Walking around the other side of the wall, I am attracted by a section explaining the characteristics of the ox. It says: "Cattle can bear hardships and stand up to hard work; their contribution always outweighs their demands. People have traditionally sung the praises of their lofty morals and noble characters. Cattle are mostly gentle, in spite of occasional testiness and stubbornness. However, these latter are not considered to be flaws. On the contrary, people believe that they add character to cattle." Reading this leads me to reflect that people born in the year of the ox are blessed with good characteristics – they are steady, solid, hard-working, stubborn, serious and introverted. I suddenly remember that Obama was born in the year of the ox, and Diana too, two people whom I respect very much. It seems that they inherited many of the positive characteristics of the ox.
Moments later, I hear a crowd of people talking about the year of something. Someone says "…the earliest of these was produced in 1949." I approach them and find a frame containing all the money our country has issued carrying the figure of the ox. The people around me are all elderly; noticing an old grandmother near me, I ask her if she ever saw any of this currency when she was younger. "No," she tells me, "because back in those days I was a young girl and had no idea of such things, but when I see this ox cash now, it brings back many old memories."
Looking at her, I can see she must be over 70 years old, so I ask her, in her advancing years, what does the year of the ox mean to her. Her answer surprises me – she tells me that for her the ox is only one of 12 zodiac animals, and it comes around once every 12 years, so everybody has his or her own understanding of the ox and the meaning of that year. I am impressed by her answer and find myself in full agreement with her. The perpetual meaning of the ox will never alter – it represents steadiness, loyalty, hard work, and stubbornness – but different people of different ages, 12, 24 or 36, will all have their own explanations and goals for each year of the ox.
