A Stroll in Purple Bamboo Park, A Taste of Leisure Life

　　When someone mentions the Purple Bamboo Park, your first impression might be those elderly people doing morning exercise. Perhaps you don’t know that it used to be Chinese emperors’ temporary dwelling place and monastery. Now please follow me into the park!

　　Before entering the park, let me talk about how it got the name “Purple Bamboo”.

　　As far as I know, in the northwestern side of the park, there stood an imperial temple called “Purple Bamboo Temple in Bliss”，afterwards the government named the park after it. According to some historic records, the history of “Purple Bamboo Temple” could be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty, in both Ming and Qing Dynasties the temple was also the place where the imperial family took a rest and waited to transfer boats during their boat trip to the Western Hills. In the northeastern side of the park, an ancient stone wharf has been preserved up till now.

　　Nowadays this Purple Bamboo Park has become the first choice when residents nearby need to find a place for doing exercise. You can see people strolling or jogging down a pedestrian path, or ladies dancing together, or gentlemen singing loud, sometimes even ladies reading poems passionately and an old guy playing the erhu alone by the lake. Anyway you can feel the fun of life everywhere in the park.

　　Every morning in the park, there’ll be a spectacular scene of many strollers doing different kinds of exercises along the pedestrian paths. The water area covers about one third of the park’s whole area, forming a basic layout consisting of 3 lakes, 2 islands, 1 dike, 1 river and 1 water channel, landscaped with groves of bamboos as the main feature. You may feast your eyes on surrounding beautiful views while walking around the park, it’s totally like “Getting the Best of Both Worlds”.

　　I have a kind reminder: Remember to stretch fully every joint of your body before walking fast and vigorously. After you finish, do not take a rest immediately, just take 10 more minutes to stretch the lumbar and hip muscles in order for your metabolic waste to discharge properly.

　　Still remember the “Purple Bamboo Temple in Bliss” that I mentioned earlier? Now the temple still stands in the northwestern side where it used to be, it’s accessible down the pedestrian path on the right from the east entrance gate. In 1990, it was invaded and ransacked by the Eight-Nation Alliance. In Nov, 2010, on the basis of previous archaeological excavation, official restoration project got launched, the whole work completed in Aug, 2012.

　　The restored “Purple Bamboo Temple in Bliss” is comprised of 2 major constituent parts, one is a dwelling palace called Xinggong, the other is a monastery called Chanyuan, important constructions are Favor-returning House, Front Hall, Covered Corridor, East and West North-facing Houses, etc..

　　How do you like it so far? The Purple Bamboo Park, with such a profound cultural background and long history, is right here waiting for you. Just a pick a day to experience the fun and leisure for yourself!

　　Opening Hours: 6:00-20:00 (Winter); 6:30-21:00 (Summer)

　　Ticket Price: For Free

　　Address: #35, Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing

　　Traffic Routes: subway route #4, #9 to the Station of National Library of China, or bus route #332, 653, express bus route #105 to the Station of National Library of China

　　Tel: 010-88412894

　　Resource:www.beijing-haidian.com

Best places to see autumn leaves in Beijing

　　Situated in the east part of western hills, 28 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of the city, it is very large, made up of hills and forest covering 160 hectares (395.4 acres). Both its natural sceneries and cultural relics are abundant. Xianglu Peak (Incense Burner Peak), 557 meters (1827.4 feet) high, is its highest peak. 

　　Best places to see red leaves:

　　1. Tranquility Green Lake (Jingcui Lake) - Walk 5 minutes from the east gate, you will arrive in the lakeside. It is the nearest from the entrance. The lake area is surrounded by hills in three directions, so, you need to find a good point of view to see and take pictures.

　　Best time to see red leaves: circa October 25 - November 9

　　2. Fragrant Hills Temple (Xiangshan Temple)

　　The temple is in the south hill foot close to Shuangqing Villa. First built in Tang Dynasty, the temple is the origin of Fragrant Hill's culture. Be cautious of many steps in this area.

　　Best time to see red leaves: circa October 18 - November 2

　　3. Heshun Gate:

　　It is on the south hillside, 300 meters above the ground. It is close to the red leave trees.

　　Best time to see red leaves: circa October 25 - November 9

　　4. Yuhua Xiu:

　　This is the largest flat area in it and the road to it from the east gate is even, within 20 minutes' walk along the middle road. There is broad field of vision.

