China and The Year of the Rat
May 17, 2008At the Engleson Files Craig wrote a post about the bad luck that China is having during this Year of the Rat and ended the article querying, “Year of the Rat what have you done?” ( Click here for his story
A summary of the issues China has before it in 2008
- Blizzards in Southern China strand hundreds of thousands and force people into near starvation as supplies and food cannot reach millions
- Passenger train goes off the track hitting another train killing 400 people
- Tibetans riot in Lhasa and neighbouring provinces putting egg on the face of the government
- Worldwide protests against China’s handling of this issue and their general human rights record
- Devastating earthquake in Sichuan province kills between 20,000 and 50,000 people (at latest count)
A little investigative journalism on my part has turned up a potential cause as explained in this story from the Canadian Press
Feng Shui master Raymond Lo says animal astrology could explain why China is off to a terrible start in 2008 - the long anticipated year of the Beijing Olympics.
Lo said part of the problem might stem from the birthdates of China’s current leaders - president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao. Both were born in 1942, The Year of the Horse.
In Chinese astrology, 2008 is The Year of the Rat and, according to Lo, this is part of the problem.
“Chinese people believe in animal astrology,” Lo said in a telephone interview. “In animal astrology we know the horse clashes with the rat. This is a very common thing, well known among Chinese people. So if you are born in the Year of the Horse, because of the clash against the rat you will have a turbulent year.”
Lo offered a remedy. He said carrying an ox pendant - for people such as Hu and Wen - could help ward off problems, because the ox is seen as a friend of the rat.
I am not superstitious at all (my mathematical training has seen to that) but in this case in light of the tragedies China has seen I am urging Mr. Wen and Mr. Hu to wear one of these
It can’t hurt can it?
