AMDG
Happy (Chinese) New Year! Today begins the Year of the Dragon. It is also – for the first time in Philippino history – a national holiday here. Perhaps this is significant – a testament to the growing influence of China and Chinese ‘soft-power’ in the Pacific Rim? The US has exported is soft-power (cultural influence) through McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Denim Jeans and Hollywood all over the world. The UK punches above its weight particularly with Music (Adele and Jessie J are always on radios here at the moment!) Film and TV, (I was amazed to see how popular Johnnie English is here!). The success of British historical drama and comedy is well documented, but I’m not sure we should be so proud of our new global export – reality TV formats and talent shows! The British Based magazine Monacle produce a Soft-Power survey/ranking every year. China as an emerging super-power has a growing desire to project its image and increase its influence abroad. The lack of Chinese soft power has been analyzed brilliantly in the Economist – click here. It seems that the Chinese are looking for a figurehead – Confucius or Sun Tzu?
Today millions of Chinese – and Vietnamese and Koreans – say goodbye to the year of the rabbit and welcome the year of the dragon. The dragon is considered to be a symbol of power from heaven. Associated with the element of Fire – confidence, passion, intensity, excitement and unpredictable nature. But don’t be alarmed if you are an introvert – I was assured this morning by a Sinologist that each year is ‘qualified’ by one of the 5 Chinese elements – and this is a Water Dragon year – the element of Water will temper the fire of the dragon. It opens ‘dragons’ up to listening to others, which gives them the perspective to be better leaders! Good year for a US presidential election then….The twelve animals in the zodiac calendar ensure a 12-year cycle – so it is a special year in Asia for 12, 24, 36, 48 year olds etc Fireworks and firecrackers are purchased, homes are cleaned and dumplings prepared. This will be a fourteen-day celebration, welcoming wealth, longevity, and prosperity, and releasing any negative ‘chi’ from the past (new years resolutions!).
I predict that this year will also be a good year for Dragons in other ways – the Christmas release of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit – will introduce a new generation to Smaug the dragon. Also, the phenomenally popular George R R Martin‘s Fire and Ice series will surely grow, and with it the popularity of the great character Daenerys Taegerean – Mother of Dragons. Perhaps this is the year to buy shares in companies that make Dragon memorabilia – you heard it here first!
Geek alert: I confess that I am already on the third book of Martin’s seven-book cycle ….. one thing is true is that both Tolkien and Martin project huge cultural influence, fanatical fan bases, both entertaining, but soft power is about values and culture . ASoFaI is much bleaker than LOTR and so far I think lacks its nobility and depth.
But all this talk of Dragons is fantasy, right? It’s all myths, children’s stories in Tolkiens case or adult stories in Martin’s case? Well, think again. I was riveted last night, cradling a small glass of whisky to celebrate the Chinese New Year, as I listened to an Indonesia Jesuit tell me all about his encounters with the Komodo Dragon. That is one scary beast ….. can grow up to 3m’s long due to the evolutionary phenomenon of Island Gigantisism ….. is pretty fast…. has poisonous saliva (no fire breathing) …. can smell prey 6 miles away… even crocodiles are afraid of it! The ‘pièce de résistance’: they seem to be Parthenogenic (i.e. can reproduce asexually) – as was demonstrated by Flora of good old Chester Zoo! (according to this Wikipedia entry!).
Jesuit Priest from Liverpool, UK. Enthusiastic about too many things, Wilderness Seeker, Amateur Astronomer, LFC supporter and a bit lob-sided as you can see in my photo .
Schola Affectus 
Sounds like a good year for Ignatian then – a listening dragon. If so many people believe in them how can they not exist? I have one myself albeit smaller and bearded but he’s pretty good at the inscrutable look and tai chi (or is that cricket hunting?).
I agree with you re Martin’s books – they take their time developing but they get there in the end – authors are obviously paid by weight these days but then fantasy writers always were.
Happy New Year
Thanks for the comments – George Martin himself says he nearly killed himself after promising he would have the fifth book released within the year. They seem to be growing in length – which I think the Harry Potter books did too…. if I am not mistaken. I have just finished a Philipino detective story with a Jesuit as chief investigator – 150pages long…. I enjoyed it but it felt like a short story after Song of Ice and Fire!
Great post, thank you soo much
You are very welcome Dena – thanks for the interest!
Gong Xi Fa Cai to you – hope that’s spelt right.:-))
14 days of celebration even beats the Scots New Year celebrations which tend to go on for a full week.
The dragon I am thinking of today is the one in Shrek.
Shrek’s dragon – definately more European than Asian! Didn;t she marry the donkey?
Sorry bro, but ASoFaI gets my vote over LotR every time. While Tolkien’s sheer world-building ability has no peer (and his background in ancient languages helped), Martin’s characterisation is simply brilliant. There are no carricatures in Westeros – they’re all so… well, human. Every one of them is capable of despair, of blind self-justification or wanton cruelty; but every one of them is equally capable of redemption, of nobility.
In some ways, the virtue of characters like Tyrion or Jaime Lannister (and even Ned Stark – the most Tolkien-ish of Martin’s cast) is heroic precisely because they must choose it every single time. Of course both Tolkien and Martin are products of their time. Tolkien wrote in an era where right and wrong were clearly defined – hence the moral landscape of his universe has few shades of grey. Martin writes in our modern world of moral uncertainty and relativism. What is unusual about his vision is that good and evil still exist – but they must be sought.
With that one exception, I agree with everything you say. Happy New Year!
Hi Kensey – I have only just started book three – and things may improve! But for evil you still can’t beat Sauron, for pathetic corruption Gollum, for nobility Aragorn, for grace Galadriel, prophetic vulnerability Gandalf etc etc. Ned Stark comes across as ultimately foolish and conceited. Martins characters are all debased. – no one truly heroic yet – John snow, potential… maybe Danearys too….
Anyway the bottom line for me is how deeply cynical Martins world is ….. anyway sign up to goodreads.com – put me on as a friend – review the first two books and then we will continue this conversation….. and eventually it would be nice to bore each other senseless over a bottle of malt sitting a fire somewhere… when your back from Limerick and I have returned from Asia…. 🙂
Make mine a Macallan (unless you have learnt the recipe for some killer Philippino toddy!) 😉
Ned’s a hero, so’s Rhaegar. To some, Robert was a hero too…
Martin well knows that after the brief flush of fame, the rosepetals fall… One can scarcely be a hero all the time.
Aragorn did not strideforth with his birthright — a true noble would have claimed his kingship, for the sake of the people if nothing else. Aragorn’s one of the more flawed people in Tolkien (gollum too, though it seems like Tolkien waylaid the character from some sort of redemption arc)
Haven’t got to Rhaegar yet – only on book three. Still think Ned is heroic – but is (cynically) made to look foolish during his imprisonment and after his death. Compare him to Thomas More in a Man for All Seasons, when his daughter is sent into his cell to try and persuade him to accept the Kings Authority – now that isn’t fiction and that is heroic.
I think maybe a Tolkien v Martin comparison entry to blog maybe due…. at the risk of provoking fans. I too am a Martin fan – but with big reservations…. i think at best he is Tolkien for the jaded generation.
Even after several days into the new year, I am writing “rabbit” on my checks.
Ha Ha! I hope they are appreciating your humour in the community…… I think you’ll be alright in Dodoma as long as they don’t check your cheques too closely. (Two cultures divided by the same language)