会认为你希望他快点死掉，是不吉利的。

In Chinese, “送终” (attend upon a dying parent) and “送钟” (presenting a clock) have the same pronunciation, so if you send a clock as a gift to one of your friends, he or she would misunderstand that you are wishing he or she dies soon, which is rather ominous.

3. 农历第一个月里不能剪头发 Nónglì dì yī gè yuè lǐ búnéng jiǎn tóufā

Never have a haircut in the first month of the lunar calendar

Rénmen rènwéi ，zài nónglì dì yī gè yuè lǐ búnéng jiǎn tóufā ，rúguǒ nǐ jiǎn le tóufā ，nǐ de jiùjiù jiù huì qùshì 。dāngrán ，zhè zhǐshì yīzhǒng míxìn ，jiùsuàn nǐ jiǎn le tóufā ，nǐ de jiùjiù yě búhuì qùshì ，dànshì nǐ de jiārén búhuì yǔnxǔ nǐ zhème zuò 。

人们认为，在农历第一个月 里不能剪头发，如果你剪了头发，你的舅舅就会去世。当然，这只是一种迷信，就算你剪了头发，你的舅舅也不会去世，但是你的家人不会允许你这么做。

The Chinese believe that one should not have his or her hair cut in the first month of the lunar year, which would lead to the death of his or her maternal uncles. Of course, it is a superstition. Even if you do cut your hair, your uncle wound never die because of it, but your family would never allow you to do it.  

4. 新年的第一天不能扫地 Xīnnián de dì yī tiān búnéng sǎodì

Don’t sweep the floor on the first day of the Chinese New Year

Rénmen rènwéi zài xīnnián de dì yī tiān búnéng sǎodì ，yīnwéi nà tiān shì zuì yǒu fúqì de yītiān ，rúguǒ zài nà tiān sǎodì ，nàme huì bǎ jīnnián de hǎoyùnqì dōu sǎo chūqù ，dāngrán zhè bìng búshì zhēnde 。

人们认为在新年的第一天不能扫地，因为那天是最有福气的一天，如果在那天扫地，那么会把今年的好运气都扫出去，当然这并不是真的。

The Chinese believe that one should not sweep the floor on the first day of the Chinese New Year, because they think it is the most blessed day in a year. If one sweeps the floor, he or she would sweep away all the good fortune of that year. However, it can never be true.

5. 镜子不能对着床铺 Jìngzi búnéng duì zhe chuángpù

Don’t aim the mirror at your bed

Rénmen rènwéi rúguǒ jìngzi duì zhe chuángpù ，nàme zài bànyè qǐchuáng de shíhòu ，yǒu kěnéng nǐ huì kàndào jìng zi lǐ de rén búshì nǐ ，huòzhě nǐ zài dòng ，dànshì jìngzi lǐ de rén què méiyǒu dòngzuò 。dāngrán ，hěnduō shíhòu dōushì yīnwéi nǐ méiyǒu shuìxǐng ，kàncuò le éryǐ 。

人们认为如果镜子对着床铺，那么在半夜起床的时候，有可能你会看到镜子里的人不是你，或者你在动，但是镜子里的人却没有动作。当然，很多时候都是因为你没有睡醒，看错了而已。

If a mirror is aimed at the bed, when you get up at midnight, you may see the one in the mirror is not yourself, or the one doesn’t move at all even you do so. Of course, it is basically because that you are not awaken completely and have a wrong vision.

Suízhe kēxué de pǔjí，yīxiē míxìn jiànjiàn dànchū le rénmen de shēnghuó，dàn yě yǒu yīxiē chéngwéi le dàjiā suǒ xíguàn de “lǐjiē ”huò shì gèbié dìfāng de xísú 。

随着科学的普及，一些迷信渐渐淡出了人们的生活，但也有一些成为了大家所习惯的“礼节”或是个别地方的习俗。

With the science popularity, some superstitions have faded out of the Chinese life, while some have become the “etiquettes” people are used to or become the local customs.