Not All Fruits Are Suitable for Worship: Why Bananas, Plums, and Pears Are Often Said to Be Avoided Together

Every year during the seventh lunar month, many households and businesses prepare fruits, snacks, instant noodles, and drinks to offer to the 'good brothers' (spirits). However, when buying fruit, elders may caution: 'Don’t place bananas, plums, and pears together.' Though all are common fruits, why do they become taboo offerings during Zhongyuan Pu Du? This belief mainly stems from Hokkien-language homophones forming folk taboos—not strict religious rules. The Council of Agriculture’s Agricultural Food Agency even states such taboos are largely 'misinformation spread through repetition,' and as long as one offers with sincerity and gratitude, any fruit is acceptable.

### Why Not Combine Bananas, Plums, and Pears? 'Jiao Li Li' Sounds Like 'Zhao Ni Lai'

The reason bananas, plums, and pears are frequently mentioned as taboo fruits for Zhongyuan Pu Du lies in their 'homophonic' associations.

On September 2, 2025, the Council of Agriculture’s Agricultural Food Agency released a statement titled 'Fresh Domestic Fruits Perfect for Zhongyuan Celebrations,' noting that rumors circulate online and locally about a so-called 'jiao li lai' taboo during the seventh lunar month—referring to the idea that bananas, plums, and pears should not be used together to worship good brothers. However, the agency emphasized that such information is 'largely misinformation,' and the most important aspect of worship is 'sincerity and genuine intent.'

### What About Pineapple? 'Wang Lai' Takes on a Different Meaning During Zhongyuan—Yet Temples in Qishan Still Offer Bananas

Besides 'jiao, li, li,' pineapple is also often listed among Zhongyuan Pu Du taboos. As early as 2011, the then Council of Agriculture issued a clarification titled 'Dispelling Superstitions About Offerings: COA Places Bananas and Pineapples on Zhongyuan Altars,' explaining that some people avoided these fruits during the seventh lunar month because bananas, pears, and pineapples—due to the phrase 'wang lai' (prosperity coming)—were misheard as 'zhao ni lai' (invite you).

But precisely to dispel this myth, the Council of Agriculture deliberately placed seasonal fruits like bananas and pineapples on the altar during Zhongyuan Pu Du, urging the public not to overinterpret ritual taboos.

Visiting local temples reveals that the rule 'do not offer jiao, li, li together' isn’t universally followed.

In a 2023 report by *Shili* on Qishan’s Kunzhou Temple’s Zhongyuan Pu Du, Chairman Ko Cheng-pai stated that bananas, plums, pears, and pineapples were linked by certain folk and metaphysical theories into the phrase 'zhao ni lai wang' (invite you to prosperity), leading some to mistakenly believe bananas are taboo during Zhongyuan Pu Du. Yet in Qishan, a major banana-producing region, locals have never avoided bananas in rituals.

In fact, Kunzhou Temple once earned the nickname 'Banana King Deity' from villagers due to the area’s thriving banana industry, and Qishan bananas are still used in Zhongyuan ceremonies today.

In the same article, the Taoist priest overseeing Kunzhou Temple’s Zhongyuan Pu Du clearly stated that sincerity is paramount in worship. Fresh seasonal fruits from all four seasons are suitable offerings to deities and ancestors, and he added that 'Taoist rituals contain no rule forbidding bananas during Zhongyuan Pu Du.'

### What Do Folk Experts Say? Li Feng-miao: Taboos Vary by Time and Region

So why does Taiwan still have so many sayings like 'don’t use this' or 'avoid that'?

Academia Sinica Academician Li Feng-miao, who has long studied Taoist culture, Taoist literature, and Chinese religions, said in a 2022 interview with *Upstream* that homophones are indeed one factor in the formation of ritual taboos. However, many taboos vary by time and region, so practices formed in one locality or era shouldn’t be treated as universal rules for all rituals. Compared to the type of offering, sincerity during worship remains far more important.

This explains why, for the same fruits—bananas, pears, or pineapples—some families strictly avoid them while others worship with them every year. Different regions, families, and traditions form different taboos; in reality, there is no single 'list of forbidden fruits for Pu Du' applicable to all of Taiwan.

### Does 'Four Fruits' in Zhongyuan Pu Du Really Mean Four Types?

Additionally, many people assume they must offer exactly four types of fruit because traditional rituals mention 'three sacrificial animals and four fruits.' But 'four fruits' doesn’t simply mean four kinds of fruit.

Kaohsiung City Government’s *Kaohsiung Magazine* explained in a 2023 feature titled 'Busy Preparing Zhongyuan Feasts: Even Good Brothers Want a Feast' that 'three sacrificial animals and four fruits' is a common offering set. 'Three animals' refer to poultry, livestock, and seafood, while 'four fruits' represent seasonal fruits from each of the four seasons. In other words, the emphasis is on using seasonal produce—there’s no need to force exactly four types just because of the term 'four fruits.'

### How Should You Choose Fruits for Zhongyuan Pu Du? The Agricultural Agency Says: Bananas, Pears, and Pineapples Are Fine

If your elders value tradition, respecting family customs by avoiding the combination of bananas, plums, and pears on the altar is perfectly fine. But if you’re worried about 'breaking a taboo,' there’s no need to be overly anxious.

The Council of Agriculture’s 2025 Zhongyuan materials not only state that any fruit can be a favorable offering, but the agency itself uses bananas, pears, pineapples, guavas, dragon fruit, pomelos, and longans during its own Zhongyuan Pu Du events. This means there is no official or widely accepted religious rule stating that bananas, pears, or pineapples 'cannot be offered.'

Therefore, the elder’s saying 'don’t place jiao, li, li together' truly reflects the homophonic culture common in Taiwan’s folk beliefs—'jiao, li, li' being associated with 'zhao ni lai,' thus forming a taboo passed down in some families. But judging from the Agricultural Agency, Taoist temples, and folk researchers, this taboo doesn’t apply everywhere. If you wish to follow elders’ traditions, avoid this combination; otherwise, simply select fresh, intact, seasonal fruits and offer them sincerely.