Why do my Chinese cleaners move my toy snake off of my toy tiger?
December 18, 2015 5:33 PM Subscribe
Why do my Chinese cleaners move my toy snake off of my toy tiger?
We have a small plush tiger on our bedroom shelf, and we have two tiny plastic toys sitting on the tiger. One is a lizard and the other one is a snake. Every time the cleaners come, they leave the lizard on the tiger but they move the snake off it. We keep the snake on the tiger's feet and the lizard is usually on the tiger's back. That's the only thing in our apartment that really gets moved around. They are Chinese, and I'm curious as to whether it's some sort of symbolic thing, or if they just think it looks silly and I'm imagining there's some interesting reason behind it. I haven't asked them because I don't want to accidentally be a dick (so I'll just do that here). Thanks.
We have a small plush tiger on our bedroom shelf, and we have two tiny plastic toys sitting on the tiger. One is a lizard and the other one is a snake. Every time the cleaners come, they leave the lizard on the tiger but they move the snake off it. We keep the snake on the tiger's feet and the lizard is usually on the tiger's back. That's the only thing in our apartment that really gets moved around. They are Chinese, and I'm curious as to whether it's some sort of symbolic thing, or if they just think it looks silly and I'm imagining there's some interesting reason behind it. I haven't asked them because I don't want to accidentally be a dick (so I'll just do that here). Thanks.
Could it be that it's annoying to balance one on top of the other? There is no symbolism to this that I know of.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 6:17 PM on December 18, 2015
posted by gemutlichkeit at 6:17 PM on December 18, 2015
A lizard is not part of the Chinese zodiac but tiger and snake are and they aren't very compatible. Your cleaner is separating two incompatible symbols.
posted by biggreenplant at 6:30 PM on December 18, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by biggreenplant at 6:30 PM on December 18, 2015 [12 favorites]
I would be circumspect about projecting a mystical or religious significance onto this without solid evidence: many chinese people, like many western people, do not subscribe to astrology etc. It could just be a convenience thing.
posted by smoke at 7:43 PM on December 18, 2015 [30 favorites]
posted by smoke at 7:43 PM on December 18, 2015 [30 favorites]
I'd guess maybe they're dusting behind it and the snake always gets knocked off, so they just move it.
posted by thetortoise at 8:02 PM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 8:02 PM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
Most likely it has nothing to do with their ethnicity and you are reading too much into it. Most Chinese people are not ultra superstitious and wouldn't know about supposed compatibility or incompatibility of zodiac signs, it's not like you're born being a horoscope master. This is like a Chinese person asking why their American cleaners separate the lion and the bull figures (OMG because Leo and Taurus incompatible and they are following their mystical Western philosophy!)
Source: am Chinese
posted by pravit at 9:03 PM on December 18, 2015 [35 favorites]
Source: am Chinese
posted by pravit at 9:03 PM on December 18, 2015 [35 favorites]
They are probably trying to dust around the tiger, and the snake gets in the way because it's on the feet. If you really wanted to figure it out - switch the lizard and the snake and see if there is any difference. You also could move the entire figurine so you could keep the formation if you would like, but it's most likely a complete non-issue.
posted by yueliang at 11:08 PM on December 18, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by yueliang at 11:08 PM on December 18, 2015 [8 favorites]
I don't think it would be a dick move to ask them. Just make it clear that you aren't mad or whatever, just curious.
posted by No-sword at 12:47 AM on December 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by No-sword at 12:47 AM on December 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nthing the "it's just easier for them" responses. I had a wonderful cleaner for a few years who, when she started, would move a lot of stuff around. Her rate for a 2 bed apartment was for 3 hours work. I lived alone and the second bedroom was rarely used, so realistically it didn't take 3 hours to clean my apartment (she did an awesome job and never charged me extra if I asked her to clean the oven or the windows, so that was fine with me!). So I think she was trying to add value by helping me reorganize. The first couple of times, I moved everything back to where I had it before. After a while, I stopped doing that, on the basis that actually, most of her changes made sense, and even if they didn't, I didn't care enough to make an issue out of it.
