High School Chinese

1. Folk Etiquette

Chinese people have the custom of respecting their ancestors. The names of ancestors and elders cannot be called directly. This type of taboo is included in the ancestor worship customs of many ethnic groups such as the Han, Oroqen, Ewenki, Kazakh, Buyi, and Tibetans. The Oroqen people believe that calling their ancestors by their first names is disrespectful, as they may offend their ancestors and bring disaster to their descendants. They dare not call their elders by their first names, or even tell others their names. Otherwise, they think that children with no joints will be born in the family. If there is an object with the same name as an elder, change the name of the object and change the term. Otherwise, you will lose your life and die young. Regardless of whether they speak or write, the Han people are taboo about mentioning the names of their ancestors and elders. Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records" because his father's name was "Tan", so he changed "Zhao Tan" to "Zhao Tong" and "Li Tan" to "Li Tong"; during the Six Dynasties, some people avoided the family taboo "Tong" In the Qing Dynasty, Liu Wensou, whose father's name was "Yue", refused to listen to the word "乐". It can be seen that the family taboos in the past dynasties were strict. Until now, it is still taboo for children to call their elders by their first names, let alone their nicknames. Words that have the same name or have the same sound as their elders are also taboo. What is especially taboo is that the name of the younger generation must not be the same as the name of the elders, or have homophones or homophones. Otherwise, it is considered disrespectful to one's elders and an act of "deceiving one's ancestors". When younger generations call their elders, they should generally use the title of generation instead of the name, such as grandpa, grandma, grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, etc. This type of title can clearly indicate the seniority relationship and also contains the meaning of respect. This is not only true between the eldest and younger generations within the family, but also between the eldest and younger generations in the master-disciple relationship. As the saying goes, "A son does not speak his father's name, and a disciple does not speak his master's name." ?Not only are younger generations tabooed in calling their elders by their names, even among peers, there are also taboos when addressing them. In interpersonal communication, it is often out of respect for the other party that it is not appropriate to call him or her by his or her first name. Generally speaking, we refer to each other as brother, brother, sister, sister, sir, madam, comrade, master, etc. When you have to ask the other person's name, you should also politely say "Excuse me for your name", "What is your name" and so on. Oroqen couples are also not allowed to call each other by their first names. After the Benglong people get married and have children, others no longer call them by their first names. Instead, they are called "so-and-so's father" and "so-and-so's mother" according to the names of their children. The Han people also have similar customs. Even as soon as they get married or start a family, they change their titles. The wife calls her husband "the one outside", "the shopkeeper" and "the one in charge"; the husband calls his wife "the one who is in the house", "the one who cooks" and "the one who is in charge of the house". Otherwise, they just greet each other by saying "Hey" and "Hmm", and rarely call each other by their first names. Outsiders also call them "such-and-such man", "such-and-such woman", "such-and-such old man", and "such-and-such wife". Although it is troublesome to say this and also point out another person's name, because it is not his own name, it can be regarded as not calling him by his first name, so there is no taboo. ?

When naming a child, there are many taboos. In addition to avoiding names with the same character or pronunciation as the names of ancestors and elders, you also need to consider the fate of the person. For example, if you are short of gold, you are taboo to name your name with the character "fire" or the word next to "fire". In short, horoscopes cannot be named with words that conflict with each other. Children also have nicknames. According to Zhang Liangcai's "History of Chinese Customs": "The names of young children are called nicknames. When they grow up, they change their names and use nicknames as a taboo." This is still popular today. It is commonly believed that calling people by their nicknames is disrespectful to them; it may also be heard by ghosts and gods, and may cause their souls to be taken away by ghosts, so avoid it. But there have always been many people who used their nicknames as their famous names and never changed them throughout their lives. Adults are also taboo about others giving them nicknames. As the saying goes: "The earth is afraid of walking on the ramp, and people are afraid of nicknames." "Book of Rites Nei Principles" says: "Every name is not based on the sun, the moon, or the country." . The son of a great official would not dare to have the same name as the prince because of his hidden illness. "Among them, the names should not be named after the sun and the moon, nor should they be named after the country. They are both taboo and may cause offense." Zheng Xuan noted that "the taboo will eventually change". It is taboo to name hidden diseases by names such as disabilities, moles, scars, etc., otherwise, it will be difficult to cure. Zheng Xuan (note) said, "It is difficult to treat diseases that are hidden in clothes." He did not dare to have the same name as the prince because of the patriarchal concept and respect for the prince. However, if someone is born before the crown prince, it does not need to be changed. ?

