Chinese Zodiacal Years 华人生肖本命年

The Zodiac is part of an elaborate and laborious system based on Chinese astronomy, cosmology, and divination. The Chinese zodiac has twelve signs. Originally, these signs did not have animals associated with them but were signs used to record dates. They were called the 12 Earthly Branches and 10 Celestial Stems and their use went back to the Shang dynasty.
It is said that the twelve animals were introduced when Buddhism spread into China. The twelve animals are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
In China, each person is assigned one of the zodiac animals at birth and after that every twelve years he will experience a ‘zodiacal year’. A person should be more careful and be prepared for any contingency as it is believed that he will offend ‘taishui’ in that year. Taisui is a mysterious power or celestial body that could control people's fortune. The best way to avoid miserable events is to wear things that are red, such clothes, a waistband, or decorations such as a red bracelet and necklace as a talisman that must be purchased by others. If the person himself buys them, the function is greatly lessened.
Generally, those who believe in zodiacal year will avoid travel far from home. In some places, a person is not supposed to go out of their home on the eve of their zodiacal year.
Even emperors behaved differently in their zodiacal year. Zhao Ji, or Song Huicong of the Song dynasty was born in the year of dog. In such a year, he would forbid his subjects to kill dogs.
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中国生肖是根据中国天文、宇宙观与占卦形成的复杂而费劲的系统。中国生肖有十二种符号。本来，这些符号是用来记录日期，与动物没有关系。它们叫做十二天干与十地支，可追溯到商朝。
据说十二个动物是当佛教传到中国时被带进来的。这十二个动物是:鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗与猪。
在中国，一个人出世时就属一个动物。以后每十二年就是他的本命年。在本命年，它应该十分小心，并防万一，因为人们相信本命年犯太岁。太岁是控制人的一种神秘的力量或神体。避免厄运的最好方法穿由别人买给你的红色东西作为护身符，如衣服，束腰带，或者红色手镯和项链之类的首饰。如果是自己买的，效果就没有那末好了。
一般上，相信本命年的人，那年不会出远门。在一些地方，本命年前夕是不可出家门的。
贵如帝王也如此。赵佶，就是宋徽宗，属狗。在狗年，他会禁止人们杀狗。

Pan Gu Makes the World 盘古创造天地

The first writer to record the Chinese myth on the creation of world by Pangu was Xu Zheng during the Three Kingdoms period, relatively late in Chinese history.

It is interesting to note that the myth shows a total belief in a cyclic nature. When something dies, it becomes something else, as the lice became humans. The myth also shows clearly that the Chinese do not subscribe to the idea that the world was created in a short time of a few days.
‘In the beginning, there was nothing in the universe except a formless mass. It evolved to something like a big hen’s egg. Pan Gu was born inside. After 18 thousand years, the egg cracked. The light, clear part of it floated up and formed the Sky. The cold, turbid matter stayed below to form the Earth. Pan Gu was still inside. Things started to change every day in the Sky and on the Earth. The Sky and the Earth began to grow at a rate of ten feet per day, and Pan Gu grew along with them. After another 18 thousand years, the Sky was higher, the Earth thicker, and Pan Gu stood between them like a pillar ninety thousand miles in height.
Pan Gu was first born in the egg, and before he died, his body started to transform. His breath became the wind and clouds, his voice the rolling thunder. The left eye became the sun and the right eye the moon. His body and limbs turned to five big mountains and his blood formed the roaring water. His veins became far-stretching roads and his muscles fertile land. The innumerable stars in the sky came from his hair and beard, and flowers and trees from his skin and the fine hairs on his body. His marrow turned to jade and pearls. His sweat flowed like the good rain and sweet dew that nurtured all things on earth. The fleas and lice were blown by the wind out of his body and became the ancestors of mankind.’
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第一个写盘古创造天地的中国神话的人是三国时代的徐整；相对中国历史而言，这是相当迟了。

令人感兴趣的是，这个神话明显有再世的信仰。但一个生命死亡，它重生为另一样东西。如虫变成人。

这个神话也显示中国人不相信这个世界不是在几天内就被创造出来的。

‘天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中。万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地。盘古在其中。一日九变。神于天。圣于地。天日高一丈。地日厚一丈。盘古日长一丈。如此万八千岁。天数极高。地数极深。盘古极长。故天去地九万里。

首生盘古。垂死化身。气成风云。声为雷霆。左眼为日。右眼为月。四肢五体为四极五岳。血液为江河。筋脉为地里。肌肉为田土。发为星辰。皮肤为草木。齿骨为金石。精髓为珠玉。汗流为雨泽。身之诸虫。因风所感。化为黎甿。’

