Folklore Form/Genre: Chinse gesture/mannerism               Informant: Eddie Ma

Name: Hand Waving Motion for Signaling People               Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Item Video: EddieVideo-18g3b0d

Informant Data: Eddie Ma is from Chicago, Illinois. He was born, however, in Huai’an City in the Jiangsu Province of China. He moved to Chicago when he was four where he was raised in a culturally strict Chinese household. Eddie learned the proper way to signal for individuals to “come over” when he was a little kid. Currently, Eddie is a freshman at Dartmouth College. He plans on double majoring in Computer Science and Economics and pursuing a career in financial services.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this piece of folklore from Eddie while visiting him in Rauner Hall in the McLaughlin Cluster Dormitory. I recorded him on an iPhone while he sat on a table in a common area. I asked him to elaborate on a few rude gestures or mannerisms in China. One gesture he mentioned was in regard to the way that people are summoned or motioned to “come over”. He claimed that when asking for someone to come near you, you should extend your arm out and wave/flap your hand downward instead of upward. He said that waving your hand upwards is reserved for animals and is a very rude gesture to utilize on a person. Eddie does not recall the exact place or location where he learned the distinction between these gestures, but he said that it was most likely when he was a young child.

Cultural Context: There are a variety of mannerisms and gestures in Chinese culture that are inappropriate, even though they may seem appropriate in Western nations like the United States. Eddie later mentioned that animals have a much larger representation in Chinese culture (such as in zodiac signs, Chinese calendar, etc.) than they do in the United States. This might explain why the Chinese choose to differentiate the way humans and animals are summoned, as opposed to the standard way of waving your hand upward in the United States. This gesture is simply rude in Chinese culture in all occurrences.

Item: The item presented here is a video of a rude mannerism/gesture in Chinese culture. In order to summon an individual or signal him/her to “come here”, one must flap their hand downward instead of upward. I recorded this interview as a video with an iPhone camera. All of the information provided is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I gained while speaking with Eddie (See associated video for gesture in action).

Transcript: 

“This [while making the rude hand gesture] is sort of like summoning someone. People do this more for animals and dogs, and it’s more degrading.”

Informant’s Comments:

“Now that I live in America, I signal people with my palm facing upward, but I remember learning that this was rude in China when I was a kid.”

Collector’s Comments:

This hand gesture greatly differs from what is and isn’t appropriate in American culture. If I were to “motion someone over”, I would most certainly do it with my palm facing up. The fact that this is rude in China—and that it is instead far more proper signal with your hand pointing downward—illustrates a large difference in proper manners between Americans and Chinese people.

Key Words:

• China
• Insulting
• Hand Gesture
• Hand Signaling
• Upward Palm

Folklore Form/Genre: Chinse gesture/mannerism                                       Informant: Peter Gao

Name: Chinese pointing gesture with pinky                                Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Peter Gao is from Chongqing China, but he moved to Houston, Texas four years ago. Peter learned this gesture when he was a little kid in school. He claimed that holding one’s pinky out and slowly pushing it toward someone is a very bold and rude gesture—it makes people feel uncomfortable (as if they are being called out for something). Currently, Peter is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He plans on majoring in Computer Science.

Contextual Data:

 Social Context: I collected this piece of folklore from Peter while visiting him in Zimmerman Hall, a part of the East Wheelock Dormitory Cluster. I asked him to elaborate on a few rude gestures he knew from China. Many of the gestures he discussed had already been mentioned by previous interviewees. He remembered one, however, that had not yet been mentioned in my collection. He showed me a particular pointing gesture he learned as a child. The gesture is making a fist while holding out your pinky and pointing toward someone. He often saw schoolteachers use it to call out schoolchildren if they were doing something bad, and they wanted to make them feel uncomfortable. He claimed that it is a very bold and “loud” gesture to make because it is a strong way to signal out an individual. He added that this may be a regional specific gesture to Chongqing.

