Cal's Lucas Shanghai Correspondent
Shanghai Correspondent
Updated Thursday, February 8, 2024-00:15
Patio Global If the 'king of German literature' raised his head...
In the Chinese zodiac,
the dragon is a symbol of power and greatness
. There is no beast like it, with so much strength and magnetism. Everything in the Asian superpower is linked to this mythological being. The oldest scriptures cited dragons as gods from whom emperors descended. They are the protectors of Buddhist temples and represent the energy from which the philosophy of
feng shui
draws . They are an intrinsic element of art and architecture. Even current politics: the great helmsman (
Mao Zedong
) who founded the communist homeland and the successive statesmen who created the economic miracle are represented as the Chinese dragon.
In China, a country of superstitious people, there is a firm belief that if you are born in the year of the dragon, you have a much better chance of being intelligent, strong, eloquent and rich. His destiny is success.
The year of the dragon starts this Saturday, February 10
. Is there a better advertising campaign to raise disastrous birth rates than to sell Chinese couples the idea that now is the right time to have a baby dragon that will ensure the prosperity of the entire family?
Beijing
has been warming up the great holiday of the year for some time with
messages that remember the fortune and significance that comes with being born in the year of the dragon
. Don't you believe it? Here are several examples given by the state press:
Abraham Lincoln
,
John Lennon
,
Bruce Lee
, Rihanna, Shakira, Al Pacino, Andy Warhol, Betty Grable, Chuck Norris, Betsy Rawls, Ronaldo Nazario and Vladimir Putin. All of them, who have done great things (and some terrifying ones), were once baby dragons.
The
Chinese Government
, to get the country out of the current demographic disaster, relies on statistics that say that there is always a
baby boom
every time, in a 12-year cycle, the most auspicious sign of the calendar hits.
In 2023, the population fell for the second consecutive year
: the Chinese census counts 1,409 million people, two million less than the previous year. The birthplace of a sixth of the world's population is shrinking and aging (21% are over 60 years old). A historic recession that threatens to further shake the slow post-pandemic economic growth.
The Lunar New Year holidays, in the warmth of one's home, are a good time to start making baby dragons. Political entanglements and economic problems are put on hold for vacation.
It is extraordinary to see how such an immensely large country comes to a complete standstill on these dates, except for airports, train stations and roads: Chinese travelers are expected to make a record of
9 billion domestic trips
in what is known as the largest migration on the planet. , when the Chinese return to their towns and cities of origin.
This massive movement of people (known as
chunyun
) is a great opportunity to measure the temperature of diminished domestic consumption. The Asian giant needs a good push to get the locomotive running again as before. The problem is that in the future, as the workforce plummets due to the aging of the population, there will not be enough hands to lift that dragon that dreamed until recently of soon striking the American eagle and becoming the first economy of the world.