In the old society, powerful officials and emperors also forced their names to be legalized. For example, the state official Tian Deng changed the word "light" to "set fire" because he avoided the taboo word "deng" (lamp). So the idiom "Only state officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps" is left. Emperors of all dynasties used this to show their prestige by banning customs.

Qin Shihuang's surname was Ying Mingzheng. In order to avoid the taboo word "zheng", he changed the "first month" to "duanyue", or changed the pronunciation of the word "zheng" to Ping tone. There are many taboos of this type, and during the Tang and Song Dynasties, taboos were at their peak. There are as many as one hundred and sixty words for "avoidance" in the Yuan Dynasty code. Add in the "avoidance with the sound", and there are even more. The strict taboos in the Ming and Qing Dynasties can be said to be at their peak. Violating taboos became an important part of literary prison cases, and people were frequently beheaded for this. The ways to avoid taboos include changing words, avoiding sounds, empty words, missing pens, etc. There were some rules for taboo avoidance at first. For example, "Book of Rites: Quli" says: "Etiquette does not taboo the name of the emperor, and the two names are not tabooed. If you catch your parents, you will taboo the king's parents. If you don't catch your parents, you will not taboo the king's parents. The king will be selfless in tabooing." . All official taboos for officials are not tabooed in poems and writings, and taboos are not tabooed in temples. Even if the wife is in front of the emperor, the ministers will not taboo, and the woman will not taboo. "And so on. However, after the Han Dynasty, with the increasing development of taboos, these "taboos" and "taboos" were gradually broken. Although these are institutional matters, they originate from folk beliefs and directly involve folk language taboos, so they are briefly mentioned in order to explain the problem. ?

Due to the strong local concept and national self-esteem among the people, there are some derogatory or taboo names with contempt and discrimination in terms of regional and national titles. For example, China has the terms "Southern Manzi" and "Northern Manzi". It is a scornful and derogatory term used by people from the North and South regions to people from other lands. It is said that the She people are taboo with outsiders calling them "She guests", let alone "She guests" or "She guests". They thought this was a great insult to them. We can only call them "She people" or "She people". In the past, they called themselves "people with small surnames" and the Han people as "people with big surnames", or they called themselves "people from my side" and called the Han people "people from your side". This is a national custom and should be respected; the Miao people are taboo with outsiders calling them "miaozi", but like others to call them "in-laws"; the Yi people hate others calling them "old Yi compatriots" and "barbarians" and think that this is The title is the greatest insult to them. In the old days, when the Manchus (in Kaifeng) celebrated festivals, the elders had to give ninety-nine coins to the younger ones. It contains the meaning of "too many to be full of", because they are afraid of offending the majesty of their own clan name. ?

Most of the title taboos mentioned above are related to folk etiquette, which are related to some kind of customary etiquette of superiority and inferiority, and the order of superiority and inferiority. Of course, if we trace back to its original taboo concept, it is mostly based on considerations of good or bad luck. Examples of this include those we mentioned in the previous article "Naming, recognizing relatives and taboos". However, many title taboos in this area have become habitual and traditional. People just avoid certain titles as a matter of course and use another title. The sense of good or bad luck in it has been greatly transformed into a superficial sense of politeness. In other words, people only remember what is feasible, and no longer pay attention to those forbidden things that are no longer feasible, let alone investigate the original meaning of those forbidden things that are not feasible. ?