　　Best Time to see red leaves: October 18 - November 4

　　5. Xiangwu Ku (literally Fragrant Mist Cave)

　　It has classical garden environment on the hillside. It takes over half an hour to climb up to this place.

　　Best time to see red leaves: October 15 - November 4

　　Recommended red leaves watching routes:

　　Route 1: East gate - Jingcui Lake - Shuangqing Villa - Xiangshan Temple - Heshun Gate - hill top

　　Tips: The route takes about two hours. Need to climb up the hill.

　　Route 2: East gate - Yuhua Xiu - Xiangwu Ku - hill top

　　Tips: This is a meek route and suitable for family going together.

　　Route 3: North gate - cable car station - hill top

　　Tips: It is 5 minutes' walking distance from the north gate southward to the cable car. By cable, you can get to the hill top nearly 20 minutes later. You can have a bird-eye view of Biyun Temple (Temple of Azure Clouds) and overlook the red leaves afar.

 　　Source: Visit Haidian

Secrets of the Summer Palace

　　Why is the emperor's bedroom so small?

　　As you walk in the Forbidden City and look at the emperor’s studyroom and bedroom, you will be surprised to find that the emperor's living place is not much larger than ours, merely 10 square meters or so. Insleep, two drapes areput down in front of the Dragon bed, which makes the space narrower.

　　The whole country is the emperor’s, why being so ruthless on their own?

　　In fact, from the perspective of FengShui,the size of the house must be proportional to the number of people living there. That is, the bigger the house, the more people should stay, which is what we called “flourishing popularity”. Emperor’s flesh and blood is not much better than ordinary people,in order to save physical fitness, to achieve the purpose of health and longevity, so he could only live in a small space.

　　But is the reason really bekeeping smaller in order to prevent the "big house sucks popularity”?

　　Experts say that the real reason for smell bedroom is to keep warm. In Ming and Qing dynasties, the temperature is generally lower than minus 10 degree Celsius in winters in Beijing, much colder than the temperature in globe warming. The characteristics of the northern residential houses is also small and narrow, the size is moderate and the sun can shine into the room making the main room warm in winters and cool in summers, courtyard is a place for outdoor activities.Thus, the emperor's space is not just that little bedroom, but the whole courtyard.

　　What is the secret of the Nine-Dragon Screen in the National Palace Museum?

　　The Nine-Dragon Screen was built in the 37th year in Qianlong period Qing dynasty, outside Ningshou Palace. In the middle, the dragon is called The Dragon, made by yellow glazed tiles, representing the emperor himself. therefore, nine and five together, is the symbol of respect.

　　Different colors of dragons on both sides of the screen called ascend dragon and descend dragon, representing the Eight Banners. Therefore, the Nine-Dragon Screen was not casually built, but with meanings.

　　However, there is a shocking secret hidden in the screen. The third white dragon from the east, look closely at the abdomen, is there a tile different from the rest? It is not because of the delayed maintenance that caused color distortion, but it is not a glazed tile after all. Isn’t that shocking? At that time, it was a death penalty. Who dared to deceive the emperor!

　　It is said that when Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of the Nine Dragon Wall, only gave a very short time, and burning different colors of glasses was not a simple matter back then, each piece of glass acquireddifferentsoils, furnace and different burning time to make the color even. As all artisans working days and nights, one accidentally broke one piece of white glass. This was such a disaster, if they were to remake the piece, it would take more time so that the deadline would be missed and it was a death penalty.

　　As the situation was heading nowhere, a man named Ma Chunde came up with a brilliant idea, which was to carve a dragon abdominal shaped piece using a Nanmu and paint it white. You would not recognize it if you are not a professional. By this way, Emperor Qianlong was cheated by them and also, they escaped from death.

　　Nowadays, the fake glaze is still there in the dragon’s abdomen. You would never find out if it was not for long-time color distortion.

　　Why there are seventeen holes in the Seventeen-Arch bridge?

　　Walking into the Summer Palace, you will see a very long bridge-the Seventeen Arch Bridge. It is said that when the bridge was building, it was pictured as the turtle neck shape. And the two ends, the Kuoru Pavilion and South Lake Island are equivalent to the shell and head, meaning longevity.

