Wall in front of House

Wall in front of House

General Information about Item:

  • Bad Luck Superstition
  • Language: English/Chinese
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Siyao Wang
  • Date Collected: 10-28-2018

Informant Data:

  • Siyao Wang is a 25 year old man from Beijing, China. He has lived his entire life in Beijing and attended university there. He graduated from medical school last year and is now a sports medicine doctor.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Taoism has played a large role in Chinese culture. It is an ancient ideology that has influenced all areas of life in China, and has even effected the bad luck superstitions that many Chinese people hold today. One important aspect of Taoism is its belief in the supernatural. The beliefs of taoism are often concerned with ghosts, who generally have a negative impact on humans. This has influenced the belief in the “hungry ghost”, which Chinese people believe is a ghost that arose from someone who had an untimely death. This ghost is feared in Chinese culture and thus it has brought about many Chinese superstitions.
  • Social Context: Siyao learnt this superstition from general Chinese popular culture as it is very well known. Siyao believes in this superstition as he greatly respects and appreciates the principles of Taoism.

Item:

  • It is considered bad luck if there is not a wall past the gate of your house.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 Informant’s Comments:
  • Siyao explained that Chinese people believe heavily in the presence of ghosts, but a unique feature is that they can only walk straight ahead. He said that a gate welcomes people to enter your home, and so a ghost may go through it, however if there is not a wall past the gate then the ghost will be able to walk straight into your home and avenge his death on the living. So, placing a wall past the gate prohibits the ghost from entering your home. As a result, a lack of a wall past the gate of your home is often considered bad luck in Chinese culture.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this superstition was very interesting, particularly how it reveals much about Chinese culture. Ghosts and the supernatural play an important role in Chinese culture and as a result many superstitions have been influenced by them. The belief in “Hungry Ghosts” and the fact they are only able to walk straight ahead is very interesting and explains clearly why walls are often placed after the gates of homes in China.

Collector’s Name: Sebastian Carter

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Bad Luck Superstition
  • Wall in front of home

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