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| Sunday, 1 February 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Monkey business by Jayanthi Liyanage
A lucky coincidence had us visiting the abode of Chinese Prof. Hao Weimin on the same day when the Monkey's reign began - on January 22, this year, instead of the usual February. Prof. Weimin, Director of Long Hua Cultural International Institute, Colombo who has lived in Sri Lanka for the last 13 years was among the local Chinese nationals who celebrated the Chinese Year of the Monkey, though in a somewhat quiet manner. New Year is the most important festival of the Chinese year, falling between January 21 and February 19. To celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival which kicked off at the same time, Prof. Weimin had already hand-moulded a batch of dumplings (jiao zi) filled with cooked vegetables and wanted us to join him. "Give a few minutes until I boil these," ventured the professor, explaining that the jiao-zi are not fried as we assumed them to be, going by its similarity to the ubiquitous patty. To his disappointment, we were more magnetized by the appeal of the Monkey tales, instead of that of the palatable dumpling! The Chinese years, counted on the Lunar calendar, is part of the Chinese Zodiac, made up of a 12-year cycle, each year of which is named after a different animal giving a distinct character to each year. "Chinese legends have that animals have a close relationship with the humans," explained Prof. Weimin, adding that the Chinese believe the year of a person's birth could determine his personality traits, physical and mental attributes and periods of success of happiness throughout his lifetime. "The Chinese Zodiac begins with the Dragon and continues with Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig." People born in 2004, 1992, 1980, 1968, 1956, 1944, 1932, 1920 and 1908 are monkey people who are considered to be agile, creative, sociable and to be of good memory. Aristotle (384-322 BC), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), Lord Byron (1788-1824) and Charles Dickens (1812-1870) are a few of the world's Monkey celebrities. Monkeys are usually drawn as sitting on maple trees, riding on horses or standing on one's shoulder which symbolizes the human expectations of reaching noble ranks.
Historical tales, of interest to monkey enthusiastics, can be found in the Dictionary of Chinese History, written by Michael Dillon. "Journey to the West", one of the four greatest literary works in the Chinese history written by Wu Cheng-en in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was translated into English by Arthur Waley as Monkey. The tale is loosely based on the 16 year long historical travels to India of the Buddhist monk-pilgrim Hsuan-Tsang in the seventh century, in search of the Buddhist scriptures to be brought back to China. "The story weaves into the narrative the super natural and often hilarious exploits of a monkey-spirit who escorts him, and his companion Sandy and Pigsy. As well as being an adventurous story, popular in the Ming Dynasty and ever since, it contains a strong element of satire, poking fun at the traditional bureaucracy of imperial China, which is paralleled by the highly stratified heavenly pantheon, encountered by Monkey," reads the book's description of this Monkey King, named Sun Wu-kung. How Sun, or the Monkey King, wields his magic abilities to defeat 81 devils and dangers, using his optimism, wit and power to change his form and size, is said to have made him one of Chinese children's favourite characters, both in story books, and on the screen. "His nimble manipulation of his magical golden telescopic staff and free-spirited jetting about on his magic cloud spark wonderment and admiration in every child's heart, earning him the title of eternal honorific Monkey King," according to writings on the Monkey. The other great Chinese novels, written during the Ming Dynasty, considered to be a glorious period in Chinese History, are Water Margin and the Golden Lotus. The current religious culture in China is made up of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. "Tao" means the Way. "The Way has more than one name, There is more than one sage, Doctrines vary in different lands, But their benefits reach all mankind," proclaims a Tang Dynasty decree, made in 635 AD, and repeated in "Lost Cities of China, Central Asia and India" by David Hatcher Childress. The wilderness and remoteness of the nervily forested mountain valleys in Sichuan is the most populated of Chinese Provinces and is also home to the mysterious "Wild Hairy Man of China", described in Lost Cities Throughout history, Chinese poets and scholars have talked about "mountain ogres", a strange creation in the mountain, "monkey like, yet not a monkey." In 1977, a Chinese commune leader, Pang Gensheng, met a "hairy man" in the woods when he went out to cut wood. "The hairy man was about seven feet tall, with shoulders wider than a man's, with a sloping forehead, deep set eyes and bulbous nose with slightly upturned nostrils and sunken round eyes. His whole face had been covered with short hair." "Terrifed Peng threw a stone at the man and he howled, rubbing his chest and walked away slowly, making mumbling sounds." One theory suggests that these could be the sightings of a gigantic manlike ape called Gigantopithecus that inhabited the earth two million years ago and was thought to be extinct. Noted archaeologist, Myra Shackley suggests the wild hairy men to be remnants of the Neanderthal men. But until a creature is really captured, he will remain a mystery. |
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