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Post by z3n on Jan 28, 2006 0:54:51 GMT 10
Happy Chinese New Year everyone!  may you all have success in everything you do! and have a prosperous year of luck health and wealth ;D |
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Post by vividjazz on Jan 28, 2006 6:58:18 GMT 10
Year of the Dog.
Story from the Japan Times
Hachiko would go to the station every day with his master to see him off to work. In the evening, Hachiko would go to the station to greet his return, trudging through the throngs of commuters and arriving at the ticket gate a little worse for the wear -- hair matted down, and the occasional Nike tread mark imprinted on his paw where someone had stepped on him. But his master would pat him, ruffle his hair a bit to spruce him up, then pick him up and carry him back home so he wouldn't get trampled on.
One day when Hachiko went to the station, his master didn't get off the train. Hachiko figured he must have gone out drinking, and was perhaps passed out on a sidewalk somewhere. When his master still had not returned in the morning, Hachiko was a bit miffed, as he was getting pretty hungry. He negotiated the crowds back to Shibuya Station, getting trampled on numerous times, but his master wasn't there. Every day Hachiko battled the sea of commuters in hope his master would come back.
For a while, he managed to get by on the occasional free meal at the local dog cafe. One time, a woman at a dog boutique took pity on him when she saw him trying on different bright yellow sweaters in hope the crowds would see him and not step on him. She not only bought him a sweater but also one of those orange safety harnesses with reflectors. His new wardrobe seemed to work for a while, but then he went back to being trampled on.
With no one to take care of him, Hachiko became scrawny and unkempt. His paws were becoming flat from being stepped on so much. He was living on a steady diet of pant legs.
Every day for years and years, Hachiko went to the station and waited, each year becoming a little shorter and a little flatter as the crowds trampled, trompled and wompled on him. It soon became apparent to Hachiko that he was becoming a flat, horizontal dog, and that he was getting perilously close to the pavement. Finally, 10 years after his master had disappeared, someone finally told Hachiko that the reason his master had not returned was that he had died at his workplace. With this news, Hachiko cried, "I have been such a fool!" and dived straight under the shoe of the next pedestrian -- who happened to be a sumo wrestler -- and there he let out his last arf. He died facing west, the direction of Amidayorai, in the same spot where his master had left him.
When Hachiko arrived in paradise, Amidayorai was there to greet him. "Your master has been coming to the gates of paradise every day for 10 years looking for you! What took you so long?"
So that there will never be any more mixups on where to meet, a bronze statue of Hachiko was erected outside of Shibuya Station in 1934 and has served as a popular meeting spot there ever since.
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Post by TRoLL on Jan 28, 2006 7:27:05 GMT 10
wow...interesting story...is that for real?
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Post by vividjazz on Jan 28, 2006 7:47:34 GMT 10
As real as the dog that sat on the tucker box 5 miles from Gundagai. It would seem to be the Australian version of the same story.
The dog was guarding its master's tuckerbox and other possessions while he sought help from being bogged at a river crossing. The master, a bullocky, never returns but the dog continues to guard the tuckerbox until its death.
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Post by TRoLL on Jan 28, 2006 8:03:23 GMT 10
no i mean the statue
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ahcash
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Post by ahcash on Jan 28, 2006 8:59:25 GMT 10
Very interested story there... Is that a rel story... very interesting..
Happy CNY ...
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Post by kentris on Jan 28, 2006 9:19:33 GMT 10
As they say.
Kung hei fat choi, lay see dau loi ;D or something.....lmao
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Post by bnefit on Jan 28, 2006 11:03:49 GMT 10
i missed the statue when i was in shibuya then  anyway happy chinese new year to all! lots of goodies to eat now! ;D |
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Post by stevenkk on Jan 28, 2006 20:09:26 GMT 10
hi everyone happy CNY!!!! i was in japan and i have seen the statue and heard the story this is my version!! up to the point or the owner leaving the poor dog !! the master was to have told the dog to wait for his return !! while he was away the owner had collapsed and died from a heart attack !!  very sad !!! it could bring tears to your eyes !!! and so the dog waited and waited until!!! apparently people tried to feed it or cox it to leave but the dog stood fast on the spot and not taking food until it died of hunger and heartbreak at not seeing his master !!! people were so taken aback by the dogs loyalty that they errected the statue in its memory !!!! the reason why i know this was because when i went to Japan for a holiday after i graduated from Uni my friend (japanese) took me to it!!! i think i have a picture of it ill look for it and see if i am able to post it so all can see!!! fingers cross i find it !!! kung hei fat choi (happy new year) to everyone !!!! |
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Post by vividjazz on Jan 28, 2006 20:56:57 GMT 10
At what age does Ang Pao (red packets) stop for children? I know that once an adult (employed and or married) then they are given by children (now adults) to their parents.
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Post by vividjazz on Jan 28, 2006 21:03:12 GMT 10
Thought this might be interesting for those that didn't know.
A legend goes like this: about 1,000 years ago, a monster called Nian having a tiger body and a pair of wings, went around several villages to catch humans and eat them. Villagers could not figure out how to protect themselves so they consulted a sage to find a way out. The sage had observed the monster for some time and found that it would appear on the New Year's Eve. He, thus suggested the villagers gather together and chase the monster away. When the monster arrived at the village, it was driven away by the shouting and the sounds of drumbeat and firecrackers and never returned. After that, the villagers marked the next day as the beginning of the year which later was named after the monster "Nian" which means year.
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Post by z3n on Jan 28, 2006 21:15:24 GMT 10
The red pockets are given by married couples to the single unmarried people as some form of good luck.
i just got mine ;D more to come ;D ;D ;D
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Options
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S2K, EG9, GD3, ES, Alto, umm what else
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Post by Options on Jan 29, 2006 11:25:46 GMT 10
KUNG HEI FAT CHOY Wish everyone a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous Chinese New Year!!!    |
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Post by kentris on Jan 29, 2006 14:19:06 GMT 10
It is officialy CNY here in good ol' UK  . Hope you lot have fun and more red pockets (for those that aren't hitched yet ;D  ) Gonna be hectic in China Town today. :s |
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Post by bnefit on Jan 29, 2006 23:09:30 GMT 10
do you get public holidays for CNY in UK then?
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