China – Ancient Chinese Traditions for Pregnancy & Birth

Ancient Chinese myths and
customs of pregnancy start shortly after a couple weds.

According to Chinese custom, a
husband should carry his bride over a pan of burning coals when
entering his home for the first time to ensure she will pass through
labor successfully. 

Once pregnant, a woman guards her
thoughts. It is believed everything she does and sees will influence
her unborn child. According to old Chinese tradition, what affects a
woman’s mind will also affect her heart and connect with the baby in
utero. A pregnant woman reads good poetry — she doesn’t gossip,
laugh loudly, sit on a crooked mat, look at clashing colors, or lose
her temper. Many Chinese women will read beautiful stories before
drifting off to sleep. And, sex is forbidden during
pregnancy. 

There are many ancient taboos regarding the
food Chinese women eat during pregnancy. It’s believed that if a
pregnant woman eats food that’s not properly cut or mashed, her
child will have a careless disposition. Or if she eats light colored
foods, the baby will be fair-skinned. Many also believe that no
construction work should be done in the house of a pregnant women.
Hammering and sawing could lead to an abortion or fetal deformities.
And, pregnant women should never attend funerals. To scare away evil
sprits, Chinese women may sleep with knives under their bed. Often a
piece of paper cut to resemble a pair of scissors is hung from bed
curtains and tiger skins are hung over the bed. 

Many
believe it is  unlucky to throw a shower for an unborn baby. In
China, the parties come after the little one arrives. The expectant
mother’s own mother buys the child’s entire layette. A month before
the baby is due, the maternal grandmother sends a package of
clothing for her expectant daughter called tsue shen, or hastening
the delivery. There is a white cloth inside the package with which
to wrap the newborn. The maternal grandmother waits three days after
the baby arrives before she visits the newborn bringing all her
clothes and baby equipment. 

Chinese women will often drink a
strong herbal potion to ease the strain of labor. Custom dictates
that women not fear the laboring process, since birth is considered
a women’s career to the ancient Chinese. Chinese women traditionally
labor in an armchair or futon. Once the baby is born they will often
pray to the goddess who helped them conceive with an offering of
sweet meats and incense. 

The Chinese Zodiac

When a child is born is also important to Chinese
custom. The hour, day, month and year the baby is born dictate which
of the Eight Characters he is born under. The Eight Characters are
considered so important they will rule the child’s life. They
foretell if a child will be successful, wealthy, or blessed with
good fortune. Parents may also hire fortune tellers or soothsayers
to read their baby’s fortune. The Chinese believe that each person
is made up of some of the five elements – metal, wood, water, fire,
and earth. If a fortune teller finds a child is lacking an important
element,  the missing element is incorporated in her name —
unless the missing element is fire or water. If water or fire is
absent, that is considered a good omen. It is believed that a child
with too much fire could be injured by fire in his life; a child
with too much water needs to be watched, for she might
drown.

The Baby’s Name

The Chinese wouldn’t dream of naming a baby before
she’s born. In fact, they are given false names, or milk names, to
scare away evil spirits. Ancient wisdom dictates parents refer to
their baby as an animal or as ugly to trick the spirits into
thinking the baby is not worthy of a kidnapping. Once the child is
older, he is named. The Chinese sometimes have four or five names
for a person — one for childhood, one for school, one for after
graduation, and even one after death. And, the Chinese often honor
family ties by using generational names. To announce the baby’s
birth, a new father sends money and wine to his in-laws. Special
ribbons fastened to the wine jar signify if the baby is a boy or a
girl. Parents send red eggs to close family and friends — an even
number for a girl, odd for a boy. Or they may send out boxes of
fruit. Return gifts might include two kinds of cake, brown sugar,
millet, eggs, and walnut meats. 

After delivery,
Chinese women “sit the month.”  The first month is considered
an intense healing time for new mother. She is freed from household
duties and sits in her bed alone to look after her new infant. In
strict households, even the husband stays away. Chinese mothers may
fill a baby’s pillow with rice or beans to give the baby’s head a
proper shape. And to encourage a strong step, Chinese mothers once
bound their child’s ankles loosely with a wide ribbon to keep the
feet in an upright positions. Ancient Chinese once believed demons
used small children to reinforce the foundations of bridges. As an
antidote, mothers and fathers made arrows from the wood of a peach
tree to place near the cradle. Parents also tied golden bells tied
on the child’s wrists and ankles to keep away the bad spirits. In
Southern China, a charm is pinned onto a pair of the father’s
trousers and place near the child’s bed in hopes that the spirits
will be attracted by the charm and miss the child. It was also
believed that nervous children could see the evil spirits unseen by
everyone else. To protect these children, Chinese mothers placed
small amounts of vermilion in red pouches and pinned them to the
child’s clothing. For a rich, healthy life, the Chinese will also
tie coins together with a red strings for their children to wear.
When a baby is born frail, the parents may ask friends for bits of
cloth to sew into a patchwork coat to disguise the child as a poor
beggar and trick the sprits. During times of epidemic or contagious
illness, mothers protected their children by stitching red cloth in
their clothing. And since tigers are consider the protector against
demons, many Chinese boys will have embroidered tigers on their
shoes. 

The First One Hundred
Days

In the first 100 days of a child’s life there are
at least five events celebrating her life. On the morning of the
third day, a Chinese baby gets her first bath. The midwife
officiates this ceremony which is attended by female friends and
relatives. The midwife sits with the mother on her bed surrounded by
a straw sieve, a mirror, a padlock, an onion, a comb and a weight.
An offering of incense to the god and goddess of the bed burns
nearby. The baby is bathed in hot water boiled with locust branches
and artemis plants. There is red silk and a string of cash fastened
around the tub. Guests place a piece of fruit or colored egg into
the water. Each guest places a spoonful of cool water in the basin
and gives a small gift of silver to the baby. The baby’s biggest
celebration is at one month when the mother’s allowed out of her
room. Family and friends dine and celebrate all night. Money is
given in bright red envelopes and the baby wears a silver or gold
padlock around his neck locking the child to this world. On the
hundredth day some Chinese families host another celebration.
Friends and family bring fish and chicken to the child’s home. When
the chicken is cooked, the tongue is rubbed on the baby’s lips to
make the child a good talker. And the baby’s paternal grandfather
may present the baby with a rocking chair. Traditionally, the
child’s first birthday is also celebrated with a large feast and
offerings to the gods and goddesses. Parents also place a variety of
objects in a basket — a pen, silver, official seal, needlework and
some toys — and offer the basket to the child. The object the baby
grabs signifies the child’s future. The traditional first-birthday
gift is a gold ring meant to protect the baby during harsh times. A
long bread, yu char kuei, is given to the child for the first time.
It is believed it will help him learn how to walk. The day he walks,
a relative walks behind him with a knife drawing three lines on the
ground. The Chinese believe there are invisible bindings around a
child’s ankles binding him to a previous life. With the bindings
cut, the child walks freely
forever.