JB Life March 2017

HISTORY
By STUART SCOTT
JB Life Contributing Writer
Happy Year of the Rooster! Chinese
New Year, as it commonly called
throughout the world, has been long
celebrated on the Korean peninsula, too, as Seollal.
In this column we will look at some of the
mythology and history of this celebration.
Like the Western zodiac, the Chinese zodiac
is split into twelve parts. All of the parts in the
Chinese zodiac are labeled with an animal, and,
similarly, most of the Western ones are, too.
Also, both claimed a relationship between activities
in one’s life and personality to the cycle
in which one was born. Unlike that of the early
Greek’s, the Chinese zodiac is not associated
with the constellations. It is also not based solely
on calendar months within a given year but
rather an order of 12 years within a cycle. They
also have monthly animals called inner animals,
daily animals called true animals and hourly animals
called secret animals. So within the yearly
group, you will have inner groups, true groups,
and secret groups. The twelve animals are also
split into four groups called trines. Each of these
4 groups also has specific attributes. As this is
the year of the Rooster, part of the second trine,
we will concentrate on it. Those people born in
these years are great planners. They are hardworking,
modest, industrious, loyal, charitable,
punctual, and good hearted. Not to think these
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people are perfect, though, as they may also be
self-righteous, vain, judgmental, and petty.
Let’s go back in time and look at the creation
of the Chinese zodiac. Of course, if one accepts
that mythology tells things that cannot be true
and folklore is based on the truth but changed
with successive generations passing the story by
word of mouth, one would define the Chinese
zodiac as a combination of myth and folklore.
The mythology part would be responsible for
explaining how the years were aligned with the
various animals. There are many different explanations
to this question, but the most common
started with the Jade Emperor. The Emperor in
Heaven, as it is also called, declared that the animals
would be aligned with the years in the order
that they arrived in front of him. So the cat
and rat, which were also neighbors and friendly
at the time, arranged to go early together in
the morning. As the cat was prone to sleeping in
late, the rat promised to wake him. However, on
the morning in question, the rat forgot his promise
and went directly to the gathering place,
leaving the cat sound asleep. During his trip, he
met the other animals that could all travel faster
than him. In order not to be left behind, he got
the ox to carry him. He promised to sing for the
ox in return. Finally, the ox and rat approached
the designated place first, as the ox was focused
on only one thing. The ox, thinking it would be
the first animal and thus represent the first year,
was surprised when the rat quickly slid in front
of it to become the lucky first animal in the
Chinese zodiac. The other animals followed
and the cat is not represented today because
it slept in. When the cat realized what happened,
he was angry with the rat, and that is
why they are still enemies today.
Another version of the same story has it that
they were given to the twelve most important
animals in China at that time. However,
a long time ago, it is claimed that there were
no cats in China and that is why it is not represented.
The same twelve animals are also
linked to the Chinese agricultural calendar.
On it, though, the Tiger is the first animal, as
it is supposed to be the first animal of spring.
These periods match very closely with the
Western zodiac as they are based on months,
not years.
This year is the Year of the Rooster. The
rooster is to be a combination of the five
virtues of wisdom, valor, courage, benevolence,
and reliability. The wisdom is shown
by the crown or comb on its head. Valor is
shown by its spurs. Courage is represented by
its willingness to fight its enemies. Benevolence
comes from its willingness to share its
food, and, finally, reliability is revealed by its
crowing every morning at the same time with
unchanging regularity. These five virtues
made the rooster an animal worth emulating.
Roosters thus were depicted on many day-today
items as the rooster was part of everyday
life. If you are a Rooster, 2017 will be an unlucky
year for you. It will not be a good year
for your career. It will have misfortunes, unexpected
loss of assets, emotional problems
with your lovers, and changing moods caused
by too much pressure. You should be ready
for great changes in your life. 2017 is also not
a good year for your health.
illustration by
Sarah Hodgkiss
If you were born in 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981,
1993, or 2005 then you were born in the Year
of the Rooster. Of course, the Chinese New
Year does not start on January first, so some
of you born before the Chinese New Year in
January or February may have a different
year, as will those born in the early part of
the new year in the years following the above
years. Roosters should consider their lucky
numbers to be 5, 7 and 8. Lucky colors are
gold, brown, and yellow.
This year, the new year started on January
28th. This will be the 4714th year. Surprisingly
enough, most people claim not to believe
in these ancient superstitions about either
the Greek or Chinese zodiac. However, over
99 percent of people will know what sign or
what animal they were born under. These are
amazingly high percentages for something
we don’t believe in, don’t you think?
Jeonbuk Life 7