Title: The Number Seven

General Information about Item:

• Customary folklore: Bad luck superstition
• Language: Chinese
• Country of Origin: China
• Informant: Eric Fei
• Date Collected: 10-29-18

Informant Data:

• Eric Fei is a Chinese-American who is currently studying at Johns Hopkins University. He speaks Chinese fluently and grew up speaking it with his parents and brother. He spends considerable time between China and America with his family.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Language has influenced bad luck superstitions in China. Often, numbers that sound like negative words are considered bad luck In China. Often these numbers become associated with the words they sound like and people are very wary of using them in any form.
• Social Context: The informant speaks Chinese with his family and as he speaks the language fluently, this is a superstition he learnt at a young age. This superstition is present throughout China and it is believed in quite strongly.

Item

• The number seven is considered bad luck.

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

Transcript:

• “Seven”
• “Gone”

Informant’s Comments:

• According to Eric, the pronunciation of the word “seven” is very close to the word “gone” which is associated with death. Therefore, the word “seven” is related to having bad luck.

Collector’s Comments:

• It is very intriguing how something as common as numbers can have bad luck associated with them and their pronunciation.

Collector’s Name: Sebastian Carter and Casey Ross

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Lore
• Bad Luck Superstitions
• The Number Seven