　　Why was it built with seventeen arches?

　　Looking closely, what do you see? Among the 17 arches, the middle one is the biggest. Counting to the sides, there are eight pairs of small holes. These eight pairs plus the middle one equals the number nine.

　　With the same meaning of the Nine-Dragon Wall, nine also means the emperor, so Seventeen Holes Bridge design is symbolic for the emperor.

　　Moreover, in order to make a 150-meter-long bridge stand across the Kunming lake, the architects must also had taken full account of a variety of architectural, mechanical and other factors. When you look carefully, you will always find extraordinary traits.

　　There is a birthday peach in the Summer Palace?

　　To the Summer Palace visitors, few people know that its layout implied "longevity" pattern.

　　According to the architectural designer whose family had served the royal family for seven generations, when they were building the Summer Palace for the empress Cixi’s birthday, the emperor ordered to reflect “blessing, position and longevity” in the design. The 7th generation of house Lei, Lei Tingchang came up a brilliant idea to complete the task.

　　He designed an artificial lake that was dug into a peach shape. In the plain ground you cannot see the whole picture. But looking from the Longevity Hill, a birthday peach is right in front of you. The Seventeen Holes Bridge is connecting the island, which was designed into a turtle shape. The bridge is the turtle neck, meaning longevity. As for the word "blessing", Lei Tingchang made the two sides of Fuxiang Chamber the shape of bat wings, together all makes it a bat. Bat pronounces the same as “blessing”, so matching the meanings.

　　What is the secret of the twelve bronze animal fountainheads in the Old Summer Palace?

　　The twelve bronze animal fountainheads were designed and made by Italian Giuseppe Castiglione in Qianlong period, Qing dynasty. The bronze statues are not only ornaments but also a part of the fountain outside Haiyan Room.This fountain is not an ordinary fountain, but anautomatically water timer- “water clock”.

　　The twelve animal heads have bodies made out of stone, wearing robes. The heads are realistic style. They are so exquisite that the shrinks and face hairs are perfectly detailed. Red bronze was selected to build the animal heads for its deep appearance color, fine material that would not rust for centuries.

　　As we all know, the ancients divided the day into twelve hours, respectively corresponding to the twelve Chinese zodiac, and those twelve heads is the first twelve animals in line with the ancient way of timing. According to historical records, the Old Summer Palace Zodiac animal statue was "eight" -shaped scattered on both sides of the fountain stone platform, each animal is a fountain trigger. Every hour, the corresponding animals will be spitting water out of the mouthfor Hour. until noon, twelve animals spit water all together and it is spectacular. This special clock with the Zodiac statue spitting wateras times is world-famous.

　　It is worth mentioning that the original Castiglione was to build a naked female sculpture with Western characteristics, butemperorQianlong considered that was contrary to China's ethics, so ordered to redesign, and now we have this zodiac statue.

 　　Source: http://www.beijing-haidian.com/

The Fragrant Hills Park in Beijing

Fragrant Hills Park covers a large area with abundant natural sceneries and cultural relics. Situated in the east part of western hills, 17 miles (28 kilometers) northwest of Beijing City[Haidian district], it is made up of hills and forest which covers 400 acres (162 hectares), with the Xianglu Peak (Incense Burner Peak), 1,830 feet (558 meters) high, which is its highest peak.

　　In 1186 in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), Fragrant Hills Park was first built and later in the Yuan and Ming dynasties was extended to a large scale.  In 1745, Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) ordered people to build many new halls, pavilions and gardens and gave the Park a new name, Jingyi Garden (Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure).  In 1860 and 1900 after the Summer Palace and the Yuanming Yuan (the Old Summer Palace) were unfortunately set on fire, foreign troops damaged lots of relics in the Fragrant Hills.  Since 1949, under restoration and development by Chinese government for half a century, it has been regarded as one of the ten most famous parks in Beijing City.

The red smoke tree leaves over the mountains is the most spectacular natural scenery in the Fragrant Hills Park. When autumn arrives, fiery red leaves blanket the entire mountain. Thousands of visitors come to it every year. People can take the cable cars to see the beautiful scenes. 

There are two main routes for visitors to explore the park

The first one is to go along the north route, where visitors will see Spectacles Lake (Yanjing Lake), Study of Reading Heart (Jianxin Zhai), Bright Temple (Zhao Miao), etc. Spectacles Lake is a lake divided half by a bridge. Study of Reading Heart was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was noted as the park inside it. Bright Temple is a large Tibetan style lamasery complex built in 1780 as the residence for the sixth Panchen Lama during his visits to Emperor Qianlong. Buildings in the complex have partially been burned down. Among the surviving treasures are a majestic glazed-tiled archway in front of the complex, a Tibetan style terrace and a glazed-tiled pagoda. Bells hung on the eaves of the pagoda chime in breeze.

　　The second route takes visitors to the south area of Fragrant Hills Park. Main attractions along the route include Tranquility Green Lake (Jingcui Lake), Shuangqing Villa, Fragrant Temple, Incense Burner Peak, etc. This route is a little hard for the highest peak, Incense Burner Peak. However it is worthwhile to try. One of the 'must see' points of interest is the Shuangqing Villa, which is attractive not for its natural beauty but more for its place in Chinese history - it was once the residence of Chairman Mao Zedong as well as an early sight for the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

The alluring beauty of it for you to appreciate all it has to offer.

Recommended red leaves watching routes: 

　　Route 1: East gate - Jingcui Lake - Shuangqing Villa - Xiangshan Temple - Heshun Gate - hill top

　　Tips: The route takes about two hours. Need to climb up the hill.

　　Route 2: East gate - Yuhua Xiu - Xiangwu Ku - hill top

　　Tips: This is a meek route and suitable for family going together.

　　Route 3: North gate - cable car station - hill top

　　Tips: It is 5 minutes' walking distance from the north gate southward to the cable car. By cable, you can get to the hill top nearly 20 minutes later. You can have a bird-eye view of Biyun Temple (Temple of Azure Clouds) and overlook the red leaves afar.

　　Transportation:

　　By Bus:

　　Take bus 563, 318, 360 Express, 714, 698, 331, 360, 696, 630 and get off at Xiang Shan Station.

　　By Subway:

　　Take Subway Line 4 to Beigongmen Station and get off from Exit A. Then transfer to bus 331 or 696 to Xiangshan Station.

　　Tickets:Admission Fee:

　　Apr.1 to Nov.15: CNY 10; Nov.16 to Mar.31: CNY 5

 

　　Biyun Temple: CNY10

　　Cable Car: CNY 60 for single trip (CNY 20 for children below 1.2 meters)

　　Opening Hours:April 1 - June 30: 06:00 to 18:30

　　July 1 - August 31: 06:00 to 19:00

　　September 1 - November 15: 06:00 to 18:30

　　November 16 - March 31: 06:00 to 18:00

        Resource:www.beijing-haidian.com

A Bite of Haidian - Beijing Food - Hot Pot

Where can I find the most authentic Chinese imperial food? 

Which restaurant in Haidian District has the best Sichuan/Beijing style hot pot? 

What are the most recommended Beijing snacks? 

Check here, it got all the answers! Don't forget to share it with your friends in Beijing!

"A Bite of Haidian"

7 Tips For Visiting The Summer Palace

　　Source: http://www.beijing-haidian.com/2016/0113/35296.html

　 Plan your Beijing Tour? Summer Palace was a royal palace in later Qing Dynasty, only secondary to the Forbidden City (now the Palace Museum). Summer Palace is actually not just a royal palace where once Princess Dowager Cixi and the emperor lived and handled court affairs, accepted laudations and received foreign diplomats during their stay in the Summer Palace. It also epitomizes classical Chinese architecture, in terms of both garden design and construction. It is the largest royal garden in Beijing, now a good retreat for holiday makers.

　　Tip # 01: How to time your visit

　　Normally 2-3 hours are needed to walk around Summer Palace itself. With your time on the city transportation included, you are advised to have allocate at least half day in visiting Summer Palace. Summer Palace presents itself with different views for different seasons.Winter sees people skiing on the Kunming Lake; Spring time finds people breathe under fresh trees and flowers; Summer time often sees Summer Palace in a foggy day like a beautiful “water and mountain” Chinese scroll painting. Autumn is the best time walking around Summer Palace, clear and blue sky with comfortable weather.

