By Yu Yue

According to the Chinese lunar calendar， the year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. It is the Year of Ren Yin as well， one term or year in the sexagenary cycle. Also known as ganzhi or the stems and branches， it comprises ten heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches， which in combination forms the 60-year cycle. In addition， each of the stems and branches has also been assigned one element from the Five Elements， namely， fire， water， wood， metal， and earth. As per these elements and the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang， Ren， the ninth heavenly stem， represents yang water， and Yin， the third earthly branch， represents yang wood. The Year of Ren Yin， therefore， will be a year of development and improvement.

Perhaps it might be more instrumental if we travel back to the past three “Years of Ren Yin” and look at some of the personalities and stories at the time.

1842： A Shop Assistant

On the eve of the Chinese New Year in 1842， it was a rather busy scene in Nanxun， an ancient “water town” in Huzhou city， Zhejiang province. Jars upon jars of “Winter Sanbai Wine”， a locally distilled rice liquor， were being uncased， filling the whole town with intoxicating aroma. Liu Yong， a 17-year-old shop assistant from the Tan De Chang Silk Shop， was running fast along a stone-paved street to the wharf， the “Winter Sanbai Wine” in his hands gurgling in the bottles.

Under the towering Tongjin Bridge， a group of people had already boarded their ship; they must return home before sunset to celebrate the New Year’s Eve. Liu Yong sprang onto the ship and quickly put the wine into the hands of those maiban， or compradors， local intermediaries who helped foreigners conduct trade. Smiling， Liu bowed and bade goodbye to them.

These compradors were heading to “Shanghai county”. The coastal areas around Huzhou had been all but occupied by the British army. Only people from Shanghai county were still buying raw silk. After the Chinese New Year period， spring would be around the corner， which meant that silk harvesting would also soon begin. The shop must remain on good terms with the compradors， and Liu the shop assistant was tasked by the shop owner to deliver the best Saibai Wine to those go-betweens.

What Liu didn’t expect was that the war， still raging in the first half of 1842， ended abruptly in August. In that year， Liu heard that a treaty was to be signed， after which Shanghai county would become a port， and trade could be conducted directly with foreigners. It suddenly dawned on Liu that instead of selling silk via Fujian to Guangdong and finally to Europe， he could now purchase raw silk in Huzhou and sell it to the compradors from Shanghai.

Four years later， Liu left the Tan De Chang Silk Shop， and started his own salt and silk business， with an initial investment of 200 silver dollars — his own savings as well as borrowings from two fellow townsmen. By 1885， when Liu was 59， he had accumulated 20 million taels in wealth. The annual tax revenue for the imperial court， on average， was 70 million at the time. Liu must have been grateful for what the shop assistant had done in that Year of Ren Yin.

1902： A Hutong

During the 1902 Chinese New Year， Shijia Hutong in Dongcheng district， Beijing was full of bustle. Ling Ruitang， a three-year-old girl， was trying to squeeze in with her elder sisters and get a glimpse of the bride. She had attended many weddings throughout her life， but none was as boisterous as this one. It was as if people from the entire Shjia Hutong， even the entire Dongcheng district， came to the wedding.

That was in fact the first marriage between ethnic Manchu Chinese and Han Chinese. Just a few days ago， the Qing （1616-1911） imperial court lifted the ban that had long prevented them from marrying each other.

In 1909， when Ling Ruitang was nine years old， Shijia Hutong was buzzing again， and this time it was because many were taking exams here. In 1902， the same year that the Qing government allowed intermarriage between Manchu and Han， it also began to select candidates from the younger generation of the nobility to study abroad， and Shijia Hutong had been designated as the testing site. Ling remembered those test takers were no older than 15， 16 years old and some young ones were just of her age — they were invariably boys. Three years later， the Qing dynasty was gone for good.

In 1922， Ling Ruitang changed her name to Ling Shuhua and was enrolled into Yenching University. Shijia Hutong， where Ling still lived， became lively once more. This time， it was thanks to Ling and her writings. One of the earliest guests to No. 24 Shijia Hutong was Xie Wanying （aka Bing Xin）： the two would often walk along the hutong， exchanging ideas on their works.

Later， prominent figures such as Qi Baishi， Xu Zhimo， Hu Shi and Rabindranath Tagore also visited the place. In 1947， Ling and her husband relocated to the UK and settled at No. 14 Adamson Road in London. The wedding that Ling had witnessed in 1902 might have laid a bridge for more than marriages between two groups of people.

1962： A Birth

It was close to late January 1962. A family in Newmarket， Ontario， Canada was pretty occupied， for a boy was just born， and his parents named him James Eugene Carrey， who was later better known as Jim Carrey. It was also the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis when the US and the former USSR stood on the brink of nuclear war and almost destroyed the planet.

Jim Carrey loved acting when he was very young. When he was in the primary school， he used to put on shows in the classroom. He often made faces and used exaggerated expressions to amuse his ailing mother， precursors of his great career as a comedian.

Unbeknownst to Jim Carrey， on the other corner of the earth， another boy was born in the same year， who would also follow a similar path and become the “King of Comedy”. Growing up in a poor neighborhood in Kowloon， Hong Kong， Stephen Chow has been chasing his dream throughout his life： a utility man， an extra， a bit part player， a supporting actor， a lead actor， a film of his own and a style of his own.

One in the East and the other in the West. But the two masters have contributed a new type of humor， mo lei tau， or nonsensical humor in Cantonese， making viewers watch their performances time and again， making viewers relish their classic lines and characters time and again. We may have all doubted whether we are also living in a Truman Show; and we may have all lamented that “a true love once stood right in front of me， but I simply ignored her”. The year 1962， that Year of Ren Yin， may well have subtly changed us all.

2022： A New Journey

It is another cycle， another Year of Ren Yin and the “Year of the Water Tiger”. As predicted， it will be a year of creation and growth.

In the tide of time， ordinary people would have exceptional lives， too. Liu Yong was a shop assistant in 1842， before he decided to become a mover and shaker. Or if you don’t believe you are suitable for such a role， you can choose to be an observer， just like Ling Shuhua， and put what you see on paper. Or you can emulate what Jim Carrey and Stephen Chow have done， and create a world of your own in your own way or in another “l(fā)anguage”.

Whatever your choice， imagine three sexagenary cycles later， in the year 2202， another Year of Ren Yin， how will you judge this Year of Ren Yin？ Now， the journey has begun.