2. Age and zodiac signs are taboo?

A person’s name should be taboo, and a person’s age and zodiac sign should also be taboo. The most common age taboos in the Central Plains are forty-five, seventy-three, eighty-four, one hundred, etc. According to the "Shuo Jing" quoted from "Beiping Customs and Characters·Language": "The people of Yan say that they are forty-five years old. People may ask them. If they don't say 'forty-four years old last year', they will say 'forty-six years old next year'. I don't know." What's the point?" According to some investigation data in Henan and Hebei, the reason why he said he was forty-five years old was related to Bao Gong's grain release in Chenzhou. Legend has it that Bao Gong was forty-five years old when he was putting grain in Chenzhou. He was robbed on the way, disguised as a tortoise (a prostitute with turtle legs, a type of character), and escaped from danger. There is also a legend that Bao Gong designed to capture King Zhao. Because King Zhao was promiscuous, Bao Gong lied about his own death and secretly ordered his wife to flirt with King Zhao who came to mourn and offer condolences, defrauding him of the sword above him, and then captured King Zhao and guillotined him to death. Although these legends are not necessarily accurate, it can be seen from the legends that the taboo age of forty-five is actually related to unlucky things such as being in danger, faking death, becoming a bastard, etc. Any of these things are enough to form folk taboo customs. This custom is still popular in Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places. The age taboos of seventy-three and eighty-four are said to be related to the longevity of Confucius and Mencius. Legend has it that Confucius died at the age of seventy-three and Mencius at the age of eighty-four. Therefore, people think that these two years are a major milestone in life, which even saints cannot escape, let alone ordinary people, so they are very taboo. There are some sayings such as "Seventy-three or eighty-four, immortality will also be a thorn in the eye socket", "Seventy-three or eighty-four, the King of Hell will not invite you to go" and so on.

This custom was popular in the Central Plains, and is also common in other areas, and it continues to this day. It is also taboo to refer to age as "hundred years old". Centenary is often used to refer to the limit of human life. For example, "hundred years of reconciliation", "hundred years later", etc. all imply the end of life span. Therefore, when asking someone's age, it is taboo to say "hundred years old". . It’s really a hundred years old, let’s just say it’s ninety-nine years old. Otherwise, it's bad luck. In some areas of Shandong, it is also said that centenarians are animals such as donkeys and hedgehogs. There are also some special sayings about age taboos in various places. For example, in Shandong, it is taboo for men to say that they are forty-one. It is said that forty-one is a hindrance to their wives. I don’t know what the basis for this is. However, when this year comes, you must skip it and say one more year old. It is taboo in Taiwan that the age of nine is the same. It is considered that the age of nine, nineteen, twenty-nine...ninety-nine, etc. are bad times, and there is a fear of illness, death, or disaster. It may be related to the belief that nine is the most auspicious number, and if it exceeds this number, it will turn into bad luck. ?

Because the zodiac sign can indicate a person's age and also refers to one's own destiny, there is a taboo against talking about the zodiac signs. In the old days, when artists performed in the palace, in addition to remembering the taboo characters in the palace, they also had to remember the names and taboo characters of the emperor, queen mother, concubines, etc. Otherwise, you will be punished. Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty was born in the year of the sheep, so she was taboo about mentioning the character sheep when singing. Even the repertoire and lines had to be changed. For example, "Sheep Transformation", "Sheep Sheep Fence", "Su Wu Sheep Sheep", etc. cannot be performed. In "Nv Qi Jie", "The sheep enters the tiger's mouth, and there is no return" should be changed to "The fish is caught in the net, and there is no return." ". According to the "Qingzhi Leichao": "Anyone with a surname in Yancheng, the owner of the family thinks that his son is a rat, but he does not keep cats, and if he sees a rat, he will not allow people to catch him. Over time, the rats will die, and the sun will jump over the beams. Go in and out without fear of others." It can be seen that this custom of treating the zodiac sign as the zodiac sign has a broad basis in folk beliefs. ?

3. Taboos about words about disaster?

People have a fear of "saying evil means disaster, talking about disaster means disaster", so it is taboo to mention words such as disaster. For fear that this might lead to the real coming of disaster. ?

