中国日常文化中的民间禁忌

禁忌在民间也被称为“忌讳”，指的是人们对某些神圣的、不洁的、危险的人或事物规定的某种禁止的言行，也指某些因宗教信仰或迷信而被禁止的言行。还有些禁忌反映了人们对生活的独特理解和道德评价。

中国有句俗话：“十里不同风，百里不同俗。”自然环境和社会环境不同，人们的生活方式和文化传统各异，必然会产生不同的禁忌。每个民族、每个家族以及各行各业都有各自不同的禁忌内容。下面介绍的，是中国民间一些比较普遍的禁忌。

Taboos are also commonly called 忌讳 (jìhuì) by ordinary folks, meaning words or behaviors prohibited by people on some sacred, unclean or dangerous people or things,as well as those prohibited by religious beliefs or superstitions. There are also taboos that reflect people's unique understanding and moral evaluation of life.

A Chinese saying goes, “Habits vary 10 miles apart, and customs vary 100 miles apart.” Natural environments and social situations are different, so are ways of life and cultural conventions, thus resulting in different taboos. Every ethnic group, every family and every walk of life has its own taboos. The following are some common taboos among Chinese folks.

中国民间有许多语言禁忌。比如，忌说“死”字。忌用“死”字咒骂别人，特别是小孩，尤其是在喜庆节日或小孩生日期间。即使人死了，也避免使用“死”字，而用“走了”“逝世”“归天”等委婉词语。为国家、民族、人民的事业而死亡的人则更忌讳“死”字，应说“献身”“捐躯”“牺牲”。

民间忌用“死”字，甚至连一些与“死”字谐音的字也忌用，如“四”字，音似“死”，所以中国人尽量回避使用或提及“四”，在选择号码时不喜欢选带“4”的号码，有些酒店甚至没有“第4层”或“第14层”。

吃饭时忌讲“拉屎”“撒尿”等不雅词汇；对渔民或乘船的人，忌说“翻”“沉”等字眼。

避讳也是一种语言禁忌。所谓“讳”，是古代帝王、圣人、长官及尊长的名字。避讳就是要避免直接说出或写出他们的名字，以示尊敬。如佛教中的神明观音菩萨，最初叫“观世音”，在唐代因为唐太宗李世民的名字中也有“世”字，为了避讳而改称为“观音”。避讳这种语言禁忌在2,000多年前便已出现，一直到辛亥革命（1911年）后才被废除。不过，避讳的传统现在仍有保留。如儿女一般不直呼父母的名字，当徒弟的也不直呼师父的名字。

无数字“4”的电梯按钮 Elevator Panel Without the Button “4”

There are a lot of language taboos among Chinese folks. For example, it is a taboo to curse using the word “die”, particularly to children, and especially during festivals, celebrations or on children's birthdays. Even if someone died, the word “die” should be avoided. It is replaced with “has gone”, “has passed away” or “has gone to Heaven”, etc. If someone has died in the service of the country, nation and people, it is even more of a taboo to use the word “die”, which should be replaced with “devote oneself to”, “lay down one's life” or “sacrifice”.

What's more, words which have a similar pronunciation to 死 (sǐ), which means “die”, are taboo. For example, the Chinese character 四 (sì) , which means “four”, has a similar sound to 死 (sǐ), so Chinese people try to avoid using or mentioning 四 (sì) .When they choose a telephone number, they don't like the number with “four” in it. In some hotels, there is no fourth floor or the fourteenth floor.

At a meal, it is a taboo to use improper language such as “shit” or “piss”. For fishermen or passengers on a ship, it is a taboo to say 翻 (fān), which means “turned over”,or 沉 (chén), which means “sink”.

避讳 (bìhuì) is another kind of language taboo. 讳 in the past was the name of anyone highly revered, e.g. the names of emperors, sages, superiors and the elders.避讳 means to avoid speaking or writing their names. For example, Avalokiteshvara used to be called 观世音 (guān shì yīn). Because the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty was Li Shimin (李世民) and there was the Chinese character 世 (shì) in his name, the Chinese name of Avalokiteshvara 观世音 (guān shì yīn) was changed to 观音 (guānyīn) with the Chinese character 世 (shì) omitted, to avoid mentioning this character. The custom of this taboo began more than 2,000 years ago and was not done away with until after the Revolution of 1911. Nevertheless, some of the tradition has remained. For instance, generally sons and daughters are not allowed to use their parents' names. Similarly, apprentices cannot mention their masters' names directly.

中国古代，颜色也分高低贵贱，好坏吉凶。如黑色和黄色，是皇族所穿衣服的颜色，对一般老百姓来说是禁忌。人们也忌穿绿色、青色（被视为“贱色”）的衣服。

到了现代，颜色已没有高低贵贱之分。但在穿着方面仍有一些禁忌，如在结婚、生育、过年等喜庆的日子里，忌穿纯黑这样被视为“不吉利”颜色的衣服；同时，丧葬期间为了表示哀悼也忌穿红色等色彩鲜艳的衣服。

In ancient China, colors were labeled as lowly or noble, good or bad, and lucky or unlucky. For example, black and yellow were colors exclusively for the royal family's clothing. They were a taboo for ordinary people. It was also a taboo for people to wear green or blue clothes, which were considered humble.

