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Q: What's the craziest folklore / superstition / so called medical truth you have heard in China?
Like hot water will cure all or sex for women is bad for the body.
Or while I'm at it, that firecrackers will scare away the evil spirits.
A couple that come to mind are
dont take pears to a sick friend. because it is telling them to go to the after life
avoiding the number 4
the number 8 is very good
burning money at the crossroads for the dead.
if your wife wears a green hat it means you have other girl friends.
im sure you could get a long long list
Don't take pills to relieve pain for cramps at that time of the month, eat brown sugar.
Certain foods you shouldn't eat at that time of the month or when you are sick. This list is quite extensive and includes chocolate. 
Don't shave because it's unhealthy.
Eating dog meat helps balance the ying yang thing, and today I read on Chinasmack that cat meat can also do that.
Anything to do with foods and the hot/cold yin/yang thing.
Drinking milk without eating will give you a stomachache.
And yes, a friend told me in all seriousness that drinking hot water kills germs in the bloodstream.
crimochina:
i dont know about you but brown sugar works for me just fine during that time of the month. i havent had one cramp yet
-Too many oranges are bad for you. Like, cancer bad.
-Bananas for breakfast are bad for you.
-Drinking tea at certain times of the day is bad for you.
Western people know better than Chinese... that one cracks me up!
nevermind:
Yeah, all that success we've had curing disease sure makes us look dumb!
GuilinRaf:
Not to mention that we made it to the Moon first! Oh wait! No, we didnt! Changge made if before we did, 2000 years ago. Sorry, my bad!
Shining_brow:
This thread is mostly about how crap TCM is... and pretty much everyone who comments on it hasn't had much personal experience with it - so there is this superiority complex associated with all things. Now, I'll be among the first to admit that TCM is NOT what it was originally (at least before 60 years ago), and the vast majority of the population still live in ignorance about how it works. So, people are ragging on what people say, not what actually goes on. TCM is about getting one back into balance... NOT instant "cures". So, most of these things people are ragging on are about how to get back into balance - long term. Also, while a particular word like 'cold' or 'wind' may be used, it's not literally the western concept. Although, I suspect that even trying to argue this point is a complete waste of time, as no-one will actually be bothered to think critically, and just go back to instant bagging...
"You have cold air in your veins"
- Told to me once when I complained of a sore leg.
-"Coitus" during "the curse" days will kill you.
-BJ will give the one giving it an infection.
-If you caugh, do not eat crackers, bread or starch containing products for 5 days.
-Must take bath prior to bedtime to sleep good.
-Must leave windows open at night so you do not die for lack of oxigen.
-Shaving body hair is dangerous for health. Or hair was placed there for a reason, removing it will cause sickness.
- Women get pregnant during menstruation, so avoid sex then.
- Washing machines damage clothes and spread infection.
- Once men reaches 50 years of age, he is no longer sexually active.
-Hello, OK and bye bye are really Chinese words.
-One one sex position, men on top. All others are a no-no.
-Sex is only penetration, what is foreplay and afterglow?. No need.
- Kissing on mouth spread germs and infections......
- Dog meat will give you body warmth in wintertime.
- The knive that cuts meat can not cut vegetables, it will cause sickness.
And many more, too long to list all.
GuilinRaf:
Actually in Puerto Rico the idea of going to bed without taking a shower is disgusting. Most of us shower when we get home from work, after dinner or befgore going to bed. Keeps you smelling nice for your partner, and you do not bring germs to your bed. I agree with the Chinese on this one.
HappyExPat:
Guilin, during my stay in the Island of Enchantment, that was one of the first local customs accepted. But there, is after arriving home from work mostly, sometimes prior to bedtime if other things are in mind, and your partner joined you in the shower too. But here, it is always the last activity prior to bed, and done ONLY to get a good sleep. WHAT A WASTE OF WATER !
GuilinRaf:
You were in PR? Wow, you DO get around! To be fair, PR is very hot, whereas China has hot places and cold. I however, cannot really rest before taking a shower at bed time, Naturally, if there is no hot water, all bets are off!
Don't drink water for at least 30 minutes after eating a pear, or you'll be sorry (sick).
An I.V. can cure just about any disease (if you've seen the I.V. halls in China, you'll know it HAS to be true).
'Do you know what they call alternative medicine that has been proven to work? Medicine'. -- The genius that is Tim Minchin.
The hot water thing really confuses me. People think I'm mad that I only drink it cold.
Some of the crazy-seeming ones do have a basis in truth. For example, if you are using a gas heater or open fire then you should leave a window open, or at least make sure the room is well ventilated, otherwise the carbon dioxide in the room can increase to dangerous levels.
Ever heard of all that crap that comes along with "yuezi", meaning the one month rest period after a woman has given birth? That includes:
Don't climb up or down the stairs: you'll suffer from pains in your legs once you reach menopause.
Don't brush your teeth, they'll fall.
