Page 157 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 150
hand with outstretched fingers across your body, the flat of the hand towards the body,
and then jerk hand and arm violently forwards. And if someone wants to tell you that
you’re talking rubbish, he moves his hand, the fingers stretched out and close together,
once across his chest to right and left. Placing your hand on your chest means ‘I’; if
someone points thumb and index finger splayed towards you, and gestures with the arm,
it is a sign that he thinks very little of you and is not going to be friendly.
So much for the hands. Other parts of the body are also used in gesture language.
Bending the head a little, and shaking it slightly, means ‘Shame on you’; stroking
the cheek downwards with the index finger is another way of indicating this. Moving the
hand to and fro in front of the slightly bent head which is again gently shaken, means
‘This has nothing to do with me.’ To indicate that you cannot stand someone (who is not
present) you stick your lower lip out, wrinkle your nose and frown (not too much).
To express astonishment, you open your eyes and mouth wide. To express ‘I’m not quite
sure’ you scratch your head gently (again, not too much, as that would suggest that your
hair needs washing).
Putting the teeth on the lower lip indicates ‘I’m going to hit you.’ Drawing in the
lower lip expresses annoyance or uncertainty: one often sees children do this to
foreigners. Sticking the lower lip out, on the other hand, means that you don’t believe
what the other person has said.
Knitting one’s brows and pursing the lips expresses annoyance, discontent or disgust.
When a child sticks its tongue out, it is not simply being rude as in Western society, but is
expressing fear. Children pout their lips to show that they don’t want something, e.g. to
eat. A bad smell is indicated by wrinkling the nose slightly, knitting the brows and
moving the right hand to and fro before the nose.
The open hand held palm downwards while the fingers are moved up and down (the
arm pointing downwards) means ‘Come here.’ It is a very frequent gesture, and one that
is instantly understood by taxi-drivers. The same message can be expressed by holding
the right hand palm upwards, putting the thumb to the middle finger and then beckoning
with the index finger. This gesture, however, is not acceptable between persons of
different sex.
In the sign language of the dumb, the thumb indicates heaven; the index finger,

the earth; the middle finger, the father; the fourth finger, the mother; and the
little finger, one’s own wife.
‘Spitting’ is also a gesture, equivalent to ‘crossing oneself’. It is a safeguard in a
thunderstorm, and spirits dislike being spat at (this is clear from the oldest medicinal
text yet found). If you meet a funeral procession in the street you should spit: as you
should when you see a shooting star.