　　Tip # 02: How to get to Summer Palace Metro Line

　　1. Subway Line 4:

　　Take subway line 4 to the northest direction and get off at the last but one of Beigongmen (北宫门) and exit from Exit D and walk to the west, soon you will see the north gate ( Beigongmen Gate )to Summer Palace 颐和园 (entrance fee:RMB30) on your left side.

　　2. Subway Line 10

　　Take subway line 10 to Bagou station at the end of Line 10, and then get a taxi from outside the station to the New Palace Gate (新建宫门). Or you may just walk for about 1.5km from Bagou Station to the New Palace Gate. Get off Bagou Station, follow your nose, you will meet a river, then turn right and walk along the river bank till the New Palace Gate of Summer Palace. If confused upon which way to go upon leaving the subway, just follow the crowd.

　　Public Bus:

　　Buses via the East Gate of the Summer Palace (颐和园正门, 东宫门)

　　Bus 330、331、332、346、394、712、718、726、732、737、801、808、817、826

　　Buses via the North Gate of the Summer Palace (北宫门)

　　Bus 303、330、331、346、375、384、393、634、716、718、737、801、808、817、834、Express 5

　　Buses via the South Gate of the Summer Palace (新建宫门)

　　Bus 374、437、481、952、704、992

　　Taxi Fare:

　　A taxi from Beijing city center will cost about RMB 80 and take about 50 minutes without much traffic. As you finish your tour and exit, you will find some taxi drviers are reluctant or even refuse to use the meter, only do a set rate, and most don’t want to go all the way back to Beijing at all, so this can be troublesome.

　　Tip # 03: Buy a correct entrance ticket

　　There are two kinds of tickets – Entrance ticket for the garden-like complex and through ticketboth for the complex itself also attractions inside the Summer Palace complex.

　　The ticket prices are divided onto two categories – Low Season ad Peak Season.

　　Note:

　　1. You are advised to buy entrance tickets instead of through tickets.

　　2. Once you enter the park of Summer Palace and are also interested in some of the paid attractions inside the park, you may purchase a separate admission ticket one by one.

　　3. Students enjoy half prices.

　　4. Children under 1.2m high are free of charge.

　　Tip # 04: Choose the right entrance gate and tour route

　　So there are three main entrances to Summer Palace – East Palace Gate (the main gate), North Palace Gate and New Palace Gate (south gate). You should get to know the gate you will go through, especially when you take a taxi or bus. Entering Summer Palace via the different three gates, you will have three different tour routes visiting Summer Palace.

　　Starting from New Palace Gate (south gate) Loop Line Route: New Palace Gate – Walk north along East Dyke – the former Court Area (the East Palace Gate, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity…) – Long Corridor – Longevity Hill – Marble Boat – Ferry Boat and back to New Palace Gate (loop line)

　　Starting from East Palace Gate Route: East Palace Gate – the former Court Area (the East Palace Gate, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity…) – Long Corridor – Longevity Hill – Marble Boat – Ferry Boat – New Palace Gate

　　Starting from North Palace Gate: North Palace Gate – Suzhou Street – Marble Boat – Longevity Hill – Long Corridor – the former court area – East Palace Gate

　　Tip # 05: Familiar with its 3-part layout

　　The three tour routes are centered around the three main parts in Summer Palace:

　　The Former Court Area; a royal palace where once Princess Dowager Cixi and the emperor lived and handled court affairs, accepted laudations and received foreign diplomats during their stay in the Summer Palace.

　　Long Corridor and Longevity Hill; The second part features the Long Corridor, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Hall of the Sea of Wisdom, the Back Lake, the Suzhou Market and Longevity Hill.

　　Kunming Lake and Nanhu Isle: The last part is Kunming Lake, which consists of the Marble Boat, Nanhu Island, the Bronze Ox and the beautiful 17-Arch Bridge.

　　Tip # 06: Prepare for a 2-3-hour outdoor sightseeing

　　Visiting Summer Palace needs some a little bit strong legs with a lot walking since Summer Palace is huge. Dress for the Hot or cold weather. The summer in Beijing could be humid and closed, sometimes extremely hot.

　　Also winter could be very cold. So be well prepared for the uncomfortable weather both in winter and summer. You are advised to wear your most comfortable shoes. It’s a long walk! Food choice in the complex is poor – typical fast food and snacks. So bring your own.

