What does the little thorn mean?

Chilao originally refers to the ghost in Shanghai dialect (pronounced "ju" in Shanghai dialect), and "Chi" refers to going shirtless. Because in the old society, after the death of the poor, family members could not afford to buy coffins, and they were often stripped naked with grass and buried hastily. It is also common to die in the wild after heavy rain. People who walk in the wild encounter this kind of body, which is the "red guy". Whether it is a ghost or a corpse, it is always unlucky to meet. So there was the Shanghai dialect "I met a red guy". It means to meet someone or something unlucky.

"Red guy" can also be directly used as a swearing language. "Foreign devil" is called "foreign red guy", "Japanese devil" is called "Oriental Red guy" and so on.

"Little Red Man" refers to a person who is "wet behind the ears and is not worth caring about" and runs errands with a bag on his back. In TV programs, the friends with broadswords behind the gang boss are also called "Little Red Men".

"Little Red Man" can swear directly. In the past, when the weather was hot in Shanghai, children were naked in Lippi's alley and got dirty. Adults would scold: "Little red guy, I'm going to die." "Little Red Man" is sometimes used in a derogatory sense. When chatting, the mothers in the alley all said that "there is only a little red guy in the box of Allah's house", indicating that they like it very much.

Derived from the red guy, Shanghainese say that some people who have ghosts and spirits and are quite eager to carve are called "red guy models".