Death is what people fear and taboo most. Therefore, the word "death" cannot be mentioned. "Book of Rites·Quli" says: "The death of the emperor is called collapse, the princes are called dead, the officials are called dead, the scholars are not paid, and the common people are called death." This is a different name for death in terms of nobility and inferiority. It is a manifestation of a certain hierarchical concept, but it also contains the taboo meaning of the word "death". Except for the people at the bottom of society, everyone else changes their name to avoid it. Later generations of people and common people also tried their best to get rid of and avoid the ominous shadow of the word "death". The scholar-bureaucrat class also called "death" as "death of illness", "evanescent", "things lost", "weariness of the world", and "abandonment". , "donating buildings", "abandoning tents", "reviving siblings", "moving gods", "moving", etc.; common people also refer to "death" as "pawn", "death", "next life" ", "died", "died", "ascended to heaven", "got old", "gone", "lost", "gone", etc. Today, those who die fighting for the country and nation on the battlefield are also called "sacrifice", "sacrifice", "glorious", etc. Avoid the word "death" with these complimentary words of praise. When an old Ewenki man dies, he is not allowed to say "dead", but rather "has become a Buddha". When a child dies, it is not allowed to say "dead", but "less alive". The Hui people avoid saying the word "death" and should use "impermanence", "dying", etc. instead. There are many words used to replace the word "death" in other ethnic groups and various religions. If we carefully count them, I'm afraid there are no fewer than 180 species. The reason for this kind of language situation is probably related to people's taboo on using the word "death". In order to avoid the taboo word "death" in people's daily speech, people in Guangzhou also say "making me angry to death" as "activating me" and "laughing me to death" as "laughing to life". Even words with the same pronunciation as the word "death" should be avoided. People in some places often consciously pronounce the surname Shi as "Li" and the surname "Shi" as "Sheng" (生). Some even avoid the sounds of the characters "四" and "十" because they are in harmony with the word "death". There is no Building 4 or Ward No. 4 in Taiwanese hospitals; even warship numbers are taboo with "4". According to Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao, the eight warships Taiwan planned to build in the early 1990s were numbered sequentially, but the number "4" was intentionally avoided. There are no "1102" and "1104" numbers. Because the four numbers in the former add up to "4", the latter obviously contains "4" and is not used. There are no four roads for buses and cars, and the suffix of motorcycle license plates does not have "94", because "94" in Taiwanese has the same pronunciation as "to die".

In other months, it is taboo to get married, give gifts and socialize.

Things related to death and funerals are also taboo to mention, so as not to cause bad associations. For example, it is taboo among the people to say "coffin", but it should be said as "wealth (material)", "longevity material", "longevity utensil" and so on. When the coffin comes in for a funeral, you should say auspicious words such as "The official (coffin) is coming, the wealth (timber) is also coming, and the wealth (timber) and nails are coming together" and other auspicious words to break the bad luck. ?

In order to prevent disasters from happening, people also taboo in language speaking words that are directly or indirectly related to disasters. For example, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom used stems and branches to record years, but because the word "ugly" was tabooed, they changed "ugly" to "hao"; tabooed the word "harm", and changed "hai" to "kai"; tabooed the word "wu", and changed it to "mao" "For "honor". In the Guangzhou area, in the old days, "empty" and "fierce" in the dialect had the same pronunciation, so "empty house for rent" was changed to "auspicious house for rent". Boaters are taboo about saying "live" and "turn over", so they call "箸" "chopsticks". Words such as "sink", "stop", "break" and "leaky" are also forbidden. List. People usually avoid saying "eyebrows are down" because it means "unlucky". It is taboo to say "pear" and "umbrella", but to say "yuanguo" and "vertical hat" to avoid the taboo meaning of "dispersion". Avoid the word "bitter melon" and call it "cool melon" to avoid the word "bitter" which means suffering. It is taboo to say "take medicine", but to say "eat good tea" is to taboo the meaning of "sickness". When visiting patients, relatives and friends in Hong Kong, it is taboo to send bouquets of gladioli, jasmine, plum blossoms and other flowers. Because "Jianlan" is a homophone to "Jian Nan" (meaning it will be difficult to meet each other in the future); "Jasmine" is a homophone to "无利" and "无利"; "Plum" is a homophone to "mould", so it is regarded as " "Unlucky" and "unlucky" flowers. It is especially unsuitable to give to patients and relatives and friends who are engaged in business. All these are taboo phenomena of language to avoid evil and seek good luck, which is called "asking for luck" among the people. ?

