Love for monkeys heats up as Chinese New Year sets in ( 2004-01-20 16:58) (Xinhua)
The monkey, a symbol of cleverness and vitality, has found favor with the
Chinese more than ever before as its sheepish predecessor, the goat, prepares to
cede its place on the Chinese Lunar New Year falling on Thursday.
A naughty
rhesus monkey -- reveling in the extra attention it is receiving as the
Year of the Monkey nears -- perches nonchalantly on the head of a girl at
a scenic spot in Central China's Henan Province. And the girl seems to be
enjoying the experience, too. [Xinhua]
The
active and somewhat unruly primate is one of the most loved animals of all the
12 in the Chinese birth sign system. People love the monkey partly because its
pronunciation in Chinese -- "hou" -- resembles that of "marquis", or "high
official".
The year of the monkey seems to take so long to arrive that Chinese tend to
say "wait until the monkey's year" to mean "God knows when".
The monkey's intelligence and cute nature were highlighted in "Pilgrimage to
the West", an ancient Chinese masterpiece based on the historical travels to
India of Buddhist Monk Xuan Zang in the seventh century in search of Buddhist
scriptures.
In this novel, Xuan Zang was escorted by "Sun Wukong" -- the Monkey King, an
evil-fighter with integrity and a high sense of loyalty.
The Monkey King, though a little bit mischievous, is admired bygenerations of
Chinese children, who have grown up with the dream of becoming someone like Sun
Wukong.
Today, the children's love for the monkey is echoed by their parents.
Maternity hospitals foresee a baby boom this year as out of a superstitious
belief that people born as monkeys are more intelligent, many young couples
purposely waited until the second half of 2003 to conceive "monkey babies".
The debate on whether the legendary figure Monkey King should become the
mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is also heating up, though official
selection of the mascot is still months away.
A large group of Monkey King supporters recently gathered at a book center in
Tianjin, a northern port city some 120 kilometers from Beijing, to call on
Monkey King lovers nationwide to sign their names on a massive petition to have
the popular figure a mascot candidate.
Even the Tibetans, whose new year according to the Tibetan calendar is
several weeks away, are ready to embrace the monkey in advance. Tibetans love
monkeys for their team spirit as well as their connection with the human race.
According to the General History of Tibet, Tibetan legends on man's evolution
from monkeys had been told in 800 AD, 1,000 years before Charles Darwin was
born.
As Tibetans decorate their houses with pictures symbolizing the harmony
between monkey, hare, elephant and bird, other Chinese are also buying new
year's mascots -- monkeys in wood, plastic, jade and plush toys stuffed with
cotton and sponge.
Zoologists say monkeys as mascots for the coming year are even prettier than
the legendary Monkey King and are more like macaques.
"Macaques are favored by many people for their pink cheeks, round ears, high
browbones and large, deep-set eyes," said Pi Yuntao, a zoo keeper in the
northern municipality Tianjin, "Besides, they're very nimble and close to humans
in many ways."
The IT sector, which is always leading the trends in China, has again caught
young people's eyes with online short messages that convey greetings for the
year of monkey.
"I'd like to turn into sweet peaches to make you happy, fat andover fed.
Happy New Year my dear little monkey," reads one.
Stamps, coins and postcards featuring the "star of the year" have remained
popular among avid collectors. Even large scrolls of calendars, which have lost
out to dainty cards and online greetings in recent years, sold well at a recent
export commodity fair in the southern metropolis Guangzhou for their delicate
paintings of monkeys.
Monkey ranks the ninth in the 12-year rotation of the Chinese birth sign
system that starts with rat, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake,
horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and ends with pig.
