Happy Year of the Goat! Or sheep? When you choose, it says more about you than biology or Chinese history.
(The first version of this story went out on Feb 6th to paid subscribers – before the recent exhortations by the CE to be more like sheep.)
Sheep v. Goat
Forget constitutional reform (for a moment). The debate of the week – for English speakers – iis Sheep v. Goat! it seems there is some confusion on what the new year is. One friend, in the classic -Western-Chinese marriage combo, said he and his wife were having their biggest row of the year over it. The launch party at Alibi, Langham Hotelâs new restaurant, was riven! So what is it?
The problem seems to spring from the fact that historical China didnât have Western wool-producing, often Biblically mentioned, sheep. They have one word, yang (çŸ). Goats are mountain goats, shan yang (ć±±çŸ) and sheep are mian yang (ç¶żçŸ). Various linguistic impresarios have noted it could be better translated as Year of the Ram (sheep and goat covered), and âwho cares?â as both are kosher. Modern commercial design people adorning greeting cards and shopping malls often pick the cuddlier sheep over the cantankerous goat.
Itâs Goat
One historian looked to the Ching Dynasty heads âliberatedâ from the Summer Palace. Clearly goat.
Find the yang.
The choice in English by various bodies is enlightening. The finance industry comes down heavy for the Goat. CLSAâs legendary feng shui report: Goat. CNBC: Goat. SCMP: Goat.
In Hong Kong, John Tsang recognises the issue in English. The government fudges with Ram in many places. Sage. This listener has heard English RTHKâs radio PSAs going with âYear of the Sheepâ. But itâs mostly Ram coming out of local government.
The Singaporean government and Monetary Authority have gone Goat, as has their tourist attaction, the Flower Garden (see pictures). Xinhua (Chinaâs official voice): Goat.
Whoâs on sheep?
âSheepâ seems to have been introduced as poor translations by unofficial sources that place highly in Google. Itâs been picked up here and there just enough to generate confusion, abetted by the aforementioned commercial designers. Official Chinese country sources consistently go with Ram or Goat.
Many Japanese embassy websites in English speaking countries (UK, USA) include âSheepâ. Not to draw too many inferences of what the interpretation of that means about national characters, goats are certainly perceived (in the West) as independent-minded, stubborn, omnivorous animals not shy about butting heads. It would certainly seem to match the description of Hong Kongers.
Goats, beware the wolf
In China, the hugely popular and feisty cartoon character of çŸçŸ is the one that constantly faces the depredations of the wolf (sample here). It seems there may be a rich vein of political satire, vis a vis the CE, to mine here – watch for it this year.
And clearly the known committed Christians in the senior reaches of Hong Kong government didnât have a say, unless they pushed the shift from Goat (sued in 2003) to Ram as a compromise. Hereâs what the New Testament had to say about goats v sheeps. Sheeps good! Goats bad!
But the final word from the worlds of government, finance and the character of the Hong Kong people: Goat. Mehhhh. Not âBaaaaaaâ.
Unless your wife says sheep – itâs not worth a row over it!