中国民间风俗（英文版）

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Taboo Customs of the Tibetan People According to the local custom in some Tibetan areas, guests are not allowed to come in when there is a patient in the home, for fear that evil spirits may be brought in at the same time and thus worsen the patient’s conditions. The hosts will often build a fire in front of the door or attach a red cloth to it to inform the visitors of such a situation. Usually, neither meat nor bones may be burned on fire, for their smell is thought to attract evil spirits who will destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the home. The Tibetans attach a sacred feeling to their written language, and forbid using paper with Tibetan characters as tissue or to wipe away dirt. The women in some less-developed Tibetan areas give birth to babies in a livestock barn instead of her home or the maternity ward in a hospital. The newly-born infant should not see any strangers during its first month, and so a red cloth is hung on the door, not only to deter the evils, but also to stop the strangers from coming inside. The Tibetans are all Lamaists, who generally forbid killing or eating animals such as chickens, shrimps, and fish. They even refuse to kill pests like bedbugs or mosquitoes, or the wolves endangering sheep; instead, they just drive them away. However, they eat beef and mutton, considering it as a means of salvation to them. Paying great attention to etiquette, the Tibetans never accept or give presents with only one hand. On social occasions, they deliver or take over others’ items necessarily with both hands, expressing respect for them. Indecent behaviors are prohibited in public, such as spitting, saying dirty words, or breaking wind. Entering a monastery, no one may wear sunglasses, smoke, talk in a loud voice, or touch the sacred objects like the statue of Buddha or the sutra books there, for such behaviors are seen to be profanity to the Buddha. Moreover, cutting down the trees near a monastery is prohibited too, and the violator is believed to get punished by the heavens.