五十步笑百步 The Pot Calls the Kettle Black

King Hui ruled Wei state from 369 BC to 319 BC. He liked to discuss current affairs with Mencius. Wei state is also called the Liang state as it capital was at Great Liang, northwest of Kaifeng, Henan.
King Hui said to Mencius: ‘I have spent a lot of time and effort on governing my country. When the harvest is bad in Henei, east of Yellow River, I evacuate the people to Hedong, east of the Yellow River and move grain of Hedong to Henei. When it is bad in Hedong, I would do the same for them. As far as I could see, none of the rulers of the neighbouring states are as diligent as I. But the number of people in neighbouring states does not decrease and the number of my subjects does not increase. Why is this so?’
Mencius replied, ‘Let me explain this by using an analogy from war, since my lord likes fighting battles. Let’s imagine the fight is vigorous with the battle drums thundering and weapons clashing. At this time some soldiers abandon their armour and run away, dragging the weapons behind them. Some stop after running one hundred steps. Others halt after fifty steps. Those who ran only fifty steps laughed at those who ran a hundred. What do you think?’
‘That is not right. It is just that they didn’t manage to run hundred steps, but they did run away all the same.’
‘My lord, if you understand this, then you should not expect having more subjects than your neighbours.’
What Mencius meant was that King Hui needed to do much more before he can claim to be a better ruler than the kings of neighbouring states. Otherwise, he is just like one that retreats fifty steps laughs at one who does a hundred.
This expression refers to two persons who both have made mistakes, though the mistakes of one may be less serious than the other's. The pot calls the kettle black.
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战国魏惠王于公元前369-前319年在位。他喜欢与孟子谈时事。魏国迁都今河南开封西北之大梁，故又称梁惠王。‘孟子’一书记载：
梁惠王曰：‘寡人之于国也，尽心焉耳矣。河内凶，则移其民于河东，移其粟于河内。河东凶亦然。察邻国之政，无如寡人之用心者。邻国之民不加少，寡人之民不加多，何也？’

孟子对曰：‘王好战，请以战喻。填然鼓之，兵刃既接，弃甲曳兵而走，或百步而后止，或五十步而后止。以五十步笑百步，则何如？’
曰：‘不可。直不百步耳，是亦走也。’
曰：‘王如知此，则无望民之多于邻国也。’
就是说，惠王还要做更多才能说得上比邻国的国君更好。不然，他只是五十步笑百步。

这句话指两个人都做得不好，只是一个错误较少。就是西方人所谓的锅嫌壶黑。

Zhuangzi: The Happiness of Fish 庄子：鱼之乐

Among all the Chinese thinkers from antiquity onward, Zhuangzi, an early Daoist, is fond of using fables to explicate his ideas.
Huizi and Chuang Tzu were close friends. They often studied together and discussed problems.
One day, Zhuangzi and Huizi were strolling along the dam of the Hao Waterfall when Zhuangzi said, ‘See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That's what fish really enjoy!’

Huizi said, ‘You're not a fish — how do you know what fish enjoy?’

Zhuangzi said, ‘You're not me, so how do you know I don't know what fish enjoy?’

Huizi said, ‘I'm not you, so I certainly don't know what you know. On the other hand, you're certainly not a fish — so that still proves you don't know what fish enjoy!’

Zhuangzi said, ‘Let's go back to your original question, please. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy — so you already knew I knew it when you asked the question. I know it by standing here beside the Hao.’
It would appear that there is a humorous miscommunication between a daoist and a logician. Zhuangzi is an aesthetician and Huizi a rational epistemologist. However, at the end, Zhuangzi emerges as the superior dialectician, the clearer, more analytic epistemologist.
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在所有中国古代思想家中，早期道家庄子最喜欢以寓言来说明他的思想。
庄子与惠子是好朋友。他们喜欢在一起学习和讨论问题。有一天，他们谈到鱼之乐。
庄子与惠子游于濠梁之上。庄子曰：‘儵（读音tiao二声，鲦）鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也。’惠子曰：‘子非鱼，安知鱼之乐？’庄子曰：‘子非我，安知我不知鱼之乐？’惠子曰：‘我非子，固不知之矣；子固非鱼也，子之不知鱼之乐，全矣。’庄子曰：‘请循其本。子曰‘汝安知鱼之乐’云者，既已知吾知之而问我，我知之濠上也。’
看来，这是道家与逻辑家间有趣的各言其语。庄子是个美学家而惠子是个有理性的知识论者。结果，庄子反而看起来是个较好的辩证家，一个更有条理，思路清晰的知识论者。