The Mystery of Meh Dai

Alice Chau

The Mystery of Meh Dai

•Meh Dai, aka Mei Tai• Everyone said Mei Tai is

originally from China, but is it?

The language

• 孭帶• Meh Dai is a Cantonese word, not

mandarin word or any other Chinese languages. • ‘Meh’ = ‘carry’, e.g. carrying a bag• ‘Dai’ =‘strap’ if uses as noun, or ‘bring’

if uses as a verb

子

孭

子

帶

孭帶

Quick note:

Just a quick note about the whole Mei Tai vs Meh Dai saga…

You are welcome to ask me more questions afterwards.

• Not possible to 100% accurate to romanise Cantonese language – there have been many attempts, e.g. early British scholars, modern attempt for computers• Some sound just doesn’t exist• And we have 9 tones

• The new spelling is another failed attempt•We also need new spelling for

all other wordsE.g. Chow mein, dim sum, wonton, ketchup, kung fu, my name (!)

Unless everyone just learn Cantonese!

• There is genuine cultural appropriation in this world, e.g. certain Chinese restaurant in Dublin (ask me for the name afterwards if you are interested!), fake Chinese outfit, etc• But I just can’t see another

romantisation replacing the existing one solve the problem• At home, we call the ‘Chinese sling’

SHOCKING NEWS!

But we actually call every sling Meh Dai in Cantonese!

Modern vs traditional

So what is a Meh Dai?

A Meh Dai usually consists of one rectangular panel with 4 straps

Demostration

A traditional way to use a Meh Dai

BUT!

Due to the way the 4 straps sit on the chest, sometimes we call the ‘traditional Meh Dai’

the ‘four claws Meh Dai’

So is Meh Dai chinese?

• After hours of research, I cannot find any artifacts of Mei Dai from China on the internet! However, I can’t find any artifact of mother, or child for that matter! So it could be just be the fact that motherhood and parenting is not something that are respected in Chinese history. As a result, historian didn’t feel the need to record anything.

So is Meh Dai chinese?

• Since the object is made with fabric, it’s also impossible to preserve well enough until now.

• I believe in order to seriously explore the origin of Cantonese Mei Tai, I will need to have access to Chinese library, probably in the University of Hong Kong or in the National Museum in Beijing, which is not possible at the moment.

So is Meh Dai chinese?

• However, for the purpose of this presentation, we can look into Meh Dai in the post-war Hong Kong time

• We can also explore the role of Meh Dai from a cultural, socio-economical point of view at the turn of the 20th century and its current development in Hong Kong.

Meh Dai as a social-economical force in Hong Kong

• Post war economy• Meh Dai as a crucial device for survival• Women could work while minding

children• Siblings can help with child minding• Baby off the floor!

Meh Dai as cultural artifacts

Meh Dai as cultural artifacts

Meh Dai as cultural artifacts

Meh Dai as identity

Meh Dai as identity

Meh Dai as identity

Meh Dai as fashion icon

Meh Dai as fashion icon

Past vs Present

Thank you!