If it's not a big deal for you, just let it slide and leave the snake wherever she leaves it. If it is important to you, you should tell her, so that she knows to put it back where she found it.
posted by finding.perdita at 1:42 AM on December 19, 2015
If it's not a big deal for you, just let it slide and leave the snake wherever she leaves it. If it is important to you, you should tell her, so that she knows to put it back where she found it.
posted by finding.perdita at 1:42 AM on December 19, 2015
Agree on highly doubting that the cleaner cares about the positioning of the animals in relation to the zodiac. I've never met a Chinese person in my time living there that took the Chinese zodiac that seriously. It'd be like an American cleaner separating goat and crab figurines because Cancer and Capricorn aren't said to get along- something someone with very eccentric ideas might possibly do, but not the average person and esp. not if they are working in someone else's house.
posted by bearette at 7:35 AM on December 19, 2015
posted by bearette at 7:35 AM on December 19, 2015
nthing that it's unlikely to be due to "zodiac incompatibility" and jumping to abscribe it to that is a little orientalist. It likely has nothing to do with that.
I am Chinese and spent several years living in China and Taiwan, and have some very superstitious relatives that engage in/refrain from many practices that have symbolic/charm meanings. In all of those years I've never encountered any sort of superstition in terms of behavior/luck regarding objects representing the zodiac animals in people's own homes, much less moving things around in other people's homes that just happen to represent a zodiac animal.
"Zodiac animal compatibility" might be discussed only in the context of interpersonal relationships in the same tongue-in-cheek manner we talk about the compatibility of two people born under a Leo and Sagittarius sign, but I've never ever heard of or seen anyone that placed any sort importance of arrangement of toys/objects that just happened to be animals, nor have I seen any sort of importance placed on "compatibility" arrangements for object sets specifically representing each animal of the zodiac.
posted by Karaage at 9:35 AM on December 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
I am Chinese and spent several years living in China and Taiwan, and have some very superstitious relatives that engage in/refrain from many practices that have symbolic/charm meanings. In all of those years I've never encountered any sort of superstition in terms of behavior/luck regarding objects representing the zodiac animals in people's own homes, much less moving things around in other people's homes that just happen to represent a zodiac animal.
"Zodiac animal compatibility" might be discussed only in the context of interpersonal relationships in the same tongue-in-cheek manner we talk about the compatibility of two people born under a Leo and Sagittarius sign, but I've never ever heard of or seen anyone that placed any sort importance of arrangement of toys/objects that just happened to be animals, nor have I seen any sort of importance placed on "compatibility" arrangements for object sets specifically representing each animal of the zodiac.
posted by Karaage at 9:35 AM on December 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
I had meant to add that the movement may not be related and reading kartages comment it does seem my thoughts are off. My in laws are Chinese and have a ton of superstitions (as do I from a scottish/canadian background and sometimes we do talk about what animal means what but fair enough they wouldn't be likely to move two ornaments either but i thought maybe soneone might (like my mil would never give someone seven items but an aunt doesnt believe in that) Sorry for any offense.
posted by biggreenplant at 10:21 AM on December 19, 2015
posted by biggreenplant at 10:21 AM on December 19, 2015
Not a lot of people are superstitious but some people are. My Chinese MIL would totally do this and if I moved the items back she'd lecture me long and loud about how I shouldn't leave the items that way because of (superstition reason).
If it bugs you, and if you are prepared to leave the items the way they are leaving them, ask them why they do it. If you want them the way you want them don't ask why they move them, just tell them not to. It's more insulting to them if you ask them why they do it and then tell them to stop, as though their opinion has no value.
posted by vignettist at 11:11 AM on December 19, 2015
If it bugs you, and if you are prepared to leave the items the way they are leaving them, ask them why they do it. If you want them the way you want them don't ask why they move them, just tell them not to. It's more insulting to them if you ask them why they do it and then tell them to stop, as though their opinion has no value.
posted by vignettist at 11:11 AM on December 19, 2015
Some people are freaked out by snakes. My mother would not touch even a fake one. One of my friends slept in her car rather than the little cabin where we discovered a couple of small common non-poisonous snakes in a kitchen cabinet.
posted by maggieb at 2:38 PM on December 19, 2015
posted by maggieb at 2:38 PM on December 19, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by circular at 5:41 PM on December 18, 2015