Page 101 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 94
offence to reject a wife (i.e. an espoused wife, not a concubine) except on one or another
of these grounds. A wife could divorce her husband if he had reviled her ancestors or had
murdered a member of her own family (in the wide sense). Divorce was legalised by
drawing up the requisite certificate.
Even today – and especially among the morally conservative peasantry – divorce rates
as the last way out of an intolerable situation. Where domestic strife has become habitual
the wife may prefer to pack her things and go home to her parents. Once she has been
divorced, a certain stigma attaches to her.
Nowadays, divorces like marriages have to be registered. A childless couple can seek
divorce, if both parties are in agreement. All they have to do is to go to the registrar and
make the necessary declaration of intent. If there are children in the family, attempts
are made to smooth things over; but where one partner does not expressly agree to
divorce, it is flatly refused.

Dog

gou

The dog is the eleventh creature in the Chinese zodiac; but that does nothing to help
the average dog in China, which has on the whole a pretty poor time. Its symbolic role in
the North of the country differs very widely from that in the South. In North China, paper
dogs used to be thrown into the water on the 5th day of the 5th month – a feast-day – so
that they should bite the evil spirits and drive them away. The dead were also given
paper dogs for their protection. Lunatics were washed with dog’s dirt in order to expel the
demons who had possessed the sufferer.
Symbolically, the dog was associated with the West. For this reason, in those parts of
China where dog-flesh was (and still is) eaten, it was permissible to do so in autumn and

winter, but not in summer. In Taiwan it is believed that dead dogs must be thrown into
the water; cats, on the other hand, should be hung up. Neither animal should be
buried, as it will turn into a demon. If you dream that a dog has bitten you, it means that
your ancestors want something to eat. Again, if someone is suspected of being a spirit, it
is enough to sprinkle him with dog’s blood – he will then appear in his real form. If a dog
runs towards you, it is a good sign: riches will be yours. The dog is regarded as the
companion of the god Er-lang, who purifies the world by ridding it of evil demons.
So much for the North. The dog is seen in a very different light in South and West
China, especially among the minority peoples who live there. In their folk-tales it is the
dog that brings rice to mankind. Further west, towards the Tibetan border, rice is
replaced in this legend by millet. In the province of Guangdong, the story of the
faithful dog is very popular. This is about a man who is said to have lived in the 3rd
century. One day, while on a journey, he lies down in a meadow and falls asleep: the
meadow catches fire, and the dog is unable to wake its master. So it keeps on running to
the river and bringing enough water to wet the grass round him to keep it from catching