Background Informations:
The pig represens Hai among the 12 Earthly Branches.The time of Hai falls in the 10th lunar month every year and it's the season to make preparations for the winter after the harvest.The direction of Hai is northwest by north and it denotes the principle of Heaven,first of the Eight Trigrams.The time of Hai starts from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. when the day is to end and the next day is to begin.
In ancient times, to catch pigs was a way to judge one's courage.The Chinese character "事" (meaning thing,event or affair) in its early form of inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty, 16th-11h century B.C. looks like two hands holding a long-handled net to catch a pig.The Chinese character "敢" (meaning to dare or courageous) looks like someone catching a pig with bare hands.Europeans appreciate pigs' bravery and persistence.Many European badges have a design of pigs which symbolizes bravery and invincibility.
In ancient Chinese myths, the pig and the water god are the same figure.Ancient Chinese people believed the pig and dragon were both gods in charge of rains, to whom they would pray for rians.
The pig has been part of people's life for a long time,and is one of the six domestic animals.We can find its origin in some ancient characters.For instance,the Chinese character "家(meaning family)" means breeding a pig in the house. The book of Yuan Jian Lei Han records an old ballad:pigs enter the door,all blessings will follow afterwards.The Chinese character "家(meaning family)" contains the part "豕" (meaning pig),which proves that pigs are viewed as part of humans' family.This character reflects China's agricultural sociey.In Chinese folk art,the drawing of "a fat pig forces the door open with its snout" expresses farmers' wish for an affluent life.
In people's eyes,the pig may be the most honest domestic animal.It has around,fat face and sleeps after eating,and thus looks honest.It indeed is the most fortunatl animal among the 12 symbolic animals.As an old saying goes,good fortune follows the pig to enter your house.In Tianjin and Hebei people tale about"fat pigs bringing fortune." There is also a kind of auspicious paper-cut for window decoration cut from black glazed paper,and the pattern is a pig carrying a treasure bowl on its back.Usually two are pasted opposite on the window,meaning"bringing in money and treasure."
