Vietnam : Rabbit is a Cat
How the Chinese rabbit became a cat in Vietnam
Feb 3, 2011
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Festive lunar Year of the Cat statues are displayed for sale on a street in Hanoi.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HANOI - WHILE much of Asia celebrates the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam is striking a note of independence from the dominance of Chinese culture and marking the beginning of the Year of the Cat.
The two communist countries remain ideological allies and have endorsed a similar transition to a market-oriented economy.
But their relationship evokes strong emotions and contradictions in Vietnam, where many bitterly recall 1,000 years of Chinese occupation and, more recently, a 1979 border war.
While the smaller nation has held onto many Chinese words, customs and traditions, it still feels a strong need to set itself apart from its giant neighbour.
The two countries share 10 of the zodiac calendar's 12 signs- the rat, tiger, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. But the Vietnamese replace the rabbit with the cat and the ox with the buffalo.
Exactly why they opted for different animals remains unclear, but several scholars say the split can be traced back to the founding legends of the zodiac calendar.
straitstimes.com
