Thursday, December 13, 2007

Ten Brothers (十兄弟 Shi Xiong Di)


The story begins with a poor man named Chan Dai Ha who sells Chinese desserts and falls in love with an unmarried, wealthy girl named Gei Hao Yee. One day, when Dai Ha is going home, he sees a man carrying something, fall down from the sky. He asks him if he is okay, but the man runs away. Each time Dai Ha tries to help Hao Yee, he does something wrong and angers her instead. One day, Hao Yee and her servant falls down a hill and he saves them. Without thanking him, she shouts at him and mistakenly drinks the soup with the ten magical beans in it. The magical beans made her pregnant so the next day, the doctor said she was pregnant, but because there was a law in her town that she cannot become pregnant before marriage, the villagers gets angry and wants her to be punished. Since she was living with her father, they decided to break the relationship between them and execute Hao Yee. When Dai Ha knows about it, he tells the villagers that he is the father, so Hao Yee does not need to be executed now. Dai Ha brings her to his small house and sleeps on the ground himself. At first, Hao Yee is angry with him, but soon they get along better. One day, their ten babies are born. Together, they both raise the children, but the next month, they all became adults except for one of them, Number Ten. Since the parents are scared of their adult sons, they ignore them and runs away. The children run around town, causing trouble while Number Two and Number Three are adopted by the evil warlord Man Sai Hung's wife, who doesn't want her husband to know that their real sons died. Dai Ha finds the children and secretly give them food. Soon, the town misunderstood them and decides to kill the brothers. Hao Yee and Dai Ha says that they're their parents so the only choice was to leave, so they did. Four and Ten were sold to a circus whose leader was extremely strict and ruled harshly. Nine was sold to a richer family. The sons were taught by their mother, and Number One, who was the most mature, helped Dai Ha on his business on selling desserts. Soon, they find out they have powers, but did not want their parents to know. All of a sudden one day, they all receive a sickness.In the circus, the leader earns a lot of money because Number Four could stretch out his arms and legs. The customers always paid the leader to make fun of him. Meanwhile, Number One went blind, Number Five grew wings on his back, Number Six's head grew very big, and Number Seven's legs grew extremely long. Only Number Eight didn't have any sicknesses. One day, their sicknesses were cured and instead, they found their powers. They wanted their family to be united, so they tried many ways to find their missing siblings. They got back Four, Nine, and Ten, but Two and Three were spoiled by the warlord.They did not know who their real parents were. When they soon reunite, the warlord is jealous of the ten brothers and wants to kill them.The Ten Brothers tries their best to evict the warlord. When everything is settled and the warlord is evicted, a mysterious white-haired man appears in Number One's visions and says that brothers will have to die on August 15 if they do not leave with him. Number One does not trust him, but soon he does. When the parents find out about the prophecy, on August 15, they send away their children. The parents are very sad, but it is not possible for their children to stay. So on the night of August 15, the brothers are sent away to the white-haired man, except Ten starts crying and says that something will happen to their mother. The other siblings have learned that whenever Ten cries for no apparent reason, something will happen. One and Two use their abilities to check in on their mother, and are horrified to see that Hao Yee is dying. The white-haired man tells them that she is dying because she gave birth to ten magical sons - them - and their powers were too strong for Hao Yee for her to survive for much longer. The brothers are told that the only way to save their mother is to become beans again, and the brothers sacrifice themselves to save Hao Yee's life. Five years later on August 15 (Mid-Autumn Festival), Dai Ha and Hao Yee give birth to a son, whom they call Eleven. They look up to the sky and see ten stars, and they tell Eleven to say hello to his ten elder brothers. Although the modern version is the most well known, the old version of the story was about the evil warlord of their town capturing their father. They had to save their father and in order to do that, they had to unite and work together as a team. The 10 brothers' weakness is limestone and they are not able to use their own powers if they come in contact with it until they wash themselves with oil.

The Ability of Ten Brothers :
  1. 1st and Oldest Brother - Thousand Mile Eye - Capable of seeing miles away with his binocular eyes.
  2. 2nd Brother - Miles Hearing Two - Capable of hearing miles away.
  3. 3rd Brother - Strong - Has herculean strength.
  4. 4th Brother - Stretchy - Has ability to stretch.
  5. 5th Brother - Flying - Capable of flying.
  6. 6th Brother - Iron Head - Has a solid impenetrable head.
  7. 7th Brother - Long-Legged - Can grow in height.
  8. 8th Brother - Digging - Capable of tunneling underground.
  9. 9th Brother - Big Mouth - Has a huge mouth that can blow wind and shout loudly.
  10. 10th and Youngest Brother - Crying - Can cry a river, heal any sicknesses if he cries on people.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Chinese Zodiac (生肖 shēngxiāo)


The story begin when the mortal world in turmoil, as Man has no means of calculating the all-important time. As Man knows not how to define the time nor the days, the Evil plans to take advantage of this ignorance and wreak have on the world. To Thwart Evil’s plans. The Jade Emperor who is tasked to govern the mortal world, announced the commencement of a great race – The Zodiac race.

