#千万IP创科普# Pointing at the moon will result in your ears being cut off? The truth is...

Have you ever had your ears cut off by the moon? In southern Fujian, there is a horror legend that if you point at the moon, your ears will be cut off. It is said that people who point at the moon will find a scar on their ears when they wake up...

You may have heard of some folk taboos that have no basis but have been passed down for a long time. Among them, the most well-known one in southern Fujian is " pointing at the moon will result in your ears being cut off." Those who violate it will find their ears cut when they wake up the next day.

This taboo can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty , when the Taoist classic "Taishang Ganying Pian" mentioned in the "Zhu Evil Chapter" that " spitting at shooting stars, pointing at rainbows, pointing at the three lights, and staring at the sun and the moon for a long time " were considered disrespectful to the gods.

©《Taishang Ganying Pian Tushu》Zhenghetang Collection Edition, Qing Dynasty Qianlong Period Edition

The "three lights" refer to the light emitted by the sun, moon and stars, and "pointing at the three lights" means pointing at these three celestial bodies with your fingers. This shows that the worship of the sun, moon and stars is a tradition of the Han people since ancient times .

Similar taboos were also described in the Taiwan Customs (1921). In one chapter, "Taiwanese Concepts and Superstitions about Natural Phenomena," it mentioned that according to legend, the moon has a sharp knife, and children will get their ears stabbed when they curse it or say bad things about it.

This record is different from the content that is commonly circulated today: first, the action that triggered "ear cutting" in the legend was not pointing at the moon, but saying bad things; second, it emphasizes that the punishment occurred immediately, rather than "finding scars on your ears after waking up."

After more than 40 years of evolution, the behavior that triggered the taboo changed from cursing to pointing fingers, and the punishment became more severe, from cutting to cutting, and derived the rule that worshiping the moon would exempt from punishment. "Taiwan Folk Customs" (1969) records: "It is forbidden to point at the moon, and it is said that if you point at the moon, the moon will cut off your ears. If you accidentally point at the moon, you should worship the moon with your hands and ask for forgiveness."

There is a similar saying among the people of southern Fujian to avoid punishment. If someone accidentally points at the moon, as long as they put their hands together and sincerely bow to the moon to apologize, or sing a nursery rhyme: "The moon lady's knife is blunt, Jianzi's knife is sharp, I bow to you three times, and I will be fine if I point at you", they can avoid having their ears cut off.

Taiwanese friends also discussed this legend on Xiaohongshu

In modern times, the content of the taboo is almost the same as the modern version, except that the price of the moon has changed from "cutting off the ears" to "cutting the ears".

Perhaps it is because the term "ear cutting" has too much room for interpretation, and can be interpreted as the entire ear being cut off or just a tear on the ear. Or it may be because small scars on the ears seem to be more common than cutting off the ears, and are more easily passed on by people.

©Pan Science

"Don't point at the moon, or your ears will be cut off!" This is one of the warnings that most people in southern Fujian are familiar with since childhood. When I was a child, I was also taught this lesson by adults. However, my curiosity was too strong. I endured it for a few days. Finally, one night, in a place where adults could not see, I quietly pointed at the moon with my finger. As a result, when I woke up the next day, my ears were fine. At that time, I was still indignant, thinking that I had been deceived.

When I grew up, I learned from a friend that she once pointed at the moon with her finger and her ears were actually cut. She even pulled her ears apart while talking to me to show me the scars. There were indeed shallow scars behind her ears. I was very confused at the time. Is the legend of "pointing at the moon will result in your ears being cut off" true or false?

Interestingly, in the discussion about "pointing at the moon will cause ear cuts" on social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Zhihu, many people have similar experiences to my friend, but the locations of the cuts are different, ranging from the outer part of the auricle, the earlobe to the back of the ear. Of course, there are also people like me who, no matter how many times they point at the moon, their ears are intact.

For a long time, "pointing at the moon will have your ears cut off" has been regarded as a folk legend. But when I looked up relevant information, I found that someone had made a guess about it: he believed that the so-called "pointing at the moon will have your ears cut off" was probably due to skin inflammation.

Because of the poor hygiene in the past, children often had skin inflammation, and the ears are prone to eczema and sores. In addition, the skin is relatively fragile and easily scratched, which gave rise to this legend. However, upon closer examination, it is not consistent with the legendary behavior of "not pointing at the moon".

The truth behind the saying "pointing at the moon will result in your ears being cut off" may ultimately be attributed to the moon worship in Han society . The ancients had a limited understanding of astronomy, and coupled with their worship of the moon, they came up with this threatening legend in order to teach their children to respect the moon god.

As for why it is "cut" ears instead of verbs such as cut, chop, and shave? During the waxing and waning moon, the crescent moon hanging high in the night sky looks like a sharp and unstoppable sickle. Therefore, the connection between pointing at the moon and cutting ears may come from the ancient people's association of the crescent moon with the sickle in appearance.

The crescent moon is very similar to the sickle in appearance

In traditional Taoism, the moon is deified and worshipped as the Taiyin Goddess. Because of people's worship of the moon, many imaginations and myths about it have been derived. There are romantic legends such as Chang'e flying to the moon and the Jade Rabbit, and horror legends such as pointing at the moon and cutting off ears. This may be due to the changes in the moon's waxing and waning, which is why it has such a polarized contrast in the imagination of the ancients.

As long as the worship and awe of the moon remain, this taboo will continue to be passed down. As for whether you believe it or not, you might as well try it yourself when you admire the moon at night, and maybe the answer will appear.