Words that violate taboos often exist at critical moments in life rituals or life experiences. "Huainanzi·Shuo Shan" says: "On the day of sacrifice, it is said that a dog will be born; on the evening of taking (marrying) a woman, it is said that she will become numb; on the day of setting wine, it is said that one goes to the tomb; on the day of crossing a river, one is told that the waves of Marquis Yang are coming." Gao You's note says: "Everything is unsuitable. The Marquis of Yangling State drowned, and his spirit can make big waves, causing harm to people. Because he called Yanghou Zhibo, the boat people didn't want to talk about it." There are also taboos against place names in the common people, and some place names are considered to be evil. The meaning of misfortune may offend one's destiny, so it is taboo to mention or taboo about the past or living here. The legend of Feng Chu's death in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is an example based on this common belief and taboo. There is a legend of "The Lost Formation Village" in Lin County, Henan Province. Because of its unlucky name, merchants and soldiers refused to enter the village, so it was later changed to "Stone Formation Village". There are also Yangjiaying and Langlei villages, which are adjacent to each other and have not been in contact for a long time. Because "Yang" and "Sheep" are homophones, and "Lang" and "Wolf" are homophones, people in Yangjiaying feared that interacting with people in Langlei Village would cause damage to their lives. To this day, intermarriage between the two villages is still taboo. There are many examples of this type, too numerous to mention, and they are also an aspect of language taboos. ?

Some numbers also have good and bad distinctions among the people, so they also have taboos. Odd and even numbers have the inductive nature of good and bad. Generally, avoid single numbers for happy events and double happiness for bad things. This is a psychological reflection of people seeking good luck and avoiding bad luck. However, people often say, "Blessings come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone." Perhaps it is because people often fail to get what they want, so this proverb is summed up. There are different taboos on odd and even numbers in various places in various places. Combined with various specific situations, there are also many numerical taboos, which we have discussed in other chapters of this book, so we will not go into details here. All that needs to be added is the inconsistency in the taboos of good and bad numbers. For example, folk usually use "three, six, and nine" as symbols of auspicious numbers. However, there are also cases where these three numbers are considered unlucky. For example, Chaozhou people in Guangdong avoid using the word "三" in their speech. Otherwise, the disaster will be unpredictable. Therefore, the locals call three o'clock two-sixty. In the Tian and Mian areas of Hubei, people believe that "six" is unlucky, and the number of cooking (especially eating eggs) and giving gifts must not be "six". The local people pronounce "Liu" as "Lu". Therefore, "Liu" means "Manlu", which means "death", so it is taboo. From this, many curse words evolved, such as "six o'clock" (that is, the "half turn" of the clock, which means "bad fire" and immoral. It has the same meaning as "two hundred and five" and "half-turn"), etc. wait. In some areas where the She people live, it is taboo to write the character "九". When encountering the character "九", always change it to "丸". It is said to be related to the myth and legend that the ancestor of the She people is a divine dog. "Dog" and "Nine" are similar in shape, so they are taboo. It can be seen from this that the concepts of good and bad luck in language taboos vary depending on time, place, nation, industry and other factors, and cannot be generalized.

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4. Taboo words for losing money?

In the old days, when Chinese people met and greeted each other, they would say "Congratulations on getting rich, congratulations on getting rich". Because the quality of wealth is directly related to people's vital interests. As the saying goes, "Man perishes for money, and birds perish for food." Therefore, the people attach great importance to this matter. They are always thinking about making a fortune, and are always on guard against losing it. ?

