Red-faced in the face of tradition

Shanghai is apparently no exception to the rule that housewife's tales in circulation for centuries must still be obeyed by expectant and new mothers, irrespective of whether they conform to any scientific logic.

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a so-called "baby shower", the ritual celebration of an infant surviving the perils of planet Earth for one month (in this case, the daughter of my Czech friend and his wife, who comes from Anhui province).

The kid's coming-out party marked the end of a de facto 30-day prison term for the new mom, who, like many Chinese women, refused to leave her home for the first four weeks after delivery for risk of falling ill.