Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:
DOUGLAS A. JAFFE
~Author of Chasing Dragons~
A Chinese New Year Post: Where’s the kitty?
by Douglas Jaffe-2013
I want to thank Tina for kindly letting me contribute a post to her wonderful site.
Being as Chinese New Year has recently come and gone here in Hong Kong, I thought I’d write a post around this theme. As some of you may know, the year of the Dragon has ended and we are now in the year of the Snake! What this means depends on who you talk to, and there are no shortage of soothsayers and fortunetellers who will wax lyrical about what we can expect in the year ahead.
I want to thank Tina for kindly letting me contribute a post to her wonderful site.
Being as Chinese New Year has recently come and gone here in Hong Kong, I thought I’d write a post around this theme. As some of you may know, the year of the Dragon has ended and we are now in the year of the Snake! What this means depends on who you talk to, and there are no shortage of soothsayers and fortunetellers who will wax lyrical about what we can expect in the year ahead.
 |
| CC-Photo |
I will not go down this route but instead choose a topic that might be of more interest to Internet surfers, as it concerns cats. A cursory study of the Chinese zodiac will reveal that the domestic cat is not represented, just the tiger. This may seem out of sorts considering cats were revered by many ancient cultures, and in more modern times, have become Internet superstars. Nevertheless, they never made it into the zodiac and in the course of doing some research for one of my books; I actually dug around to see if I might find an explanation. There are various myths and stories as to why cats were excluded, but here are two that I found pretty amusing.
Story One: A long time ago, the cat and the rat were the best of friends. They were inseparable and even shared their food. One day, the cat learned that the Jade Emperor was going to select twelve animals to represent the twelve calendar years, and invited all animals to a party. The cat suggested to the rat that both of them should attend. When the day finally arrived, the cat told the rat, 'I am going to take a nap so that I will be well rested for the party. Would you please wake me when it's time to go?' 'No problem.' the rat replied, ‘I will wake you up when the time comes.'
As you can expect, the rat failed to wake the cat and was thus excluded from the zodiac. Two reasons are commonly given for the rat’s treachery – A. He believed himself too small to make it into the zodiac and felt that eliminating the cat would help his chances. B. He was worried because the cat was so handsome and elegant while he was so small and unsightly.
Story Two: One day the Jade Emperor organized a race to decide which animals would be included into the zodiac. The race required all animals to cross a wide river and the cat and the rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although weak swimmers, they were both highly intelligent. They decided that the best way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, overcome with a fierce competitiveness, the rat decided that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat has never forgiven the rat, and hates the water as well.
Sadly, rats do not have a comparable Internet fan base, so it is unlikely anyone reading this will have much sympathy for them. At least now, when your favorite furry feline decides to leave a dead rat at your doorstep, you will realize that this is not just a gift to a devoted owner, but the settling of a long and ancient score.
As you can expect, the rat failed to wake the cat and was thus excluded from the zodiac. Two reasons are commonly given for the rat’s treachery – A. He believed himself too small to make it into the zodiac and felt that eliminating the cat would help his chances. B. He was worried because the cat was so handsome and elegant while he was so small and unsightly.
Story Two: One day the Jade Emperor organized a race to decide which animals would be included into the zodiac. The race required all animals to cross a wide river and the cat and the rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although weak swimmers, they were both highly intelligent. They decided that the best way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, overcome with a fierce competitiveness, the rat decided that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat has never forgiven the rat, and hates the water as well.
Sadly, rats do not have a comparable Internet fan base, so it is unlikely anyone reading this will have much sympathy for them. At least now, when your favorite furry feline decides to leave a dead rat at your doorstep, you will realize that this is not just a gift to a devoted owner, but the settling of a long and ancient score.
Douglas Jaffe has been in Asia for most of the last two decades and originally came to the region from New York as a graduate student, studying in China and Taiwan. He has a dual Masters in Chinese Studies and International Affairs and speaks passable Chinese on a good day.
In recent years, Douglas has pursued his interest in writing fiction and has published his first novel, Chasing Dragons. A second book is currently in the works.
Giveaway
Today Douglas is giving away one eBook (version of choice) to a reader at TBRs. Please fill in the copter and a winner will be chosen March 16.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sebastian is the owner of a bookstore café in Hong Kong who provides informal counseling services to an array of offbeat characters. His quiet life is suddenly upended when he meets Chloe, and their relationship takes a startling turn, as it begins to parallel the relationship of a pair of mythical dragons from Chinese history. The lovers struggle with questions of mortality and immortality, before a choice is made that pulls them apart.
Thanks Douglas for being on the spotlight today. Find out more about this author at:
Facebook~Goodreads
Interesting info. Nice cover.
ReplyDelete