Second-Hand Goods Bought, Elders Say to 'Sun Them and Purify Them' First

Collecting old goods, buying second-hand, acquiring antiques—the older generation has many particularities.

The most common rule is: things bought back cannot be placed directly into the house; first put them in the courtyard to sun for a few days. Let the sun shine on them, let them receive dew at night, let the wind blow on them—rotate these three. In some places, mugwort and cypress branches are lit to smoke around the items, called "warding off bad luck"; in some southern places, pomelo leaves are boiled in water to wipe down old furniture and old clothes.

For clothes, quilts, and such, wash what can be washed, and steam what cannot be washed in a pot. In some households, before bought second-hand items enter the door, one must first step over a basin of fire lit at the entrance, called "passing through fire." For second-hand jewelry and old copper coins, some elders insist on washing them with clear water before wearing or using them.

The most taboo are things used by the dead, especially jewelry, clothes, and mirrors of unknown origin. Elders say these things carry human qi, and the new owner holding them will dream of the former owner; mirrors that have reflected too much should especially be covered with red cloth first, left for a few days before hanging. In the antique trade, some have another rule: things dug out from graves do not enter the bedroom, are not placed at the bedside, but only put in the outer room; some simply do not bring them home.

Among these particularities, some are genuinely practical. Old things contain insects, mites, bacteria; sunning, washing, and steaming them definitely helps; things dug out from graves carry mold and various things from the soil, so not bringing them into the bedroom is also correct. As for "qi," that is a matter of opinion.

Nowadays, city people buying second-hand clothes and second-hand furniture rarely actually pass through fire anymore. But many still retain a bit of such habits: when wearing second-hand clothes for the first time, wash them twice first.

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