Chinese fortune teller criticised after saying he thought his wife was a 'sl*t', says remark was 'not a reflection' of her character
A Chinese fortune teller was chided online after remarking in an interview that he had initially thought his wife was a "sl*t" due to a misunderstanding about her birth date and time.
Sean Chan, a Chinese metaphysics consultant, used the term in a recent interview with HeyKaki while recounting a humorous exchange with his wife after they connected on a dating app.
The 40-year-old specialises in "bazi", a form of Chinese astrology that uses the eight digits denoting a person's year, month, date, and hour of birth to interpret one's personality, relationships, and destiny.
In the interview snippet, which has garnered more than 137,200 views on TikTok, Mr Chan said: "I really thought my wife was a sl*t. Then end up I read the 'bazi' wrongly. But I still married her, thank God."
He explained in Mandarin that he had asked for his wife's "bazi" when they connected online, as he was "very scared of marrying someone who will bring misfortune to her husband".
"Because I just started practising then, my analysis wasn't that great. I forgot to adjust the solar time," he explained, saying her "bazi" initially suggested that she was promiscuous.
However, Mr Chan suspected something was amiss, noting that she "seemed like a nice person" and her "facial features were gentle and kind".
After checking with her mother, his wife discovered that the birth date and time she had provided were incorrect.
"It turned out that her 'bazi' says she brings fortune to her husband. Then I started dating her," Mr Chan said.
Netizens disapprove of 'derogatory' term
Netizens disapproved of Mr Chan's choice of words, saying that there are "so many other words one can use".
"What a strong word to use," one netizen pointed out in the comments section of the video.
"He could phrase it better by saying he got her 'bazi' to better understand her," another user said.
Responding to the backlash, Mr Chan said in the comments that the story was something the couple "laughed about".
"She was OK with sharing the story, and the producers asked for our permissions, and we went ahead with it," he added.
One TikToker, however, condemned his remark as "degrading" and "derogatory".
"How do those words even leave your mouth? Some more he can laugh when he's saying it," user @natashatannnnn said.
'Not a reflection' of wife's character
In response to Stomp's queries, Mr Chan said the misunderstanding stemmed from an error when he first calculated his wife's "bazi".
"I had my fair share of toxic relationships and was cautious about who I dated," he said, adding that he had started studying Chinese metaphysics partly because he came from a broken family and wanted to understand why certain patterns occurred in his life.
Mr Chan clarified that the term "sl*t" was "not a reflection" of his wife's character, noting that he had questioned the interpretation when they first met and acknowledged that he had misread it.
"I've shared the story of how my wife and I met with our friends. This was the way the story was usually conveyed," he said, adding that it was a "joke between us".
He concluded that their marriage is "healthy and emotionally secure", and thanked the public for their interest.
Editor of Young Audience and HeyKaki, Tan Leng Tuan, told Stomp that the video was posted under the Ask Me Anything series, which aims to debunk misconceptions about different professions.
"We did not want to over-edit or unintentionally distort the story, hence the snippet captured most of what Sean shared in the video," Ms Tan said, adding that the team had specifically sought Mr Chan's consent regarding the TikTok clip.
"All viewers have the right to interpret a piece of content in their own way. However, we hope that viewers who have not watched the full video will take some time to do so and form their own judgment after watching it in its entirety."
Ms Tan added: "Through this story, we hope viewers will also take away the message that when we do not have a full understanding of a situation, misunderstandings can occur."
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