The cat and the rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although bad swimmers, they were both intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, overcome with a fierce competitiveness, the rat decided that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat has never forgiven the rat, and hates the water as well. After the ox had crossed the river, the rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, and it claimed first place in the competition.

Following closely behind was the strong ox, and it was named the 2nd animal in the zodiac. After the ox, came the tiger, panting, while explaining to the Emperor just how difficult it was to cross the river with the heavy currents pushing it downstream all the time. But with powerful strength, it made to shore and was named the 3rd animal in the cycle.

Suddenly, from a distance came a thumping sound, and the rabbit arrived. It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it almost lost the race but the rabbit was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed him to shore. For that, it became the 4th animal in the zodiac cycle. Coming in 5th place was the dragon, flying and belching fire into the air. Of course, the Emperor was deeply curious as to why a strong and flying creature such as the dragon should fail to reach first. The mighty dragon explained that he had to stop and make rain to help all the people and creatures of the earth, and therefore he was held back a little. Then, on his way to the finish line, he saw a little helpless rabbit clinging on to a log so he did a good deed and gave a puff of breath to the poor creature so that it could land on the shore. The Emperor was very pleased with the actions of the dragon, and he was added into the zodiac cycle. As soon as he had done so, a galloping sound was heard, and the horse appeared. Hidden on the horse's hoof is the snake, whose sudden appearance gave the horse a fright, thus making it fall back and gave the snake 6th spot while the horse took the 7th.

Not long after that, a little distance away, the ram, monkey and rooster came to the shore. These three creatures helped each other to get to where they are. The rooster spotted a raft, and took the other two animals with it. Together, the ram and the monkey cleared the weeds, tugged and pulled and finally got the raft to the shore. Because of their combined efforts, the Emperor was very pleased and promptly named the ram as the 8th creature, the monkey as the 9th, and the rooster the 10th.

The 11th animal is the dog. His explanation for being late—although he was supposed to be the best swimmer amongst the rest—was that he needed a good bath after a long spell, and the fresh water from the river was too big a temptation. For that, he almost didn't make it to finish line. Just as the Emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal was heard from a little pig. The pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast and then fell asleep. After the nap, the pig continued the race and was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac cycle. The cat finished too late (thirteenth) to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore.

Other Stories about Cat and Rat

The rat was given the task of inviting the animals to report to the Jade Emperor for a banquet to be selected for the zodiac signs. The cat was a good friend of the rat, but the rat tricked him into believing that the banquet was the next day. The cat slept through the banquet, thinking that it was the next day. When he found out, the cat vowed to be the rat's natural enemy for ages to come.

Reference : www.wikipedia.com

Morale and Wisdom :

Once We do Tricky to Others, They Will Never Trust Us Anymore”, “So Be Honest in Everything We do”

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Five elements (木, 火, 土, 金, 水 )



The Yin or Yang is broken down into Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) on top of the cycle of animals. These are modifiers and affect the characteristics of each of the 12 animal signs. Thus, each of the 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction.

Although it is usually translated as 'element' the Chinese word xing literally means something like 'changing states of being', 'permutations' or 'metamorphoses of being'. [1] In fact Sinologists cannot agree on one single translation. The Chinese conception of 'element' is therefore quite different to the Western one. The Western elements were seen as the basic building blocks of matter. The Chinese 'elements', by contrast, were seen as ever changing and moving forces or energies - one translation of xing is simply 'the five changes'.

The balance of yin and yang and the five elements in a person's make-up has a major bearing on what is beneficial and effective for them in terms of feng shui, the Chinese form of geomancy. This is because each element is linked to a particular direction and season, and their different kinds of or life force.

