01The fatal homophony: 送钟 and 送终
In standard Mandarin, giving a clock is said 送钟/送鐘 (sòng zhōng) - a total homophone, same syllables and same tones, of 送终/送終 (sòng zhōng), "to accompany a dying parent through their final moments, to see to their funeral." Giving a clock therefore literally says, to the ear, "to accompany someone toward death" - a pure wordplay mechanism, unrelated to the object itself. The homophony also holds in Cantonese (送鐘/送終, sung3 zung1 in both cases), so the taboo applies equally in Hong Kong.
02Clock and watch: an important linguistic distinction
The taboo bears precisely on 钟/鐘 (zhōng): the wall clock, the pendulum clock, the bell - large, fixed objects. The word for "watch" (in the broad sense - wristwatch or pocket watch), 表/錶 (biǎo), is a distinct term, not a homophone of 终/終; giving a watch therefore escapes the linguistic mechanism and generally remains well received across most of mainland China. In Hong Kong, caution sometimes extends by association to watches as well (particularly for a birthday), even in the absence of strict homophony.
03Ritual roots
The taboo presupposes mechanical clocks commonly given as gifts: it therefore cannot predate their spread in China, introduced to the imperial court by Jesuit missionaries - in 1601, Matteo Ricci presented Emperor Wanli with a pair of European chiming clocks, sparking lasting enthusiasm for these objects at the Ming and later Qing courts. The homophonic taboo itself is not dated with precision in the available literature: it stems from a well-attested linguistic mechanism (dictionaries, cultural guides, press) rather than from a single identifiable textual origin.
04A real incident: Lady Kramer's watch in Taipei
In January 2015, British Minister of State for Transport Susan Kramer (Baroness Kramer) gave a pocket watch to Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je during an official visit. Asked by the local press, Ko casually replied that he might resell it to a scrap dealer, a remark immediately read as an echo of the clock/watch taboo associated with death. Ko issued a public apology and announced he would take diplomatic protocol lessons; Kramer does not appear to have taken offense. The episode, covered by the international press (South China Morning Post, CNN, Taipei Times), illustrates well the clock/watch gray area: it was not a clock in the strict sense, but the association was enough to create the incident.
05Other homophonic taboos and recommendation
The mechanism is not isolated: giving an umbrella (伞 sǎn ~ 散 sàn, "to disperse") or sharing a pear between two people (分梨 fēnlí ~ 分离 fēnlí, "to separate") triggers similar avoidance through the same linguistic device. If a clock really must be given, the classic compensating gesture is to have the recipient hand back a token coin, turning the gift into a "purchase" and neutralizing the bad omen.
Geography of misunderstanding
Offensive
- china-continental
- taiwan
- hong-kong
Neutral
- usa
- canada
- france
- belgium
- netherlands
- luxembourg
- germany
- uk
Not documented
- singapore
Historical origins
Le tabou repose sur l'homophonie totale en mandarin (et en cantonais) entre 送钟/送鐘 sòng zhōng (« offrir une horloge ») et 送终/送終 sòng zhōng (« accompagner un mourant à ses derniers instants »). Il suppose la diffusion de l'horloge mécanique en Chine, introduite à la cour impériale par le jésuite Matteo Ricci (offerte à l'empereur Wanli en 1601) ; l'origine précise du tabou linguistique lui-même n'est pas datée avec certitude dans les sources disponibles.
Documented incidents
- 2015 — Lors d'une visite officielle, Susan Kramer offre une montre de gousset au maire de Taipei Ko Wen-je. Interrogé par la presse, Ko répond avec désinvolture qu'il pourrait la revendre à un ferrailleur — remarque lue comme un écho au tabou horloge/montre associé à la mort. Ko présente des excuses publiques ; Kramer ne semble pas avoir pris ombrage de l'incident (les comptes rendus de presse divergent sur le registre exact de sa réaction, entre amusement et regret poli). (South China Morning Post, CNN, Taipei Times (janvier 2015).)
Practical recommendations
To do
- Éviter d'offrir une horloge, une pendule ou un réveil en Chine continentale ou à Hong Kong.
- Si le cadeau est vraiment une horloge, se faire remettre une petite pièce en retour par le receveur pour transformer le don en achat symbolique.
- Préférer une montre-bracelet si un objet horloger est vraiment souhaité — le mot n'est pas homophone du terme funéraire.
Avoid
- Ne pas offrir d'horloge murale, de pendule ou de réveil comme cadeau en contexte chinois, même de haute qualité.
- Ne pas confondre horloge (钟/鐘, tabou) et montre (表/錶, généralement neutre) — deux mots distincts en mandarin.
- Ne pas sous-estimer l'extension par association aux montres à Hong Kong, en particulier pour un anniversaire.
Neutral alternatives
- Objets porte-bonheur neutres : thé de qualité, alcool, fruits (hors poire offerte seule à un couple), objets emballés de rouge.
- Argent dans une enveloppe rouge (hongbao) pour les occasions festives.