During the Spring Festival, every household will worship the God of Wealth, and there are people selling portraits of the God of Wealth in alleys. The portrait of the God of Wealth is taboo on buying and selling, so say "send" or "please". People walking around the alleys brought many portraits of the God of Wealth with them and shouted from door to door: "The God of Wealth is here." Most people would rush out and go to the door and say, "Okay, come, let us have one." If you don't want to buy it, you can also You can't say "don't want it", let alone chase away the God of Wealth. You can only say "I already have it". Otherwise, the God of Wealth will blame you. If the God of Wealth really doesn't come, the family will be ruined. Hong Kong people never say "Happy New Year" during the Chinese New Year, and they don't usually say "Happy New Year" when writing letters. Because "happy" and "quick fall" (meaning failure and bankruptcy) are easy to confuse when hearing and speaking, and they are taboo words. Therefore, when people in Hong Kong meet during the Chinese New Year, they always say: "Congratulations on getting rich," "Good luck in the new year," "All the best," etc. ?

In the Guangdong area, gambling was very popular in the old days, so the word "losing" was particularly taboo among the people. There is a kind of wooden fish book sold on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, which is called "Moonlight Win" by the peddler. It is taboo that the words "book" and "lose" are homophonic. And because the pronunciation of "Si" and "Shu" in Guangdong dialect are the same, "Luffa" was renamed "Sheng Gua". And because "doing" violates the taboo of "losing completely". So "dry" was changed to "run". "Run" means to be polished all the time, and it looks oily, so it is a symbol of getting rich. So "pork liver" is said to be "pig moist", "chicken liver" is said to be "chicken moist"; "dried tofu" is said to be "bean moist"... In the old Guangzhou trading houses, in order to make a fortune, for accounts The word "branch" in expenditure is particularly taboo. For this reason, the pronunciation of "long robe" (长衣) was changed to "长jin", in order to only "advance" and not "branch". It is taboo for middle-aged and elderly people in Hong Kong to call them "uncle" and "aunt". Because "uncle", "aunt" and "baiwu" are homophonic, which means "having nothing". Therefore, in Hong Kong, no matter businessmen, public officials or ordinary housewives, they are taboo about calling them "uncle" or "auntie". In Sichuan, it was taboo in the past to say the word "tongue" because "tongue" is a homophonic word for "loss", which means "loss of capital" and "loss of wealth". For this reason, "pig tongue" is called "pig attracts wealth", and "ox tongue" is called "cow attracts wealth". In Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, during New Years and holidays, words such as "luck in wealth" and "harmony brings wealth" should be written on the front of the door. Because the radical "bei" of the word "财" is homophonic to the word "bei" which means "disobey", in order to avoid "unlucky" or "lose money", the radical "bei" of the word "财" was deliberately written as "见" Character. If you think this way, you can always see money everywhere and have good luck. There is a mountain in Zhumadian, Henan Province called Queshan. "Que" in the local dialect means "trap", "cheating", "smashing the pot" and "bad". Therefore, businessmen are taboo about calling it Queshan. It was renamed "Shunshan" to seek good luck and avoid losing money.

In short, there are many language taboos about the decline of wealth, all of which are to avoid losing money and being unlucky. It shows that people in society have a deep understanding of the difficulties of making a living. The turbulent social life forces them to place their destiny on the protection of gods, especially the God of Wealth, who they absolutely dare not offend. Because they do not want to suffer the torture of poverty and have their financial resources in life cut off. Because of this, another characteristic of this type of language taboo is that it not only avoids saying unlucky words, but also changes the unlucky words into auspicious words, and strives to use language flexibility and adjustment to achieve better results in real life. Get the most auspicious ideal effect. ?

5. Taboos on profane words?

The folk concept of honor and disgrace also makes some profane words taboo. ?

Folks generally believe that words involving sexual behavior and sexual organs are profanities, and generally so-called "educated" or "honest" people are ashamed to speak them. When you have to talk about sexual organs, use "that", "lower part", "pudenda", etc. instead. When talking about sexual behavior, we should also use euphemistic words such as "doing business", "having sex", "sharing the same bed", "couple life", "relationship between men and women", "cheating", "looking for flowers" and so on.

