Chinese: The academic names of most owl species use the word 鴞 xiāo (simplified 鸮), not 貓頭鷹 māotóuyīng. An alternative character, also pronounced xiāo, is 梟 (simplified 枭). Both 鴞 and 梟 are traditional or literary words that have dropped out of everyday speech. Using them involves a certain level of formality.
Owls have the associated legend of being evil birds that ate their own mothers. The Chinese character representing "xiao" is used in expressions relating to ferocity & bravery.
The hooting sound of an owl sounds like “digging” in Chinese language (搰: hu). It was considered a major bad luck if an owl visited a house where lived a gravely ill or wounded person. When it made the hu sounds, it was as if it was telling the family to dig a grave-hole as a preparation for a burial.
Most traditional Chinese folks would not harm the bird, for they feared the supernatural consequences. They usually put a broom upside down by the door, window or wall from which direction the hooting sounds came from. Some make some noises or burn dried straws to make the bird leave immediately.
Some mothers and nannies hid their kids as soon as they saw an owl in their yards. Some believed that young infants were spiritually weak. They were easy preys for evil creatures and dark spirits. The owl’s being was a sign that there was a weak soul in the house.
Owl was also a symbol used to mention perfidious children who harmed their own parents. It was believed that young owl blinded and ate their mothers once they were old enough to fly and hunt on their owns.
http://hariqhuang.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/%E8%B2%93%E9%A0%AD%E9%B7%B9-%E3%80%9C-owl-in-chinese-culture/
http://www.pauldfrost.co.uk/intro_o2.html