Where Do Clipped Fingernails Go?

The Strange and Fascinating Story Contained in a Single Piece of Nail in the Teaching of ‘Body and Hair Received from Parents.’

• Discover how the philosophy of ‘Body and Hair Received from Parents’ influenced our ancestors’ nail care.
• Understand the chilling warning of the ‘rat transformation folktale’ where nails steal identity.
• Gain a broad perspective by comparing diverse nail customs worldwide, from ancient Egypt to Norse mythology.

Filial Piety in Hair and Nails

The topknot of a Joseon-era scholar wearing a gat was not just a hairstyle. The teaching from the “Classic of Filial Piety (孝經),” ‘Body and Hair Received from Parents (身體髮膚 受之父母)’, was a philosophy transcending time, considering even a single nail or hair strand as a gift from one’s parents. Because of this, hair was never cut lightly, people fiercely resisted the short haircut order, and tattoos that damaged the body were considered grave sins.

So how did they handle inevitably growing fingernails and toenails? The way this small body part was treated reveals the filial piety, life, and fears of people in the Joseon era.

Part 1: Joseon’s Dilemma, Filial Piety in a Single Clipped Nail

Practicality and Affection in Nail Care

Despite the philosophy of ‘Body and Hair Received from Parents,’ clipping nails for hygiene and convenience was natural. Adults used scissors or small knives, but mothers carefully bit their babies’ nails themselves to avoid injury. This shows a deep affection akin to ‘grape-like tenderness (포도지정)’—a concern that sharp tools might hurt the child.

The Ritual of Disposal: The Last Journey of Nails

The core of nail care in Joseon was how clipped nails were handled. Nail clippings were never carelessly discarded; they were carefully collected and either burned or buried. This was a ritual respecting parts of the body.

The late Joseon practical scholar Seongho Yi Ik (星湖 李瀷) left a ‘Nail Inscription (爪甲銘)’ requesting that his lifelong collected fingernails and toenails be placed in his coffin before death. His will, to return his body intact to his parents, shows that nail disposal was a deeply philosophical act even among intellectuals of the time. This belief that even detached body parts were ‘part of oneself’ opens the door to eerie stories where nails become objects of fear.

Part 2: Doppelgängers in the Shadows, Nails and the Rat Transformation Folktale

The Chilling Warning of the ‘Rat Transformation Folktale’

The taboo against clipping nails at night was concretized in the chilling ghost story called the ‘Rat Transformation Folktale (진가쟁주 설화)’.

One night, a young man ignored a monk’s warning and carelessly threw away his clipped nails. Returning home after studying, he found an impostor who looked exactly like him acting as the real him. The real young man was treated as insane and driven away. In despair, he sought the monk, who gave him a cat. When the young man entered his home holding the cat, the impostor screamed and died, leaving only the corpse of a giant rat behind. The rat had eaten the discarded nails and transformed into the young man.

The Essence of Fear in the Folktale

The real terror in this story is not the monster but the loss of social identity. Being rejected even by one’s family was a punishment worse than death. This reflects the magical belief that nail clippings contain the owner’s essence, a form of sympathetic magic.

Interestingly, this parallels modern fears of identity theft, where one’s personal information can be stolen and life taken over. Though technology has changed, the instinctive fear of losing ‘oneself’ to others remains unchanged.

Part 3: Echoes Around the World, Imagination of World History in Nails

We are not alone in attributing special meaning to nails. Around the world, nails symbolized power, magic, and fear.

• Ancient China: Nobles grew long nails and wore ornate nail guards called ‘huzi (护指)’ to show they did not perform manual labor.
• Ancient Egypt: Nail color indicated social status. Royals like Cleopatra wore deep red, while commoners were allowed only pale colors.
• Medieval Europe: To ward off witches’ curses, people made ‘witch bottles’ containing hair and nail clippings. Nails were believed to trap spells.
• Norse Mythology: At Ragnarok, the end of the world, a ship called ‘Naglfar’ made from the nails of the dead would carry the army of chaos. Proper nail disposal was a cosmic duty to delay the apocalypse.

Comparison of Nail Customs Worldwide

Part 4: Symbol of Hope, The Two Faces of Balsam Flowers and Nails

Behind fear, there was also a beautiful and hopeful nail custom: dyeing nails with balsam flowers. I remember my grandmother crushing balsam flowers in the yard to stain my nails when I was young. The story that if the color lasted until the first snow, your first love would come true made me so excited.

This custom combined the magical meaning of red color driving away evil spirits and the cosmetic purpose of expressing beauty. Nails detached from the body were sources of uncontrollable danger, but nails attached to the body became a canvas of hope and beauty.

Conclusion: More Than Simple Keratin, The Cultural History Embedded in Nails

Following the stories behind small, seemingly insignificant nails, we find the philosophy and worldview of an era.

• Key Summary:

  1. Nails in Joseon: Sacred under the filial piety philosophy ‘Body and Hair Received from Parents,’ handled with rituals of burning or burying rather than careless disposal.
  2. Duality of Fear and Hope: Discarded nails became objects of fear threatening identity in the rat transformation folktale, while attached nails symbolized hope and beauty through balsam flower dyeing.
  3. Global Symbols: Nails universally represented status (China, Egypt), magic (Europe), and cosmic mythology (Norse), serving as important cultural symbols.

Now, why not take a look at your own hands? Next time you clip your nails, take a moment to recall the vast human stories contained in these tiny pieces.