Even "pooping", "peeing", "going to the toilet", "menstruation", etc., which are easily associated with the genital area, are taboo and should generally be changed to "going out", "relieving yourself" and "convenient". , "toilet", "last day", "period", etc. When swearing, people often use their genitals or sexual behavior to humiliate the other party, indicating that people believe that such words have curses and can damage the soul or body of the enemy. On the other hand, when there are no enemies present, or when you don't want to curse anyone, this type of words should be avoided. "Qingyi Leichao" says: "Northern people often use the word "egg" in their cursing words, such as "muddy egg", "noisy egg", "poured egg", and "huangba (bastard egg) egg". Therefore, they often avoid the word "egg" in their dishes. Eggs are called chicken eggs, preserved eggs are called pine flowers, scrambled eggs are called zhuangcai, egg yolks are called huangcai, boiled whole eggs are called woguoer, egg drop soup is called mignonette soup, sweet-scented osmanthus, and egg flowers are also yellow in color. Such as sweet-scented osmanthus. The cake is called trough cake, which means that it is put into the trough when it is made. However, it is not taboo to boil eggs with tea leaves. The reason why the word "egg" is tabooed here is because it is a curse. Words. The reason why "egg" is used to curse people is because egg refers to testicles, which is part of the male genitals, so it has the function of blaspheming and cursing people. People in Shandong like to call him "Second Brother" and avoid calling him "Big Brother". It is said to be related to the legend of "Wu Song". Wu Song was the second eldest, tall and burly, and was known as the "Tiger Fighting Hero" because he killed a tiger on Jingyanggang; Wu Song's elder brother Wu Boss was short and ugly. But these alone are not enough to form a taboo against calling him "eldest brother". The main thing is probably that Wu Boss's wife has an affair with Ximen Qing. People avoid calling him "eldest brother" because they are afraid of becoming like Mr. Wu, a man who "fucks around with his wife." This kind of people are also called "bastards" and "turtles" among the people. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, the turtle was a sacred object that was collectively known as the "Four Spirits" together with the dragon, phoenix, and lin. Most people regarded it as auspicious, and there was no taboo about it. There are also many people named after turtles, such as Li Guinian, Lu Guimeng and so on. After the Yuan Dynasty, turtles began to be used to humiliate the husbands of prostitutes or the husbands of adulterous wives. It is said that this is because turtles cannot have sex and those who indulge in sex with snakes have sex with them. Nowadays, this taboo is still popular. If you call someone a "turtle son" or "bastard", he will get very angry. The word "jealousy" is taboo among the people, and "jealousy" is called "taboo", which is also related to sexual behavior, because people who are jealous in love are often said to be "jealous". In fact, not only abnormal sexual behavior will form some kind of linguistic taboo, but also normal sexual relations will form some kind of linguistic taboo. For example, when marrying a girl among the people, it is forbidden to say "marry" but to say "go out" or "Adult" does not say pregnancy or childbirth, but "has", "increased happiness", etc. They are all euphemisms that try to avoid associations with sexual behavior, and the basis of euphemisms is still taboo. ?

In addition to the above language taboos related to sexual organs and sexual behavior, there are also other language taboos with profane nature. For example, animals such as "rabbit", "dog", "donkey" and "cow" are often used to curse people. Therefore, it is taboo to mention these animals in front of others, especially not in comparison with people. Otherwise, they will hurt others and cause fights. dispute. When talking to monks or Taoist priests, you should not say the words "donkey" or "ox", because monks are most afraid of being called "bald donkey" and Taoist priests are most afraid of being called "ox nose". People with physical defects are also taboo to laugh at their defects in person. This is also an act of disrespect and blasphemy. For example, avoid talking about baldness in front of a bald person, avoid talking about lameness in front of a lame person, etc. Folks generally like the young and dislike the old. In Hunan, both young and old are called "Yali". Even people in their seventies or eighties are no exception. If you call him an "old man", you will get angry. Nowadays, young women like to be thin and avoid being fat. If they say they are thin, they will think that they are praising their slim figure and good looks. If they say they are fat, they will be displeased and think that they are mocking her for their ugly figure and unattractive looks. . There are many taboos like this, which vary from place to place and are too numerous to mention. To sum up, any profane words that are disrespectful or contemptuous towards others are generally taboo.