Eyeball Scraping – The Vanishing Trade Practiced by Sichuan Barbers

Well, a big ni-howdy to you today! Yesterday I talked about weddings in Japan. Soon as you get your coffee and a virtual treat, I'm going to shift the conversation to China. Say...when was the last time you had your eyeballs scraped? I can't remember, either though offhand I'd say it was likely several lives ago...if ever!

Barbers in China’s Sichuan Province have practiced the art of eye-cleaning with a sharp blade for centuries. Like many other ancient traditions, this dangerous trade is slowly vanishing, but you can still find a few barbers willing to scrape your eyeballs with a knife for as little as RMB5 ($0.80).

According to an old Sichuan saying, cleaning the eyes makes the beauty of life more visible, and some people are prepared to go under the knife to make sure they don’t miss a thing. Nicknamed “knife-blade eye cleaning”, the practice of scraping a person’s eyeballs and eyelids with sharp utensils has been a part of Chinese culture ever since ancient times. The craft was supposedly popularized by brothers Zhou Chengfu and Zhou Chengyin, who followed their father’s footsteps and excelled in the technique of servicing the eyeballs, ears and necks of clients, but in recent years it has almost died out. 

Still, if you look hard enough, you can still find eye-cleaning stands even in modern cities like Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu. 53-year-old Liu Deyuan has been successfully running his small eye-cleaning business for 7 years, offering a head shave and an eye scrape for just RMB5. With many long-term clients lining up to get their eyes cleaned every month, the skilled barber says business is still pretty good.

Y'know, I may just have to pass this one by - even if I was in Sichuan. Having my eyeballs scraped would be in the same category as having an ice cold salt water enema!

See ya, eh!

Bob