In modern times, there is no such discrimination between colors. However, there are still some taboos in wearing clothes. For instance, it is a taboo to wear purely black or other ominous-colored clothes on festive days such as weddings, births, New Year,etc. In contrast, it is a taboo to wear red or other brightly-colored clothes at a funeral.

饮食禁忌主要表现在饮食方式上。比如说，中国古代汉族忌讳用手抓饭吃，这一忌讳至今仍为人们所遵守。(www.xing528.com)

使用碗和筷子也有许多禁忌，如忌讳用筷子敲空碗。另外，忌讳把碗倒扣在桌上，忌讳把筷子插在盛着饭的碗里，人们认为这些都是不吉利的。

Dining taboos are what might also be described as table manners. For example, it was a taboo for ancient Han people to eat rice with their bare hands. This custom has remained unchanged.

There are also many taboos about using bowls and chopsticks. For example, it is a taboo to knock on an empty bowl with chopsticks. For another example, it is a taboo to invert a bowl onto the table or insert chopsticks into the rice in a bowl, because it would be considered a bad omen to do so.

中国人十分重视家庭，希望自己的家族能够发展壮大。他们相信住房跟家业是否兴旺、子孙是否安康有很大关系。所以，他们对居住的朝向十分谨慎，讲究“风水”，民间便因此而产生了“风水先生”这种职业。

随着时代的发展，居住方面的禁忌大多都消失了，但有一部分仍保存了下来。比如，中国人建房子，一般是坐北朝南；要扩建房子时，忌往西边扩大。民间还认为，无论是建房子还是搬迁，一定要选择吉日；忌讳五月建房；建房所用的木料也有讲究，房梁最好用榆木，取其“余粮”之意；忌用桑木，因“桑”与“丧”同音，不吉利。

Chinese people attach great importance to families and hope their families will grow and prosper. They believe there is a close link between where they live and the prosperity of their business and welfare of their descendants. Therefore, they are cautious about the orientations of their houses and care about fengshui—“wind-water” (a Chinese philosophical system of ensuring the harmony and balance of an environment).As a result, the occupation of fengshui experts came into being.

Times have changed, and most taboos about living spaces have disappeared, but some have survived. For example, houses are built with the front door facing the south.If a house needs enlarging, it is a taboo to extend it westwards. In addition, Chinese folks believe constructing a house or a building, or moving to a new house or flat should be started on an auspicious day. It is also a taboo to start constructing a house or building in the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. There are certain rules for the choice of wood for the house—elm is the best wood used for beams, because 榆梁 (yúliáng),which means elm beam, sounds the same as 余粮 (yúliáng), which means surplus grain—an abundant life, while it is a taboo to use mulberry wood, because 桑 (sāng) ,which means mulberry, sounds the same as 丧 (sāng), which means “die” or “funeral” ,and is therefore a bad omen.

罗盘·测量风水 Compass: For Fengshui Survey

除了上述各方面的禁忌，民间还有一些禁忌。如春节时忌打碎器物，如不慎打碎了，要说“碎碎平安”，取“岁岁平安”之意。以前，在正月初一这一天，吃饭忌无鱼，有鱼忌全部吃光，是为了取“年年有余（鱼）”的吉祥含义。这一天还忌动刀、剪子等利器，忌说一切不吉利的话，凡“破”“坏”“死”“光”“鬼”“输”“穷”“病”等不好的字眼都要避免。

民间还忌打头、打脸，年幼者不能拍打年长者的肩膀。

Besides the taboos already mentioned, there are some other taboos. For example,it is a taboo to have something broken at the Spring Festival. If something is broken(in Chinese: 碎 suì) accidentally, people should say 碎碎平安 (suìsuì píng'ān), which means “objects in pieces, persons in peace”. People say 碎碎平安 mainly because it sounds the same as 岁岁平安 (suìsuì píng'ān), which means “in peace every year”.In the past, on the first day of the first lunar month, there would always be fish as part of the main meal, but it would be considered taboo to finish the whole fish. For good luck, people would say 年年有鱼 (niánnián yǒuyú), which means “have fish every year”, because it sounds the same as 年年有余 (niánnián yǒuyú), which means “have surplus every year”. On the same day, it is also a taboo to use sharp cutlery such as knives or scissors, or say any words which could be considered unlucky such as “break”, “go wrong”, “die”, “no more”, “ghost”, “lose”, “poor” or “ill”.

Among ordinary folks, it is a taboo to hit someone on the head or face. It is also a taboo for a younger person to pat an elder person on the shoulder.

汉语中的“梨”和“离”同音，所以，热恋中的男女忌同吃一个“梨”，因为这样意味着会“分梨（分离）”。

The two Chinese characters 梨 (lí) and 离 (lí) are homophones. Thefirst means pear, and the second can mean “leave”, “separate”, “split up” or “divorce”. Therefore, it is a taboo for a couple dating to share a pear (分梨fēnlí) , for it implies that they might split up (分离 fēnlí).

分梨＝分离

Split a Pear in Half (fēnlí) = Seperate (fēnlí)

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