四 (sei)

四 (sei) is a first attempt at bringing to life cocoon through performance.

The number 4 (四 , pinyin: sì; Cantonese: sei) is considered unlucky because it sounds like the word “death” (死 pinyin: sǐ; Cantonese Yale: séi). The lifecycle of the silkworm consists of four stages: egg, larva/pupae, cocoon/metamorphosis, imago. During the larva/pupae stage, the silkworm molts up to four times as they continue to eat and grow - it is at the final molt where the silkworm builds a cocoon around itself. Imago is the adult moth stage of the Bombyx mori - the reproductive adult stage where the adults are flightless and unable to consume nutrition (they lack functional mouth parts), and exist to mate and lay eggs.