Chinese year officially begins
on the first day of the first lunar month,
but the actual commencement of a Chinese new
year is the Start of Spring (立春), the day when the
sun enters the 315 degree on the tropical
zodiac, and the season greets the first of
the twenty-four calendrical solar terms.
The frosty season, startinging
since the winter solstice, is divided into
nine sections in Chinese calendar, each
consisted of nine days, with 81 cold days in
total. The Start of Spring happens to be on
the first day of the sixth section.
Usually the SOS appears a few
days after the Chinese New Year’s Day, like
the Year of the Dog 2006; but occasionally it
goes other way round, and the Year of the Pig
2007 is just such a year. So despite the
Chinese New Year’s Day is yet to come on 18
February, the Piggy has already been here
with us since February 4th, at 1:18 pm to be
precise.
Ancient Chinese used to hold a
state-sponsored prayer ritual to honour the
actual commencement of the year since that
was, and still is, viewed as the most
important seasonal turning point. From that
day on, the temperature in most part of China
begins to rise, and the earth in the middle
and low reaches of the Yellow River, the
cradle of Chinese culture and the birth place
of Chinese calendar, starts to defrost;
although given the vast size of China, in the
up north that includes Beijing, the tangible
signs of spring can not be detected until
March (lunar February), while in the
semitropical southern tips like Guangdong and
Hainan, talking about the start of spring
might seem a bit meaningless as the winter
never truly descends there.
The earliest written reference
to the SOS ritual, found in the Yinxu burial
site, dates back 3000 years in the classic
golden age of the Zhou Dynasty. It started by
the emperor fasting for three days prior to
the occasion, then on that very day he would
lead his court officials marching eastward
eight lis (four kilometres) out of
the capital city to personally welcome the
arrival of the spring, and to negotiate a
joint effort of making the coming year a
prosperous one.
During the Han Dynasty (206 BC
– 220 AD), the Start of Spring became a
nationwide social event, with ploughing ox
receiving a VIP status and being the central
theme of the whole festivity. A young man
with a build as robust as a bull would be
chosen to play the roll of the Spirit of
Spring (芒神); wielding a willow
branch that by the time of SOS had a colour
of tender gold and quality of silk floss, he
would parade alongside the sculpture of the
VIP ox. In later days, this elaborate ritual
was replaced by a less theatrical
performance: hanging a painting that depictes
a ploughing ox driven down the farmland by a
boy cowherd. This kind of painting is still
quite popular until this day and can be found
in most Chinese calendar books published
every year.
On February 4 this year, the
attempts to observe the SOS rituals were made
by some people in China. In Beijing, for
instance, a group of college students wearing
the flowing Han-style robe flied kites in the
Purple Bamboo Park - a time-honoured way of
sensing the first breath of spring.
Coincidentally - or not coincidentally at all
– the temperature in most part of China did
soar considerably on the day, with 16 degree
C recorded in Shanghai and 20C reported in
Changsha.
Pig is chiefly a Yin Water
agent (癸), but also contains
traces of Yang Water ren (壬) and Yang Wood jia (甲). As Yin Water sigh, the Pig
is succeeded by Yang Water sign Rat, and Yin
Earth sign Ox that functions as the storage
or tomb for Metal signs, which makes the Pig
Year the turning point from the three-year
Metal circle, formed by Monkey (2004),
Rooster (2005) and Dog (2006), to the
three-year Water circle that includes Pig
(2007), Rat (2008) and Ox (2009).
Year 2006 bingshu (丙戌)is a Yang Fire Dog
year
(Heavenly Stem bing for Yang Fire
and Earthly Branch shu for Dog). As
Dog is the firehouse in the Five Agents, bingshu
year virtually turned the world into a
giant oven and everything is getting hotter
and burning, from gunfire, bushfire to
soaring temperature. It is also believed that
the rapid development and wide usage of
computer/internet/mobile phone do not help
the matter but further reinforce the power of
the Fire.
The Pig Year 2007 has the
Heavenly Stem ding (丁), which is Yin Fire,
and the Earthly Branch hai (亥), which is Yin
Water, and that practically puts the Heaven
and Earth on a direct collision course. In
the first half of the year, mainly governed
by the Heavenly Stem, the effect of the Fire
could get even more potent. Being Yin Fire, ding
may not burn your house down as open
Yang Fire (such as bushfire) might do, but a
slow-baking internal fire (such as fever) can
generate truly poisonous atmosphere.
When Water meets Fire, usually
it is the Water that puts out or subdues the
Fire; and when the Fire is on the top and the
Water below, it often means that the forces
at lower positions will give the forces
occupying higher positions a real hard time.
Bearing this in mind when reflecting the
world affairs, you may feel it is not too far
off the mark to predict that we are going to
see increased incidents of disadvantaged
and/or suppressed individuals, groups or
nations taking more initiatives against their
oppressors; and those privileged and/or
powerful individuals, groups or nations,
though trying hard to hold their ground, may
eventually have to recognise that they can no
longer take everything for granted.
But just as the situation
seemingly couldn’t get any hotter and
messy, a refreshing breeze would come to cool
the burning air. When the Yang Water ren in
the Earthly Branch encounters the Yin Fire ding
in the Heavenly stem, which is to occur in
the second half of the year, a new energy
with Wood trait will emerge, acting as the
mediator between the Water and the Fire, with
a potential to turn a destructive
relationship into a nurturing liaison,
transforming conflict into harmony.
Year of the Pig is generally
viewed as auspicious and prosperous, and it
is said that when you bump into the Pig you
run into fortune (逢猪必发). The Pig Year 2007
is particularly fortunate in the eye of many
Chinese, for being, rather mysterously, a Golden
Pig year - a wonderful year
like this one may only have a chance to
encounter once in a lifetime since it turns
up every sixty years. When the Golden Pig
showed up last time in 1947, as some Chinese
experts like to point out, it was the year
when the United States came out of the Great
Depression. Some oracle men further forecast
a boom in gold-related businesses, such as
jewellery, finance, banking, stock market and
insurance.
The Pig is also one of four
zodiacs** that ride a Fortune
Horse (驿马), which is a big
plus for activities or businesses that
require a lot of movement, and that is why
some masters anticipate that anything to do
with martial arts, sports, transportation and
tourism shall expect a smooth run in 2007.
And of course, it will be, as
many Chinese believe or hope or wish or
aspire, a year of the golden piglets, and the
piglet-boom will, understandably, present a
golden opportunity for all baby-related
business ventures.
So, welcome to the Year of
Piggy! May you be as happy and prosperous as
the piggy deserves to be!
* Fire Pig
Year 2007 is also year 4704 in Chinese
calendar, counting from the year when the
Yellow Emperor, the founder of the Chinese
nation, ascended the throne in 2697 B.C.
** Four
zodiacs with a Fortune Horse are: Tiger,
Snake, Monkey and Pig.
