Rat Race
by Kenneth Lyen
I was born in the year of the rat, so I have an affinity for this rodent. After all, we did win the rat race, defeating all other eleven zodiac animals by using our cunning and guile. Today, if we hitched a ride in a race, we would be disqualified. Well anyway, the win did confer upon us the privilege of starting the 12-year zodiac cycle.
I am not the type of person who checks my horoscope, but to write this article I decided, for the first time, to see what characteristics I am supposed to possess. Somehow I remain sceptical about what they pronounce. One zodiac says: “Rats are clever, quick thinkers; successful, but content with living a quiet and peaceful life.” Another zodiac states: “the rat's personality is outgoing, cheerful, and sociable in character. They can get along well with different people, so there are a lot of friends around them. No matter what jobs they are occupied, they can harvest success on account of their quick response to outside changes.… Due to their acute instinct and calmness, they can do well in business.” All very flattering!
What jobs are good for rats? The horoscope recommends the following jobs: playwright, accountant, scholar, commentator, doctor, inventor, reformer, and stock analyst.” At least my profession is included in this list… phew!
Interestingly the Chinese character does not differentiate rats from mice. Biologically although they belong to the same rodent family, their personalities are really quite different.
Rats are bigger than mice, they are brown or black in color compared to the mouse which is grey or brown. Rats have relatively smaller ears, and their thick tails are bare, whereas the mouse’s thinner tails are covered with hair. The rat’s snout is more blunt compared to the mouse’s slightly sharper more triangular snout, and the rat's whiskers are relatively shorter.
I may be accused of displaying a bit of rat prejudice when I say that I’m a little uncomfortable when I see Disney’s Mickey Mouse or Pokemon’s mouse Pikachu basking in the limelight of the Year of the Mouse, I mean, Rat.
But all is not bright and rosy. There is a dark side to the rat, and I will add in the mouse here. Both rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. However, rats gained a bad reputation when they were found to be largely responsible for spreading the Black Death or bubonic plague by carrying fleas infected with Yersinia pestis bacteria.
In the 14th century, the Black Death killed an estimated 50 million people, or 60% of Europe’s population. There have been intermittent recurrences of the plague all the way until the 19th century.
Another disease spread by rats is leptospirosis. This is also known as Weil’s Disease, and is characterized by fever, headaches, aches and pains. A more severe form of this disease has bleeding from the lungs, infection of the meninges lining the brain, hepatitis and kidney failure. Despite treatment with antibiotics such as penicillin, ceftriaxone and doxycycline, there is a mortality ranging from 10 to 50%.
Recently, there has been an outbreak of a new coronavirus originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Hundreds of people have been diagnosed and there have been several deaths. This has resulted in the quarantine of the entire city of Wuhan with a population of 11 million. Unfortunately the virus has already spread to many countries, and has reached Singapore. There is speculation that rats may have been one of the animals responsible for spreading this Wuhan coronavirus. But no matter which animal eventually carries the blame for the virus, it puts a damper on this year’s Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Even if the physical rat may not be responsible for the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese astrologers point out this year is the year of the metal rat, which occurs once every 60 years. It carries a bad luck jinx. Here are some of the historical disasters that coincide with the year of the metal rat:
1840 Qing dynasty: Opium War resulting in economic and social stagnation for over a century.
1900 Boxer Rebellion (started 1899) weakening the Qing Dynasty ultimately leading to its fall.
1960 Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward coincided with a famine that led to 36 million deaths.
2020 Covid-19 Pandemic which is ongoing.
The year of the rat, 2020, will sadly be remembered by the wearing of surgical masks, temperature screening, empty shops, closed schools and universities, staying at home, no eating at restaurants or hawker centres, no watching shows in theatres or cinemas, and no more sports except jogging and cycling. What can we do to minimise the spread of this virus?
We will nevertheless continue to celebrate Chinese New Year quietly at home!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Written by Kenneth Lyen
25 January 2020, updated 28 April 2020
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REFERENCES
World update of Covid-19: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Singapore Covid-19 update: https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+19+singapore+chart
Year of the Metal Rat: