34 CHINESE METAPHORICAL ZOOLOGY 



tance, even in the year of the donkey and the month of 

 the horse (Si ¥• 0j M), or, as we should express it, "when 

 pigs begin to fly." When the weather is rainy, the flying 

 dragons are said to be in the sky (M at ^t 5c), and, under 

 similar meteorological conditions, the nine dragons are play- 

 ing in the water {% ft Wl jfc). When the earth-ox shifts his 

 burden (the earth) to the other shoulder (S& *¥ W M), what 

 could be a more natural result than an earthquake? This 

 bovine Atlas was referred to in the Chinese press at the time 

 of the Amoy earthquake. 



It will now be evident that the Chinese are certainly 

 adepts in the application of the law of association of ideas, 

 and when they see the saddle they think of the horse ( JL W 

 JS $$); even a nondescript article is immediately classified as 

 being neither donkey nor horse ( ^ H % M), or, in our 

 parlance, "neither flesh, fowl, nor good red herring." 



The earliest fable on record in Chinese history is probably 

 that of the oyster and the bird known as the oyster-catcher. 

 The politician Su Tax (H flt), of the 3rd century B.C., was 

 once advising the ruler of the State of Chao ( M ) to cease his 

 hostilities with the State of Yen ($5). He said, "this morn- 

 ing I was crossing the Eiver I ( f& ) when I saw an oyster 

 open its shell to sun itself. Immediately an oyster-catcher 

 thrust in its bill to eat the oyster, but the latter closed its 

 shell and held the bird fast. 'If it does not rain to-day or 

 to-morrow,' said the oyster-catcher, 'there will be a dead 

 oyster,' and 'if you don't get out of this by to-day or 

 to-morrow,' retorted the oyster, 'there will be a dead oyster- 

 catcher.' In the meantime up came a fisherman and 

 carried off both of them. I fear lest the State of Ch'in ( ifc) 

 should be our fisherman." 5 Hence references to the 

 quarrelling of the oyster and the oyster -catcher (f§ 4$ £, W) 

 are frequently made in the newspapers, implying that while 

 internal dissensions are rife in the country, it is possible that 

 outsiders may take the opportunity to walk in and seize any 

 available profits or advantages. The saying do not slaughter 

 the ploughing ox (tyl a£ $f 4* ) and thereby destroy the liveli- 

 hood of the people, might also be applied at the present time. 

 The government of China may be compared to a whirlpool, 

 since the more it changes, the more it is the same thing, 

 but it is to be hoped that all administrative difficulties will 

 eventually be solved, and the phoenix will roost upon the 

 wu-t'ung tree (M, fls In ffll), and happiness and concord will 

 replace disorder and distress.' 



5 From the Chan Kuo Ts l t (■&&&)• 



