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Posts: 3494

Emperor

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Q: All jokes aside, is there any rationale behind why Chinese spit all over the place?

Yes, they do it.  Big fat noisy gollying up anywhere and everywhere.  Women too.  But why?  Is there some kind of superstition/culture involved?

What's the reason for doing it?

And has anybody noticed it becoming less prevalent in recent times?

 

 

10 years 15 weeks ago in  General  - China

 
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Posts: 4397

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  Actually I have definitely found it's becoming much less common. But why do people do it? There are rats everywhere, this isn't the Ritz, and very few Chinese have been to finishing school.

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10 years 15 weeks ago
 
Posts: 443

Shifu

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The culture is they are emptying their throats of bad stuff. The spit in the mouth they see it as very bad for the health and do not want to ingest it so they spit it out wherever.

 

As mArtiAn said it is becoming less common as the youths of today realize how disgusting it is but it will probably take another 2-3 generations before it's completely vanished

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10 years 15 weeks ago
 
Posts: 561

Governor

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i read somewhere they were all taught that they must get the phlegm out of their system.  they said it was very unhealthy to keep it in.. now, that being said, i don't know why they can't spit in a toilet or something.  here in the north, it's getting colder and colder... the spit is frozen... it's pretty gross..

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10 years 15 weeks ago
 
Posts: 9192

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This has been posted over and over. It comes from an old superstition that if you breathe in evil spirits that you must spit them out. The Chinese never figured it out in 5000 years that you could just breathe them back out. Maybe evil spirits leave a bad taste in your mouth that only Chinese get. This may explain the breathe problem which will be the next question.

andy74rc:

Pollution leaves a bad taste too....

10 years 15 weeks ago
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TedDBayer:

Pollution is an evil spirit.

10 years 15 weeks ago
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10 years 15 weeks ago
 
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