"Venus will be in retrograde motion soon, so you'd better be
careful about your finances."
"You're a typical Aquarius girl – superstitious and easily
swayed."
"You Leo girls are oversensitive and stubborn, so forget it! It
was predicted that I'd fight over small problems this week."
The above is part of a conversation overheard between two girl
students in a Beijing university dormitory. It supports the
findings of a recent survey jointly conducted by China Youth
Daily and www.sina.com.cn that shows an increasing number of
Chinese people are now interested in Western astrology.
Among the 3,016 people surveyed, 92.4 percent reported
predictions from the movements of the constellations; 71.6 percent
had an interest in the Chinese zodiac; and 66 percent knew more about
themselves via blood type tests.
With the popularization of the Internet, Western astrology is
more readily available and accepted by many, especially young
people, the survey said. Xiao Ling, a middle school girl, refused
an interview when she learned the China Youth Daily
reporter was a Pisces. "Oh, forget it! Pisces people are my sworn
enemies," she exclaimed.
The girl's attitude is in line with many of those interviewed,
with 16.3 believing in astrology absolutely, 41.5 percent thinking
of it as "a way of entertainment," 67.3 percent taking it as an
occasional reference in their lives, and 16.4 percent totally
dismissing it.
The results of the investigation and views of experts in popular
science seem to coincide. Li Daguang, a professor from the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, has been engaged in the study of horoscopes
for many years.
"The horoscope has nothing directly to do with people's
scientific qualities," Prof. Li said. "As Hollywood movies can
present people with beautiful imagery, the emergence of forecasting
with horoscopes reflects people's psychological needs under modern
social conditions."
"The information given may seem incomprehensible, but is often
closely related to people's interests, which can raise their
spirits even if they are far from convinced of the validity of the
predictions," Prof. Li added. The survey shows that 72.4 percent
are "eager to have a better understanding of themselves" through
astrology, while 52.5 percent merely think of it as "amusing."
These form the two biggest motivations for people to study their
horoscopes.
"The fierce competition and fast pace of life aggravate people's
psychological pressures. They have to look for various ways to
obtain spiritual sustenance and studying their horoscope is one
means of this," said Prof. Li.
Liu Jia, a professor from the Beijing Normal University,
believes that using horoscopes is a response to people's
difficulties in adapting to the rapidly changing environment and
the complications of social association. "This is especially true
among young people who are not familiar with the ways of the world.
As they grow older and become experienced in social association,
the frequency of studying astrology and relying on it will decrease
to some extent," Prof. Liu predicted.
Prof. Li Daguang added that the horoscope originated from
foreign countries several hundred years ago. The fact that the
generally acknowledged "pseudo-science" still prevails is because
foreigners just see it as "something amusing" instead of a serious
science.
"Take, for example, the United States, a country in the top
ranks of scientific study, where the number of people who regularly
study their horoscopes is several times greater than China," Prof.
Li said.
Although many of those interviewed engaged and believed in
astrology to a certain extent, most still thought that "one's
destiny is in one's own hands and working hard can change
everything;" and "sincere and active exchanges and association are
the basic means of gaining better understanding of oneself and
others."
Prof. Li worried that the astrological predictions, which have
absolutely no scientific basis, still had the ability to "mislead"
some people.
"While permitting the existence of different voices, we should
give the people, especially juveniles, rational guidance to develop
their scientific views and outlook on life. Once scientific
education is popularized, these astrological predictions will
become merely a kind of entertainment style."
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, August 10, 2007)