China Capital Museum

We got to spend two hours in the China Capital Market, which was not nearly enough time to do it justice, but was just enough to whet our appetites.

There was an entire floor of the museum devoted to customs and daily life in ancient China. I picked up quite a few interesting tidbits.

Cranes and bats are both symbols of longevity in Chinese culture and can be seen adorning everything from pottery to clothing. Wealthy families had halls of longevity which were the main halls of the houses where family members prayed for the longevity of the family's senior members.

In ancient times wealthy Chinese parents would have their babies perform "grabbing tests" to predict what role in life they would take. Boy babies were sat in the middle of a table with various objects representing occupations. If the baby grabbed money he would be a businessman one day. If he grabbed a calligraphy brush he would be a scholar and if he grabbed a Buddhist monk's necklace, he would be a monk.

Additionally, babies wore "bone locks of longevity," bracelets tied to their wrists with red thread. Their purpose was to help overcome scarcity and avoid evil.

A kylin was a mythical creature in Chinese folklore which was a combination of dragon, tiger, phoenix and horse. Imagery of a boy riding a kylin represented wishes for families to be blessed quickly with boy babies.

- Peggy