Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/14

 The washing of the baby is deferred till the third day; this is called shao san 燒三 or hsi san 洗三. When the child is born it is simply wound in calico till the third day, when it is washed. This is said to be for fear the navel cord will not dry off, and will thus cause the death of the child.

If a man's heavy foot comes near the bedroom, it is feared the mother's milk may be driven away. A locked padlock is always kept on the outside of the bedroom door to prevent the milk leaving—fang jên tai nai 防人帶奶. At such times no member of the household will visit a house of mourning and no person in mourning or pregnant is allowed to carry the child, for fear its spirit may be called away.

The father of the child goes to the home of his father-in-law with a present of meat, incense and paper money, pays his respects to all the elder generation, and finally worships at their ancestral shrine. This ceremony, called pao hsi 報喜, is only performed for the first-born.

Soon after the birth the father worships at his ancestral shrine, pai tsu tsung 拜祖宗, giving thanks that another generation has been born to carry on the ancestral rites.

On the birth of the first grandson the grandfather takes round to particular friends some eggs which have been stained red, 紅蛋 hung tan, by being boiled in ochre water. This is not done at the birth of a grand-daughter.

Eggs are brought as a present to the mother, and at such times woman guages her happiness by the number of eggs she eats. In ordinary families a present of 20 or 30 eggs is quite common, but among the rich the number rises to 500 or even 1,000. A proverb says, "The male looks forward to going to the market, but the female to sitting in her room" 男子望赶塲，女人望座房, that is, for a good time of feeding up. The mother is really expected to stay for a month in the house, tso yueh 坐月, or tso ts’ao 坐草, (because she likes to sit on something soft); and she is exempted from all out-door labour.

Besides the gifts of eggs and chickens for her eating, there are presents for the child,—shoes, hats, bangles and pinafores, varying in value according to the status of the family. In well-to-do circles presents of silver, ten to one hundred taels, are sent from the wife's home, to buy clothing and luxuries for the new grandson.