Xiaopan, did you know? In China, many people don’t get a haircut during the first lunar month.

Really? Why? Is it because barber shops are closed?

No. People say, “If you get a haircut in the first lunar month, your uncle will die,” so they don’t dare go.

That sounds very strange. What does an uncle have to do with getting a haircut?

Actually, it was not originally “your uncle will die,” but “missing the old dynasty” — meaning longing for the previous dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, Han people were required to shave their hair, so not getting a haircut in the first lunar month was a way to express their remembrance of the Ming Dynasty.

Oh! So it was a political reason, not superstition! How did it later become “your uncle will die”?

Because the pronunciation in some dialects sounds very similar, “missing the old” was gradually misheard as “uncle dies,” and the meaning changed completely.

That’s very interesting! It’s like words in historical documents — as they get passed along, their meanings change. Do young people still follow this custom now?

Many young people know this is a misunderstanding, but they still wait until the second day of the second lunar month, “Dragon Raises Its Head,” to get a haircut, treating it as an interesting traditional ritual.

I understand now. Even if a cultural custom comes from a misunderstanding, it can still become a shared memory for everyone. That’s really amazing!