Cultural Context: There are a variety of negative mannerisms and gestures in Chinese culture. Peter remembers this particular pointing gesture from his childhood in Chongqing. Although he claims it is most likely regional specific, he later mentioned that pointing at people in China (in any province/region in any setting) is rude. This gesture is only a stronger way to point at someone, therefore demonstrating its rudeness.

Item: The items presented here are a video of an individual discussing a rude mannerism/gesture in Chinese culture along with a photo of the gesture. People would only point at someone in this manner if they truly wanted to emphasize a point or call someone out for doing something bad. This interview was recorded on Voice Memos an iPhone. I then took a video of Peter performing the gesture on the iPhone as well. All of the above information provided is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I gained while speaking with Peter.

Transcript: 

“It could very much be a region specific thing, but this thing, here [while making the gesture], extending your pinky and slowly slowly gently pushing it toward someone’s face. That’s rude. Makes you feel uncomfortable. And basically you’re being called out for something, very likely a a bad thing”.

Informant’s Comments:

Yeah when I was a kid and I saw someone point at me like this I knew I was in trouble

Collector’s Comment:

It is rude to point at others in Chinese society. Three of my five interviews (including this one), along with two of my partner’s interviews were related to pointing at people. The fact that the above mannerism is a particularly rude pointing gesture further illustrates the significance and variations of this action in China

Key Words: 

• Pointing
• China
• Insulting
• Pinky

Folklore Form/Genre: Chinse gesture/mannerism          Informant: Xiaoqiu (Steven) Li

Name: Negative Gesture with Chopsticks                           Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Date: 11/4/18

VIDEO RECORDING: LiStevenInterview-150kirj

Informant Data: Xiaoqiu (Steven) Li was born in Beijing, China, where he grew up as an only child. He was born on September 14, 1998. Steven learned proper and improper chopstick from his parents as a child. Currently, Steven is a sophomore at Dartmouth College, where he plans on studying Mathematics and Government. Steven is considering going to law school after graduation.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this chopstick mannerism from Steven Li, a student from Beijing, China. When I interviewed Steven, I asked him to explain a variety of rude Chinese gestures. We sat together in the common room of Goldstein Hall (Steven’s dormitory complex). He claimed that pointing chopsticks at people is a very rude gesture. He learned this mannerism from his parents as a young child at the dinner table. He claimed that people are expected to eat properly with chopsticks during all meals. He later said that pointing chopsticks at people is the equivalent of boldly pointing a finger at them, which is very rude.

Cultural Context: Chopsticks are a primary eating utensil in China. Using them in any other fashion (such as pointing at people) is therefore rude, just as pointing a fork or knife at someone in the Untied States would be extremely ill-mannered.

Item: The items presented here are a recording of an individual discussing a chopstick mannerism along with an associated photo. The interview was recorded with an iPhone on the camera application. Pointing at people with chopsticks is a very impolite gesture.

The above statements are accurate. They do not stray from the ideas and claims Steven presented in the interview. Chopstick gestures are a very relevant part of Chinese folklore—they are practiced during proper meals in China in today’s society.

Transcript:

“Chinese people have a lot of habits with using the chopsticks, and some of them are considered really rude. For instance, same as not pointing your finger at people, you shouldn’t’ point your chopsticks at people when you’re eating with someone.”

Informant’s Comments:

You shouldn’t point your chopsticks at people when you’re eating with someone

Collector’s Comments:

As an American, I’ve used chopsticks when I go out to eat at a Chinese or Japanese restaurant. I’ve probably pointed my chopsticks at people at some point in my life while I was eating, but now I know that this is a very impolite gesture. This gesture is also interesting because it is similar to another gesture I learned from another interviewee, Peter Gao. Peter mentioned that he had encountered a particularly obscene way of pointing at others when he was a kid that I mention in the next post. Also, in a previous post, another interviewee, Shelly Wang, had claimed that pointing your feet at others is very impolite. The fact that 3/5 gestures I’ve documented deal with pointing at others demonstrates how rude of a manner this is in Chinese society.

Key Words: 

• China
• Pointing
• Chopsticks
• Insulting Gestures