Why owl is considered inauspicious

[moon88]

Dear cecil,
I read somewhere that chinese people consider owl very inauspicious bird. Is there any truth in this. Thanks.

[Cecil Lee]

Dear Anon,
The Chinese consider the Owl inauspicious and there are three different reasons for this:
1. The Chinese do not like the sound or hooting that the Owl makes. In Chinese phonetic meaning, it gives the expression for digging of a grave.
Here, one of the ancient Chinese belief was that when a person is about to die, one would hear the Owl hoot calling out `dig and dig'.
2. It was believed that when the young of an Owl was about to fly, it is believed to dig out its mother's eyes. Thus the association that the Owl is blind.
Of course, this is not true. Owls have excellent eye sight. Para 2, is just a tale!
3. The Mandarin word for Owl is the same word / character as `killing a person and placing his head on a pole.' (Totally gruesome!)
4. For farmers, the Owl is seen as a blessing in disguise. They help to control the rat population.
Warmest Regards,
Cecil

Quote

On 3/3/00 5:17:00 PM, Anonymous wrote:
Dear cecil,
I read somewhere that chinese
people consider owl very
inauspicious bird. Is there
any truth in this. Thanks.