　　Tip # 07: Get to know the official notice to the visitors

　　1. No visitors are allowed to cross, climb, smoke, swim, skate, fish, spit, foul and litter and so on.

　　2. No visitors are allowed to camp, cook, fish, capture animals and dig plants inside.

　　3. No visitors are allowed to paint and carve on the buildings, ground, stone, facility and tree, and to pick the flowers and spoil the lawn and trees.

　　4. The north of pavilion of Wenchang and the east of Jiehu Bridge are fist-level fire-proof non-smoking

　　5. Expect for hand-powered wheelchairs and baby carriers used by the aged, the disabled, and children, any other vehicle are not allowed to enter without any permission.

　　6. The professional camera equipments are not allowed to use inside without any permission.

　　7. Without any permission, don’t perform, sing and make a noise so as to influence and disturb other visitors.

　　8. The tour guides inside must have guide qualification.

　　Tip # 08: Opening Time:

　　High Season (From April 1 to Oct. 31)

　　Open: 6:30

　　Tickets stop selling at 18:00;

　　Close: 20:00

　　Low Season (From Nov. 1 to Mar. 31 next year)

　　Open: 7:00

　　Tickets stop selling at 17:00;

　　Close: 19：00

　　After the tickets stop selling, the visitors are not allowed to enter, and to leave on time.

Discover more about Haidian District and Beijing's imperial gardens, please visit → http://www.beijing-haidian.com

【Chinese Tradition】Snakes in Chinese Mythology

　　Snakes (also known as serpents) are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are various myths, legends, and folk tales about snakes.

　　Discover more about Chinese tradition→http://www.beijing-haidian.com/travelinfo/

　　Snakes often appear in myth, religion, legend, or tales as fantastic beings unlike any possible real snake, often having a mix of snake with other body parts, such as having a human head, or magical abilities, such as shape shifting.

　　One famous snake that was able to transform back and forth between a snake and a human being was Madam White Snake in the Legend of the White Snake.

　　Other snakes or snakelike beings sometimes include deities, such as Fuxi and Nüwa and Gong Gong. Sometimes Fuxi and Nuwa are described as snakes with human heads and sometimes as humans with dragon or serpent tails.

　　In ancient China, some of the river gods which were worshiped were depicted in the form of some sort of snake or snakelike being.

　　In Chinese culture mythologized snakes and snakelike beings have various roles, including the calendar system, poetry, and literature.

　　Zodiacal snake

　　In Chinese culture, years of the Snake are sixth in the cycle, following the Dragon Years, and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Snake Year actually begins.

　　Snake years include: 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025. The 12 "zodiacal" (that is, yearly) animals recur in a cycle of sixty years, with each animal occurring five times within the 60-year cycle, but with different aspects each of those 5 times.

　　Thus, 2013 is a year of the yin water Snake, and actually starts on February 10, 2013 and lasts through January 30, 2014. The previous year of the yin water Snake was 1953.

　　In Thai culture, the year of the Snake is instead the year of the little Snake, and the year of the Dragon is the year of the big Snake.

　　According to one mythical legend, there is a reason for the order of the 12 animals in the 12-year cycle. The story goes that a race was held to cross a great river, and the order of the animals in the cycle was based upon their order in finishing the race.

　　In this story, the Snake compensated for not being the best swimmer by hitching a hidden ride on the Horse's hoof, and when the Horse was just about to cross the finish line, jumping out, scaring the Horse, and thus edging it out for sixth place.

　　The same 12 animals are also used to symbolize the cycle of hours in the day, each being associated with a two-hour time period. The "hour" of the Snake is 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., the time when the sun warms up the earth, and Snakes slither out of their holes.

　　The reason the animal signs are referred to as "zodiacal" is because a person's personality is said to be influenced by the animal sign(s) ruling the time of birth, together with elemental aspect of that animal sign within the sexegenary (60 year) cycle.

　　Similarly, the year governed by a particular animal sign is supposed to be characterized by it, with the effects particularly strong for people who were born in a year governed by the same animal sign.

　　The "sudden striker" snake of Sunzi's Art of War that was supposed to be able to fight with both head and tail, and was used as a simile for how a general who is expert at military deployment does so. The Sudden Striker snake supposedly lived on "Mount Ch'ang": (Roger T. Ames believes this to have been Mount Heng, but written with a different character to avoid a naming taboo on the given name of Han Wendi).