Do White Cats Bring Bad Luck? - Cat Garden by Wolfberry Studio

Yes, people from a certain province in China believed that white cats were unlucky! Huang Han, a native of Wenzhou, recorded this belief in Mao Yuan (The Cat Garden), a cat lore compendium compiled around 1852-1853. Mao Yuan contains delightful old names for cat coat patterns as well as old beliefs associated with cats. There was no mention of black cats bringing bad luck.

Black cat hissing at rat hiding behind stove

Roaring Iron

So, if you were a cat aficionado living in 19th c. China , and you had a black cat, you wouldn’t just say, “I have a black cat at home.” You would say, “I have a Roaring Iron at home.”

“Roaring Iron” – how cool is that? And that’s not the only moniker for void cats that was recorded in Huang Han’s Cat Garden.

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Big Golden Drop

If you have a “pure yellow” cat, you could call it a Big Golden Drop. What other names did people in 19th c. China have for ginger cats?

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Yellow cat looking down at puddle of honey dripping from jar

A Foot of Jade

According to Huang Han’s Cat Garden, “a Foot of Jade” is one way of referring to a white cat. Now you might be thinking, “But jade is green! This does not look like a green cat!”

This reaction is quite understandable, given the association of jade with the color green in the English language, as in the term “jade green”. However, jade comes naturally in a variety of colors, ranging from black to white. The Chinese expression “white as jade” has been used to describe fine porcelain.

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Medium long haired black cat leaping. Text on the left reads "Wu Yun Bao" in Chinese characters . Text to the right bottom reads "Black Clod Panther"

Phone case with image of a torbie cat sitting on brown cloth with gold embroidery

Mouse pad with the image of a gray cat and gray squirrel on a cedar tree branch

Crouched and hissing black cat looking at a mouse hiding behind a stove on which fish is cooking in a wok.

Torbie cat in a Chinese cloth store sitting on a roll of brown cloth with gold embroidery.

Tote bag with image of a tortie cat facing a turtle on the beach.

Seated gray cat looking down. Text on the bottom reads "Good for all seasons". Text at the top right reads "Si Shi Hao" in Chinese characters

Back of red hoodie with image of a seated, hissing black cat

black cat leaping across 2 roof tops. 2 black clouds in the background flank the cat.

Crouched and hissing black cat. The text under bit reads "Hissing Iron". The text above it reads "Xiaotie" in Chinese characters.

Leaping medium haired black cat. Text below it reads "Black Cloud Panther". Text to the top right reads "Wu Yun Bao" in Chinese characters.

Square poster of a tortie cat facing a turtle on the beach.

Love tales of cat and other critters? Visit our Beast Lore page for a selection of eccentric, poignant and endearing tales, translated from old Chinese sources.

In the mood for wilder, bigger cats? Check out our Wild Ones!