Caveat:- This is all over the Chinese Internet. My rendition does not do the Chinese justice, I am sure. But it puts the 911 foolishness in the US to shame, especially since the 911 numerical conspiracy came after the fact: the Chinese numerical conspiracy came before the fact. Nevertheless. . .
There are five symbols for the Beijing Olympics: jingjing (panda), beibei (fish), huanhuan (fire), yingying (ship) and nini (swallow). These are coinciding with catastrophes and disasters. . .all happening on the number 8. To date there have been three disasters: the blizzard (beibei) of 1/25 (1+2+5 = 8); the Tibet riots (yingying) of 3/14; the Sichuan earthquake (jingjing) of 5/12.
There is one disaster remaining (huanhuan) and only two possible dates: 6/11 (my birthday) or 7/1.
Nini, the swallow, is propitious and a symbol of Beijing. So is the opening day of the Olympics propitious in Chinese superstition cosmology: 8/8/08 at 8 PM. That’s four 8’s. Very propitious indeed: great wealth. Businesses and people will pay thousands to buy phone numbers or license plates with four 8’s.
Or will this day of 8-8-8-8 be ironic? George W. Bush and the Western leaders and their bought patriots are certainly attempting to create a disaster on that day. And if it happens, the West will begin to blame China for allowing it to happen–even making it happen, as they have for everything that has gone awry the past year (2007-8), including natural disasters. How sad that racism and propaganda-inspired fear and loathing eclipse more intelligent reasoning in today’s world.
Still. . .what of the prescient superstition? Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Will it happen on my 61st birthday, 6/11? Will it be the first day of the second half of the year or–another way to look at it–at the mid-point of the year, day 183 (this being a leap year)?
Of course, we could look at huanhuan as having already happened, as from the very beginning of the running of the Olympic Torch on 4/4 there has been trouble. And that just leaves Beijing, 8/8/8/8. And my birthday is saved.
JAMES L. SECOR is a writer dramatist and professor of literature at Shaoxing University, Shaoxing China. He can be reached at znzfqlxskj@gmail.com.