Further to my blog Antenatal training: 1, a BBC Radio 4 journalist approached me one day about the Chinese perspective on pregnancy and childbirth. I don’t think she was thinking of China’s One Child Policy — rather, all the rituals and customs that go with them: what to do / not do / eat / not eat. I emailed her with what I know from my younger days in Singapore. She then asked if I’d like to be interviewed for her radio programme on the subject. I said no, I am camera-/microphone-shy, I will be happy to help with information but not go on air. She suggested meeting up for a coffee to talk about it.
When I arrived at Broadcasting House, she said since I was already there, she’d just show me around to see the set-up. I think she might’ve been trying to let me see how informal it really is, that it’s not scary at all, hoping I might change my mind.
The fire alarm then went off, so we left the building and had our coffee in one of the back streets. We carried on talking about the Chinese way of dealing with pregnancy and childbirth.
When I got to the bit about 胎教 (tāijiào / “womb education” = antenatal training) including things to avoid, like not visiting the zoo, in case one’s baby ends up being born looking like a monkey, she whooped with laughter and said, “When my mother was pregnant with my brother, she went to the zoo* in Hong Kong, and he does look a bit like a monkey. Don’t tell my brother that! He’s very sensitive about it.”
(*or maybe Haw Par Villa, a kind of theme park featuring Chinese legendary characters, gods and spirits. The Monkey King is a famous Chinese character from the story The Journey to the West 西游记 xīyóu jì / "west wander-around record", about seventh century monk 玄奘 Xuánzàng (/ Tripitaka) who spent 17 years travelling overland to India to collect some Buddhist scriptures, so maybe the monkey-image impact on the unborn baby could've come from a visit to Haw Par Villas. There's a Haw Par Villa in Singapore, too.)
(London, 200?)
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