We at VTP would like to shout a big “Chuc mung nam moi!” to all our readers. Did you hear firecrackers go off at midnight? Have you gotten any li xi? (Or worse–have you had to give out any li xi?)
As most Vietnamese will know, 2011 is the Year of the Cat. But if you have Chinese, Korean, Thai or other Asian friends, it’s likely that they’ll wish you a happy year of the rabbit instead. Why is that? The last I checked, cats and rabbits are two distinct species, and cabbits remains the stuff of fiction. So how did Vietnam go about morphing rabbits into cats? Are we the only ones that celebrate the Year of the Cat?
According to Northwest Asian Weekly,
Though there are various explanations of why the cat replaced the rabbit in the Vietnamese zodiac, the most plausible and popular theory suggests that the word for rabbit in Chinese, mao, sounds like the word for cat in Vietnamese. Because the two words sound similar, the Vietnamese may have accidentally written down cat, instead of rabbit, when transcribing the Chinese zodiac.
A transcribing error that changed the course of Vietnamese history and culture? Perhaps, perhaps. Do you have any theories on why Vietnam celebrates the cat instead of the rabbit? Did you study Vietnamese history and know the definite answer? Let us know.
Regardless, have a happy new year–cats, rabbits, and what have you!
OneVietnam will be releasing a new version of the site for the new year soon, so stay tuned for that too.
There is an article on dantri.com.vn about why this year is the Cat Year with Vietnamese people, I translate briefly here. Hope this help.
“Chinese pronunciation for the cat is “mao” , Vietnamese pronunciation for Cat is “meo”, they are pretty the same because they are both originated from Ancient Chinese “Mao”. Long time ago, Chinese usually mistake the cat with the rabbit in writing and speaking. With Chinese people Rabbit is more meaningful than Cat, so they decided to put Rabbit on the ” 12 animals”.
Mean while with Vietnamese, Rabbit has no special features, they are only seen as gentle animals. Whereas, Cat is consider as “baby Tiger” and is the pet that is close to people’s life, they appear in the stories, paintings, idioms, proverbs, folk songs … Moreover, cats are known for helping people with the ability to catch mouse . Probably that is the reason why Vietnamese people remain the original sound “Mao” means Cat to put on “12 animals”.
Reuters quoted a famous passionate Animal species in Hanoi, Nguyen Bao Sinh : “The Vietnamese have changed the Cat instead of Rabbit because Rabbit is rodent. Meanwhile, the 12 animal already has a mouse also is a rodents. There should be a difference between 12 animals”
“Vietnamese usually said ” hate each other like cats and dogs. ” Differences between animals in the 12 animal has showed a great balance of yin and yang within the universe revolves, showing the harmonize of the oppositions and therefore, the cat is in 12 animals is a good thing and make the zodiac became more abundant, “says Nguyen Bao Sinh.