Potent symbol: ‘The Chinese fear and respect the Snake. Some even revere it as the Dragon God,’ says Simon Chan.
Here’s
a look at some of the Chinese idioms and folklore associated with the
Snake as it slithers in at 12.31am today to take its reign as the
Chinese zodiac for the year.
THE Snake or Serpent is feared
and worshipped in both eastern and western cultures. As the Snake sheds
its skin, it has also come to symbolise death and rebirth.
The Snake is distinct from the Dragon, and both have opposite characteristics.
According to
The Asian Animal Zodiac
by Ruth Q. Sun, “the Dragon symbolises the positive, benevolent,
constructive forces of the universe. The Snake is associated with the
negative, malevolent and destructive forces.” It also represents deceit
and cunning.
Together with the tiger, lizard, centipede and three-legged toad, these creatures are said to represent the Five Poisons.
The
author says people born under this zodiac sign are wise and
compassionate, but can be vain. They are believed to be fortunate when
it comes to finances. Determined and persistent, they hate to fail.
Most
Chinese associate any reference to the Snake as bad news. This is made
worse by Chinese idioms of the Snake which carry negative connotations.
A
person who is hated is labelled a “snake”, a monicker for someone who
is unscrupulous. “This person is out to get what he wants by hook or by
crook,” explains sinologist Dr Lai Kuan Fook, 70.
“It’s very insulting to accuse a person of having a ‘Buddha’s mouth, heart of snake’ (
fo kou she xing). The idiom refers to a hypocrite,” says Lai.
Another spiteful description,
she tou su yan (snake’s head, rat’s eyes), is used in character assassination.
“Rat’s
eyes refer to the scurrying Rat whose eyes dart about, looking out for
the enemy, while foraging for food to steal. Snake’s head describes the
Snake which eyes its target and attack. This idiom refers to a person of
ill repute.”
A grouping of snakes and rats should be shunned. The idiom,
she su yi wo (snake, rat in same hole) warns us of a dangerous liaison of bad hats.
“That’s because the Snake harms and the Rat steals,” says Lai.
The Chinese idiom,
long she hun chu (dragon,
snake, mingle together), tells of “a mix of good and bad elements; not a
pure place.” One has to be wary when this idiom is used.
Then there are well-loved folklore of the Snake.
The
most famous and popular Chinese folklore with reference to a Snake is
The Legend of the White Snake or Madam White Snake. The tale has been
told and retold in Chinese operas, movies and television series.
(According
to Wikipedia, a White Snake spirit lives in the West Lake in Hangzhou
and practises Taoist magical arts to become an inmmortal after centuries
of training. One day, the White Snake eats the immortal pills vomited
out by Xu Xian, a youth, into the lake. The White Snake gains 500 years
of magic powers and transforms into a young, beautiful maiden.)
Madam
White Snake is a tragic love story of Bai Suzhen (Madam White Snake)
who is faithful and devoted to her husband but has to suffer the
consequence of her wrongdoing, says Lai.
“It tells of a Snake
which tries to do good and observe Buddha’s teachings for hundreds of
years to free itself and take on the human form of a young woman, Madam
White Snake or Bai Suzhen. She then falls in love with Xu Xian, a youth,
and gets married,” he says.
“But it is against the law of nature
for a Snake to transform into a human. Actually, the Snake has to wait
out its time through reincarnation and not practise magical arts as an
easy way out. A Buddhist monk (Fahai) goes after Madam White Snake, and
catches and imprisons her. ”
The original story is about the
Buddhist monk Fahai who sets out to save Xu Xian from the White Snake
spirit, an evil demon. However, the horror tale has evolved into a
romantic story over the centuries and tells of the forbidden love of Bai
Suzhen and Xu Xian.
Lai says the Chinese love this legend which reminds them that true love is not easy as there are obstacles to conquer.
“They admire Madam White Snake’s bravery and her struggles to stay true to her love despite the many hurdles in life.”
The
tale also tells of the Green Snake, Xiaoqing, who was grateful to White
Snake for saving her life. Green Snake later transformed into a young
woman and became the “sister” and assistant of White Snake.
Green
Snake stands by Madam White Snake, right until the end despite trials
and tribulations. It is a tale of true friendship, Lai adds.
Another legend tells of the Snake which became a Dragon.