Don't take showers or wash your hair.
Avoid sunshine and stay in the house for a month. Your child should stay in the house as well.
Eat a million eggs per day: that will increase the amount of your breast milk.
For babies (even after 1st month): don't bathe them so often and of course don't bathe them at all if the weather is cold.
Wrap them up in countless layers of clothes, that way you'll keep them from catching a cold. And oh yeah, nevermind about the thousands of people who touch, hold, play with your baby and that haven't washed their hands in like a month. That is perfectly fine. Oh, smoking close to children is ok too.
Seriously, people, you'll make me crazy one day.
Jnusb416:
Also add to that don't read or watch tv, your eyes will go bad. They literally aren't allowed to do anything for a whole month. I'd go crazy after the first day.
this really does not fit but there are no homosexuals in china. i laugh for 10 minutes each time i hear it. next time i will ask them to sign a statement to that effect.
GuilinRaf:
Some of my freinds have told me, dead serious, that there were no homosexuals in China until the westerners brought them here...
-Being fat makes you more vulnerable to cold (what?).
-Contraceptive pills (the ones you take everyday) destroy your chances of ever having babies, while the "next day pill" and abortions are safe (mind blowing).
-All woman during child birth need a 2cm vaginal incision to let the baby out.
-Sex during periods will make you sick/infected.
-Cold water is bad because bla bla
-An ex of mine firmly believed Carmen was composed by China.
-Another didn't which one was the biggest between the moon and the earth, and thought the universe revolved around the earth.
-"France's national language is English, right?"
-Foreigners are racist (the irony of the sentence kills me).
-The general belief that western countries have little or no technology nor knowledge in health/survival/reproduction/food/everything, and that before we "came to China to steal all their genius", our "species" survived for thousands of years out of the biggest stream of luck in history.
chiarahz:
All women during childbirth need a what???Haha ROFL..., my child was born in Hangzhou, I weigh 50 kg and gave birth (naturally) to a 4.1 kg baby: no cuts required, no stitches required afterwards either. China's C-section rate is one of the highest in the world: 80 percent of the total. WHO sets the international standards at something like 15. Scary, huh?
Mr_spoon:
Yeah I heard about that. They're afraid of pain so prefer to do cesareans, but keep the privilege of complaining about the suffering of child birth! They're the kings of unnecessary surgical procedures and plastic surgeries!
Oh yeah, and that Chinese people are the best there ever were at computer programming and hacking.
Have encountered most that have been mentioned already and have now given up on trying to explain logicaly the 1 month after birth fallacy.
I will add my own personal annoyance.
When I take a nap, even on the hottest day, somebody will place a sheet, towel, coat, blanket etc over me. When I tell them it is ok and I don't want it because I am hot they tell me I will get sick if I don't cover myself. Once I go through this regular argument every fkn time I am either not sleepy or at times I let them have their way with a light sheet and then throw it off when they go.Sure enough if someone returns while I am sleeping I will wake up with the thing over me again. My mother in law is in her 80's and is a lovely lady so in between all the frustration at times I appreciate that she is just trying to look after me.
philbravery:
But if they didn't it wouldn't be half as fun would it?
I have also heard that the reason why Chinese have less body hair than foreigners is that they are more highly evolved while we are closer to our monkey ancesotrs.
kchur:
The Chinese military actually says this in the recruiting material it sends to teenagers. With picture representations and everything.
Shining_brow:
That would make sense... makes it easier to till someone if you don't see them as human, which might mean 'equal'. How do we justify it? Not really a lot different to how perceptions were changed during religious wars - they don't believe, so God says it's ok to kill them.
kchur:
Or how Brits and Canadians defined just about every other race in the late 1800s, when it was common to define non-europeans and some europeans as a lesser evolved, less fit species. Seeing that weird recruitment pamphlet on the students desk was pretty upsetting, but them I remembered some pamphlets I would google you if the internet wasn't so damn slow today
GuilinRaf:
Ok, I guess Westerners had our turn, now it is Chinas turn.
Cannot eat or drink anything cold when you have your period or after you have a baby. You can't even take a shower for a certain time after you have a baby.
I take a shower before I go to bed to wash off the filth of the day. I like a clean bed. I can't sleep without that clean feeling. I also shower in the morning to help wake me up and give me a little extra spring in my step.
You can't wear a white belt. It means your wife is dead.
Having to go back to your hometown during the Chinese New Year. Stop the madness!!!
Oral sex somehow is dirty.
I think they don't have sex during their periods because it can make them stinky afterwards. I think it is true. They are just too shy to say why.
Eating spicy food gives you acne. I usually reply by asking why Sichuan girls, who eat spicy food every day, have such nice skin. The reply is usually because the air and water in Sichuan overcomes the spicy food.
Spitting makes you healthy.
No sex when you are pregnant.
When you are pregnant you can't go near a computer, TV, microwave, etc. or it will damage your developing baby.
