Last week I heard a couple of interesting superstitions from some friends in China. Both are related to the fact that China is having a bad year in 2008, with natural disasters, accidents and some awful international press leading up to the Olympics.

Five years

One interesting theory circulating the internet suggests that there is a repeating pattern of disaster that happens every five years in China. So:

• 1993 - Jiang Ze Min steps down as leader of the communist party. At the same time, massive inflation creates troubled times for many, and a huge rise in social unrest begins.
• 1998 - summer floods hit China, killing over 3500 and leaving up to 14 million people homeless.
• 2003 - the SARS epidemic cripples the country, with widespread fear of infection and panic.
• 2008 - a series of disasters, starting with the winter snow storms, trouble with the Olympic torch, a tragic train crash in Shandong Province, and finally the earthquake in Sichuan Province.

The number 8

Typically, the number 8 is considered very lucky in China. The sound for 8 (八 - ba) is similar to the sound for “make a fortune” (发财 - fa cai), so it represents good luck and wealth. The Olympics will commence on 2008.8.8, making that date an auspicious date to Chinese numerologists.

However, one sinister contradictory pattern has emerged following the string of disasters that have happened this year - all of the dates add up to 8:

• Jan 25th (01.25) - snow storms hit China, causing weeks of disruption to transport and infrastructure during the critical Spring Festival period.
• March 14th (03.14) - riots in Tibet cause destruction of property, deaths and huge social unrest.
• May 12th (05.12) - an earthquake hits Sichuan province, killing over 60,000 and displacing over a million people.

Another interesting twist relates to traditional Chinese philosophy. According to Confucious and other ancient scholars, the world consists of three parts - heaven, earth and man. The disasters above relate directly to heaven (snowstorms), earth (earthquake) and man (riots).

The Olympic mascots

The painfully cute Olympic mascots all carry potent symbols of Chinese culture and diversity (see picture below). Similarly, each also represents one of the five elements critical in Chinese philosophy (earth, fire, water, wood and metal). However, many people have noticed a mysterious correlation between the symbols and the disasters across China in 2008:

• BeiBei (blue) - carries a symbol of a fish on his head. In January this year, Hunan Province, also known as the land of fish, suffered greatly during the snowstorms which killed over 60 and caused huge disruption.
• JingJing (black and white) - a symbol of the Sichuan Panda. Sichuan was recently struck by a devastating earthquake.
• HuanHuan (red) - carries a flame on his head. As the Olympic torch travelled the world, it encountered disruption and protests in foreign capitals.
• YingYing (orange) - a symbol of the Tibetan antelope. As we all know, Tibet saw riots and violence in March this year.
• NiNi (green) - represents the swallow, native to Shandong. Shandong was witness to a terrible train crash in April this year.

Can it all be true?

Although obviously just superstitions and remarkable correlations, they are interesting none-the-less. Chinese art and culture is perhaps more rich in terms of symbolism than Western counterparts, so imaginative constructions like this are quite popular over here. Most of these superstitions are started on the internet or in chain emails, so perhaps also just serve to entertain and mystify rather than make any serious proposition.