“Buddha
is said to admonish a huge Snake, saying: ‘Thou shall not kill. If you
keep on killing, you will go to Hell.’ The Snake which had been on a
killing spree for his meal was advised by Buddha to feed on grass. The
Snake asked: ‘How can I go on living without meat?’ Buddha gave the
Snake a pearl to put in its mouth and said: ‘Every time you have the
urge to kill, the pearl will remind you not to do so’,” recounts Lai.
After
800 years of abstaining from killing, there was a thunderstorm one day.
The Snake flew up to heaven and midway, it transformed into the Dragon.
The moral of the story is that even the Snake can become the Dragon,
says Lai.
“No matter how incorrigible a person is, there is hope of being a better person,” he says of the Snake that has redeemed itself.
Another famous story revolves around Buddha and the divine king serpent.
During
the sixth week, while seeking Enlightenment, Buddha was meditating
under the Mucalinda tree. It began to rain heavily. A divine king
serpent named Mucalinda, coiled around Buddha to protect him from the
wind and rain. After the rain stopped, the snake changed into a young
man and recited poems to pay his respects to Buddha.
Buddhist scriptures say it was the Naga King Muchalinda (the divine king serpent) who shielded Buddha from the rain.
The
Snake Temple in Sungai Kluang, Bayan Lepas, Penang, is believed to be
the only temple of its kind in the world. These snakes are said to have
been de-venomed but still have their fangs intact.
“It is a
mystery how the snakes (a variety of pit vipers) came to dwell in the
temple after it was built. These snakes have never harmed anyone,” says
Lai.
The temple was built by a Buddhist monk around 1850 in memory of Chor Soo Kong (or Cheng Shui).
Legend
says Cheng Shui (who lived during the Song Dynasty [960-1279]) was
ordained at a young age. He was also a healer who gave refuge to snakes.
“He
was from Fukien province, China, and had supernatural powers. A
disciple brought a bottle of water and built the temple in Penang. Soon
after its construction, the snakes came to live there,” Lai says.
The I Ching or Book of Changes has a positive reference to the Snake.
Chinese brush painter Simon Chan, 62, says the Chinese fear and respect the Snake. Some even revere it as the Dragon God.
Of
the negative association of the Snake in Chinese idioms, Chan says
there is a phrase in I Ching about the Snake which has a positive
connotation:
che hug zhi qu (the one-foot-long Snake arched its body),
yi qiu shen ye (to move forward),
long she zhi zhe (dragon, snake hibernate),
yi qiu cun ye (in order to survive).
The
first line tells us that a person who wants to gain someone’s trust
must practise humility (like a snake which archs its body to move
forward).
The second line reminds us to keep calm in the face of crisis and assess the situation; that’s the best way to survive.
On the other extreme, the idiom,
ren xin bu zhu, she tun xiang,
(a person is not contented, (like) the snake that wants to swallow the
elephant) tells of a very greedy person who is never contented.
The idiom,
da cao jing she, (beat grass, scare snake) tells one not to alert others before an important plan or mission (as in a police raid).
The idiom,
ba cao xin she (pluck grass, search for snake) speaks of an idle person who courts trouble.
The idiom,
hua she tian zu (draw snake, add legs), refers
to
a
foolish act in doing something irrelevant. It tells the story of a man
who could have won the contest for being the fastest to draw a snake.
However, he decided to draw legs for the snake and lost the contest.
This is obviously a foolish and irrelevant act.
Then there is this funny idiom:
da she da qi cun (beat snake, beat seven inches [from its head]).
Chan
says: “It tells you to strike the enemy as its weakest point. But the
real message is to ask someone to get straight to the point and set
their priorities right.”
To flush out the enemy, there’s the idiom:
ying she chu dong (lure snake out of its hole).
To describe a person who is anxious about his plans but whose interest fizzles out, the Chinese say:
hu tou she wei (tiger’s head, snake’s tail).
The idiom,
jiang long ya bu zhu di tou she (active dragon cannot suppress local snake), tells of how outside forces cannot quell a local uprising.
“One can say that the new outsider cannot topple the existing local leader who is more influential,” Chan says.
To describe a motley crew of characters (like in a jail), there’s the idiom,
niu gui she shen (cows, ghosts, snakes and gods).
The idiom,
gui you gui lu, she you she dao (tortoise has its own route, snake has its own path),
tells of how
everyone has his own opportunity and approach to survival.
“Ancient Chinese medical text regard the Snake as the most highly prized for its medicinal value.
“The
Snake was used in folk medicine for all kinds of ailments such as
leprosy, rheumatism and tumours. Its meat can provide energy and is
warming, while snake soup is said to cool down the body system,” Chan
adds.
