How Chinese rabbit became a cat in Viet Nam
While the majority of Asia celebrates the year of rabbit, Vietnam shows a note of independence against a dominant culture Chinese marking the beginning of the year of the cat.
The two countries remain communist political allies and have embarked on a similar transition face a market economy. But their relationship
evoke strong emotions and conflict in Viet Nam, who bitterly recall 1000 year of Chinese occupation and more recently the border war of 1979.
While the smaller of the two nations has adopted several Chinese words, customs and traditions, it still feels a strong need to differentiate itself from its giant neighbor.
The two countries share 10 of the 12 signs of the calendar - the rat tiger, dragon, snake, horse, goat, rooster, dog and pig. But the Vietnamese
replace the rabbit by the cat and beef by the buffalo.
Why they opted for different animals is not clear, but many researchers say that the division was drawn in the legend of the calendar.
One of the stories says that Buddha invited the animals to take part in a race across the river and the first 12 animals to arrive would have a place in the calendar.
Unable to swim, close friends cats and rats have decided to climb on the back of the beef.
As they approached the line arrival, the rodent two sides to push the cat in water - and the pair had been hostile since. The Vietnamese
tell it a little differently.
They say it is the Jade Emperor, a Taoist god who organized the race. And in this version the cat can swim.
There is an explanation anthropological and culture, "said Philippe Papin, an expert on Vietnamese history at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris.
But it seems that the explanation lies in the language," he said .
"The Chinese word for rabbit 'Mao', that does sound like 'Mèo' in Vietnamese, which means cat. When the sound of the word has changed, the meaning also "Papin said.
No matter how the division was made, the Vietnamese are not interested in reducing the signs of the zodiac in line with that of the middle kingdom .
"For the Vietnamese it is a matter of national honor for not completely copied the Chinese," said Benoit de Treglodé, Institute for Research on Contemporary Southeast Asia in Bangkok.
He added that "this form of distinction in the imitation can be found through the Vietnamese culture.
Politics plays a role also through some disagreement face some territorial disputes.
"We do not know exactly the selection of 12 animals arrived," said Thanh Huyen Djao, an independent newspaper journalist in Hanoi.
But now that the words "China" and "Chinese" can become a source of controversy that may take an argument, many Vietnamese are happy not to be like their neighbor, even if it's a little crazy to take these things too seriously. Hoang Phat Trieu
, a Vietnamese actor to retire, said his countrymen simply prefer the cat to the rabbit.
"Many Vietnamese farmers are" said a man of 76 years.
"The rabbit has nothing to do with the Vietnamese culture, while the cat was still a good friend of the farmer, kill the rats that damage crops. As
marked the Vietnamese Tet holiday / new year last Thursday, those born in the year of rat, horse or rooster will be careful not to enter the house first because it is said that attracts bad luck.
"This year will be a very average as fortune tellers," said Huyen.
But she hopes her husband and son, both dogs in the calendar will make this year a year that will lie predictions disappointing.
"Everyone knows that cats and dogs get along well," she says, proving that the desire to make astrological predictions truthful in his favor is universal.
In this at least the Chinese and Vietnamese are similar.
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