Page 66 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

C

Cakes

gao

Gao is one of several kinds of cakes which are specially eaten at New Year festivities
because nian-gao = ‘year-cake’ can also mean ‘May you rise in rank (gao) every year!’
At lunar festivals it is customary to eat gourd cakes.
Such cakes are made at home, unless there is mourning in the family. This means that
it is only to friends who are in mourning that cakes may be sent as gifts.

Calendar

li

Geared as it is to the revolution of the earth round the sun, the Western calendar is a
purely solar calendar. The old Chinese calendar, on the other hand, was basically related
to the movements of the moon, but regulated when necessary with reference to the sun.
The calendar ‘year’ had 12 months of 29 or 30 days each, amounting in all to 354 days:
but as this did not fit in with the solar period, an intercalary thirteenth had to be
inserted seven times in a 19-year cycle (cf. the metonic cycle of the ancient Greeks).

A lunar calendar of this kind has certain advantages. For one thing, it is always
possible to tell what day of the month it is from the phase of the moon. Every month
begins with the new moon. Chinese seasonal feast-days and holidays are all
connected with phases of the moon, especially full moon as then the nights are brighter.
From the farmer’s point of view, however, the lunar calendar is not so attractive, as it
does not correspond accurately to the seasons: indeed, the discrepancy can be as much as
two weeks. The farmer’s needs are met in special ‘almanacs’ which give the days in both
notations – the Chinese and the modern European – plus all the information he needs for
his work, and a great deal more besides. Thus, along with useful tips – for example, that
autumn is the best time for felling trees, repairing the house and doing other things for
which there was no time in the busy season – there are chapters on medicines and
cures for sickness, ringing in the ears, twitching of the eye, interpretation of dreams, good
and bad omens. From such an almanac we can learn on which day we should get a hair-
cut or do the washing, get married or buried, or go on a journey. These almanacs enjoy
great popularity in Taiwan. On some days, the roads are full of wedding processions; on