The Story of the Twelve Animals of the Korean Zodiac
Sheep
영상
Scenario
# 1 Main title: Sheep
# 2 The Sheep is the eighth animal of the twelve zodiac animals. The Sheep guards the direction south-southwest. Sheep Hours are from 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Sheep Month corresponds to the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Among the twelve zodiac animals, the sheep is considered a mild, simple, and peaceful animal.
# 3 The origin of sheep: The sheep travels in pack, and its natural instinct is to flee, not fight. In Korea, sheep was not common, but records on the early species were found. In the first year of the reign of Baekje Dynasty's King Beop (法王, 599〜600), a camel from Baekje, a donkey, two sheep, and one pheasant were sent to Japan. In the 12th year of the reign of Silla Dynasty's King Heondeok, two black male sheep, four white sheep, two goats, and one duck were sent from Silla. These records suggest that sheep and goats had existed during the Three Kingdoms period.
# 4 The ecology of sheep and comparison with goats: The natural habitat of sheep is usually in the alpine region, and it feeds on fresh grass. Both sheep and goat (or ram) were used in the twelve zodiac animals; in a strict sense, however, they are different species. The sheep has soft, curly hair and soft, fatty skin, whereas the goat has straight, coarse hair and rough skin with not much fat. Sheep have no horns, but most goats have horns.
# 5 A legend about the Sheep and its interpretation: One of the episodes includes a dream by King Taejo Yi Seong-gye. While living in a remote village, Yi Seong-gye dreamed of catching a sheep, but its horn and tail fell off. Upon hearing about the dream, Great Master Muhak (無學大師), the enlightened Buddhist monk, interpreted the meaning to Yi: "In Chinese character, ‘sheep (未)’ without a horn and a tail leaves the character ‘king (王),’ so you will become king." Later, Yi Seong-gye became the founding king of the Joseon dynasty, and his dream about a sheep was interpreted as auspicious. In fact, the character is associated with good meanings only. As found in other Chinese characters, such as "good (善)," "beautiful (美)," "righteous (義)," the animal or character "yang," or sheep, must be a positive sign with auspicious meaning.
# 6 Relics associated with the Sheep: Relics associated with the Sheep were found in a number of fields. The Sheep was often part of guardian gods protecting tombs with its image highlighted in decorative objects. Viewed as mild, virtuous, and patient, the Sheep was obviously very much a part of Koreans in many areas. Among paintings featuring the Sheep, the “Painting of the Sheep in Jinhua (金華鞭羊圖)” by Gim Hong-do is most famous. Legend has it that, upon finding a 15-year-old boy to be very good-hearted and virtuous, the mountain god allowed him to become enlightened. Thus, Huang Daxian (黃初平) herded sheep for 40 years without ever growing old. By the time his older brother Huang Cohei (黃初起) found him, Huang Daxian was at the level of transforming a rock into a sheep. Both brothers attained enlightenment to become Taoist deities.
# 7 Exhibitions on sheep: In celebration of the Year of the Sheep in 2015, the National Folk Museum of Korea held "the Year of the Sheep Exhibition." The exhibition provided viewers with various relics and artifacts on the sheep. Known for its mild and virtuous character, the sheep has always been a familiar animal in Korea.
# 8 Practical usage of sheep: The Sheep has long been used in the textile industry. Sourced from sheep, light and thermal wool is made into high-end fabric. Its hide, sheepskin, is widely used in making various leather goods for apparel and accessories. "Genuine sheepskin" in coats, gloves, belts, wallets and the like all mean high quality. According to an interviewee, "Wool feels cool in summer and retains the warmth of the body against the cold air in winter, so it feels very warm." They say there is nothing to discard from a sheep, from its bone to hide to meat. Rich in protein and fat, sheep fat is suitable for weakened body, and its meat, with relatively rare and distinctive flavors, was regarded as a special delicacy reserved for precious guests.
# 9 Ending: Sheep travel in packs. They are prey animals, and their natural instinct is to flee, not fight. They have many physical adaptations that help them evade their predators. They have the ability and instinct to lead a flock home. Sheep in Korea was once a measure of household asset and was regarded as an auspicious animal representing honesty and endurance. To this day, the image of the Sheep, innocent and warm, has given the wisdom to be thankful and patient to contemporaries living a hectic life.
Within a 60-year zodiac cycle, the Year of the Sheep repeats in the order of "Earth Sheep (己未)," "Metal Sheep (辛未)," "Water Sheep (癸未)," "Wood Sheep (乙未)," and "Fire Sheep (丁未)." The Sheep is the eighth animal of the twelve zodiac animals. Sheep Hours are from 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Sheep Month corresponds to June of the lunar calendar. The Sheep guards the direction south-southwest. Like naturally gentle and meek sheep, people born in the Year of the Sheep are warm and mild. Referring to such temperament, Koreans are used to popular proverbs like "Even if a daughter-in-law gave birth to a daughter in the Year of the Sheep, she is not ill-treated." Often associated with peace upon mention of sheep, people born in the Year of the Sheep have a naturally gentle and mild personality, so they are rarely involved in disputes. Like sheep, they have a tendency to go around in groups and rarely get into a fight for domination over a position or over gender among peers or colleagues. They also tend to be hardheaded, always taking the same path on the way back. Naturally gentle, they are not belligerent; they can be hot-blooded, however. Once they get angry, they cannot control themselves.
The Chinese character "sheep (羊)" is a pictogram (象形文字) associated with meanings like beautiful (美), auspicious (祥), and good (善). In other words, the combination of two characters, or "big sheep (大羊)," becomes the character "beautiful (美)." The merits (羊) of one’s self (我) become the character "righteous (義)." Likewise, from the animal’s nature and characteristics, Koreans basically understood the Sheep as an animal that was good, righteous, and beautiful. The Sheep is viewed as mild, virtuous, good-natured, and patient. A sheep kneeling to graze was understood as grateful.
In religion, sheep was always the symbol of sacrifice. Perhaps the greatest symbolic meaning known to humans is scapegoat (贖罪羊). In the West, sheep, or goat, was an offering to gods punishing humans; in Asia such as China and Korea, the animal was frequently used for ceremonial rites. Sheep symbolizes honesty and justice. Sheep is viewed as hardheaded and righteous because it always takes the same path on the way back. According to an old Korean saying, "People born in the Year of the Sheep will never get rich." Like sheep, people born in the Year of the Sheep tend to be "too honest" to cheat others and "too clear" to amass fortune. Due to its good nature, the Sheep does not how to harm but sacrifices for others that it was sometimes compared to Koreans. Comparing Korean history with the sad destiny of the sheep, patriotic scholar Kim Jong-hak in the late Korean Empire era once cried out: "Our ancestors who liked to dress in white bore such resemblance to a flock of sheep that they did not know how to defy their given destiny but chose to be patient and obedient only. Having been chased to the very edge, they had nowhere else to go, whereas predators from the East and West are sharpening their fangs again. Alas, my sheep! How much more suffering must you endure and unbearable humiliation must you burn away? Let us sharpen our horns. And let us stop our procession -- now that we have reached the end, we cannot go any further. We must not just follow the leader showing our back but make a strong fence with our sharp horns by encircling our leader. That way, even the most ferocious pack of wolves won’t dare underestimate our strength!" The statement expressed people’s pent-up anger and indignant bitterness caused by the country’s weakness aggravated by excessive interference by the Great Powers of the world, but it serves as a good example of how the sheep was used as a metaphor to describe an aspect of Korean history.
