Should Year of the Snake be Year of the Cat? Ancient Chinese mural raises questions
A tomb over 700 years old in China has a mural with a cat, not a snake, among the zodiac animals, recalling Vietnam’s Year of the Cat
If an ancient tomb mural in China is anything to go by, January 29, 2025, may mark the beginning of the Year of the Cat, not the Snake.
A copy of the mural, which portrays 12 anthropomorphised animals dressed in ancient bureaucratic attire, is on display at the Yuelu Academy, a prestigious institution of higher learning in Hunan province, central China, established during the Song dynasty (960–1279).
The mural has sparked discussion on Chinese social media over the past two weeks, with some users expressing disbelief that the snake may not be one of the original zodiac animals, while others began welcoming the “Year of the Cat”.
