– Much ado about mutton –
“Yang” is a component of the written Chinese character “xiang”, which means auspiciousness, and the two were interchangeable in ancient Chinese, experts say.
It is also a part of the character “shan”, which counts kindness and benevolence as among its meanings.
“Therefore ‘yang’ is a symbol of… blessing and fortune and represents good things,” said Yin Hubin, an ethnology researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences, a government think-tank.
“It is connected to the original implication of the Chinese character as an ideogram and reflects the world view of the Chinese people in primitive times,” he said.
That said, the zodiac sign is being shunned by some Chinese parents-to-be, with expectant mothers scheduling Caesarean sections to give birth before the current year of the horse ends, according to media reports.
The rush apparently stems from a Chinese superstition held by some that nine out of 10 sheep will be unhappy in life – a belief Yin dismissed as “ridiculous”.
More often, the animal plays a positive role in Chinese folklore, experts say.
A fable that can be traced back to more than 1,500 years ago depicts five goats carrying crops in their mouth to save people suffering from years of drought in Guangzhou.
The southern boom town, today the capital of Guangdong province and dubbed the City of Goats, has enjoyed timely wind and rain ever since, according to the story.
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