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Yating Yang

China’s Manchu people have quirky child-rearing traditions known as Luocao and Caisheng which include hanging a wooden bow outside the front door when a boy is born, or a red cloth strip for a girl.
The Manchu ethnic group, historically known for founding the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), now lives across various regions of China.
According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2021, their population exceeds 10 million.
In Manchu tradition, the birth of a baby is referred to as luocao, which literally means “falling onto the straw”.

The term reflects their rustic, hunting-based heritage.
In earlier times, pregnant women would roll up the bedding on a traditional heated brick bed and spread straw directly on the surface, where the baby would be delivered.
The birth of a child was considered a major family event.
Once a woman became pregnant, she was expected to observe several taboos and customs.

For example, she was forbidden from sitting on the stove, windowsill or millstone and was not allowed to attend other people’s weddings.
She was also advised to avoid eating rabbit meat, based on the belief that it could cause the newborn to develop a cleft lip.
If a boy was born, a wooden bow and arrow, commonly known as the “son’s arrow”, would be hung near the front door.
This was not an actual weapon, but a symbolic item: a bow crafted from bent branches and three arrows wrapped in red cloth, representing hopes that the child would grow up to be a skilled archer and horseman.

If it was a girl, a red cloth strip would be hung on the right side of the front door, symbolising good fortune.
Over time, this red cloth evolved into a traditional marker for the delivery room, and it became customary for no one to enter the room during childbirth, as it was believed that strangers might steal the mother’s breast milk.
Another unique Manchu birthing custom is the tradition of caisheng, or “choosing a birth picker”. This refers to the first outsider a newborn sees after leaving the birth room.
According to traditional Manchu beliefs, the personality and character of the birth picker could profoundly influence the child’s future.

As a result, families took great care in selecting someone with good moral character and a gentle temperament, hoping the baby would inherit their positive traits.
Parents treated this role with great respect and generosity.
In many cases, they would even be regarded as the child’s godparent, entrusted with care and protection to ensure the child’s healthy and safe upbringing.
Today, the tradition survives in parts of Xinjiang in the north of the country and other regions.


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Birthing rituals which ban expectant mothers from sitting on stoves, attending other people’s weddings, persist in some regions today


Birthing rituals which ban expectant mothers from sitting on stoves, attending other people’s weddings, persist in some regions today.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Birthing rituals which ban expectant mothers from sitting on stoves, attending other people’s weddings, persist in some regions today

Birthing rituals which ban expectant mothers from sitting on stoves, attending other people’s weddings, persist in some regions today