Birth. The birth of a child was clearly of great importance to the family in ancient China. Every year, between the eleventh and fifteenth days of the first and eighth months in the Chinese lunar year, the temples of Song Zi Guan Ying (child-giving goddess) were crowded, especially by married young women who were eager to have children. They went there to procure special, symbolic, paper shoes blessed by the goddess. These shoes were lined up on a table and surrounded by burning incense and candles. After offering incense and candles before the image of Song Zi Guan Ying, while simultaneously making pledges of returning the favor if the goddess would aid her in bearing a child (her first choice was always a male), a woman picked a pair of shoes supposedly belonging to her and took them home. She would...