From ears and toenails to brooms and turtles, the Chinese seemingly have a superstition for every occasion. Some notable examples:

  • If you point at the moon, your ears will fall off.
  • A pet turtle will slow down your business.
  • Clipping your fingernails or toenails at night will attract a ghost.
  • If you hit someone with a broom, your life will be ruined.
  • Sweeping the floor on New York’s Day will prevent good fortune.
  • If a pregnant woman hits an animal, her child will look and behave like that animal.
  • Praising a newborn invites evil spirits.
  • A baby with big ears or a concave navel will become prosperous.
  • If you dream about teeth or snow, it means your parents are dead.
  • Smearing the fluid from a dog’s eye into your own eye can help you see into the afterlife. The shock can also kill you.
  • Don’t cut soup noodles because they represent longevity.
  • Never put a bathroom above a dining room.

That last one seems more like common sense than superstition. No one wants a leaky ceiling to cave in while they’re eating.

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Here are the latest additions to my list of strange English names used by Chinese students: Best Wishes, Violin, Hades, Rabbit, Rambo, Caesar, Dragon, Manson, Ringo, Plato, Casablanca, Evil, Love, Genius, Halo, Somebody, Phone, Ant, Vampire, Dreamer, Spartacus, Vitamin, Rainbow, Strawberry, Banana, Iverson, Samson, Soon, Smile and Stone.

Footnote for new readers of my blog: Foreign teachers here often ask their students to “adopt’’ English names because they can’t pronounce their Chinese ones. Given their limited knowledge of English, many students pick a random English word or the name of a famous person. This leads to some bizarre choices, which I’ve detailed in previous posts titled “Hitler Meets Jane Eyre’’ and “Mr. Plastic Bag.’’

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My colleague Darren and I received unusual gifts after attending an unusual meeting of Chinese teachers at Henan University of Technology.

We were invited to talk about our classes and make suggestions about improving the English program in the School of Foreign Languages. One small problem: Almost no one in the room spoke English and there was no translator, so our speeches fell on deaf ears.

As we left, we were both handed jugs of Tide detergent. It was either a “thank you’’ gesture or a hint that we should change our clothes more often.