木 Wood

  • The East
  • Spring
  • Azure Dragon
  • The Planet Jupiter
  • The Color Green
  • Liver and gallbladder
  • Generous, Warm, Persuasive, Co-operative, Seeks to Expand and Grow
  • Idealistic, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Seeks to Explore

Wood 'Governs' the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon

火 Fire

  • The South
  • Summer
  • Vermilion Bird
  • The Planet Mars
  • The Color Red
  • Circulatory system & Heart
  • Dynamic, Humanitarian, Energetic, Passionate, Enterprising, Adventurous, Restless
  • Competitive, Leadership Skills, Strong, Single-minded, Loves a good laugh

Fire 'Governs' the Snake, Horse and Sheep

土 Earth

  • Center
  • Three Enclosures, Change of seasons
  • The Yellow Dragon
  • The Planet Saturn
  • The Color Yellow
  • Digestive system, Spleen and stomach
  • Patient, Militaristic, Prudent, Stable, Reliable, Hard-working, Ambitious, Stubborn, and very energetic
  • Disciplined, Tenacious, Logical, Governed by Service and Duty to Others

'Governs' Dragon, Rat, and Ox. It is the central balance of the elements and can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well.

金 Metal

  • The West
  • Autumn
  • White Tiger
  • The Planet Venus
  • The Color White
  • Respiratory system & Lungs
  • Determined, Self-reliant, Unyielding, Strong, Tenacious, Forceful
  • Reserved, Needs Personal Space, Sophisticated, Seeks pleasure, caring, respectful

Metal 'Governs' the Monkey, Rooster, Dog

水 Water

  • The North
  • Winter
  • Black Tortoise
  • The Planet Mercury
  • The Color Black
  • Skeletal/Excretory System & Lungs
  • Secretive, Charming, Intuitive, Compassionate, Sensitive, Creative
  • Flexible, Compliant, Eloquence, Intellectual

Water 'Governs' the Pig, Rat, Ox

Friday, November 16, 2007

Chinese Dynasty and Republic (中 国 朝 代)

Chinese history is rarely as neat as it is portrayed and it was rare indeed for one dynasty to end calmly and give way quickly and smoothly to a new one. Dynasties were often established before the overthrow of an existing regime, or continued for a time after they had been defeated.

In addition, China was divided for long periods of its history, with different regions being ruled over by different groups. At times like these there was no dynasty ruling a unified China. As a case in point, there is much dispute about times in the Western Zhou period and later. One example of the potential for confusion will suffice.

The conventional date 1644 marks the year in which the Manchu Qing dynasty armies occupied Beijing and brought Qing rule to China proper, succeeding the Ming dynasty. However, the Qing dynasty itself was established in 1636 (or even 1616, albeit under a different name), while the last Ming dynasty pretender was not disposed of until 1662. The change of ruling houses was a messy and prolonged affair, and the Qing took almost twenty years to extend their control over the whole of China. It is therefore inaccurate to assume China changes all at once in the year 1644.

Chronology of dynasties

Dynasty

Years

The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors

三皇五帝

sān huáng wu dì

before 2070 BC

628+

Xia Dynasty

xià

2070 BC - 1600 BC

470

Shang Dynasty

shāng

1600 BC - 1046 BC

554

Western Zhou Dynasty

西周

xī zhōu

1046 BC - 771 BC

275

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

traditionally divided into
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period

東周


春秋
戰國

dōng zhōu


chūn qiū
zhàn guó

770 BC - 256 BC


722 BC - 476 BC
475 BC - 221 BC

514


246
254

Qin Dynasty

qín

221 BC - 206 BC

15

Western Han Dynasty

西漢

xī hàn

206 BC - 9 AD

215

Xin Dynasty

xīn

9 - 25

16

Eastern Han Dynasty

東漢

dōng hàn

25 - 220

195

Three Kingdoms

三國

sān guó

220 - 265

45

Western Jin Dynasty

西晉

xī jìn

265 - 317

52

Eastern Jin Dynasty

東晉

dōng jìn

317 - 420

103

Northern and Southern Dynasties

南北朝

nán běi cháo

420 - 581

161

Sui Dynasty

suí

581 - 618

37

Tang Dynasty

táng

618 - 907

289

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

五代十國

wǔ dài shí guó

907 - 960

53

Northern Song Dynasty

北宋

běi sòng

960 - 1127

167

Southern Song Dynasty

南宋

nán sòng

1127 - 1279

152

Liao Dynasty

liáo

916 - 1125

209

Jin Dynasty

jīn

1115 - 1234

119

Yuan Dynasty

yuán

1271 - 1368

97

Ming Dynasty

míng

1368 - 1644

276

Qing Dynasty

qīng

1644 - 1911

267

Chronology of Republic

Republic

Years

Republic of China (ROC)

中华民国

Zhong hua min guo

1911 – 1949

38

People Republic of China (PRC)

中华人民共和国

Zhong hua ren min gong he guo

1949 – present


References : 1. www.wikipedia.com

2. Indonesian – Mandarin Dictionary