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Article Pokémon Historia #02: The Fires of China

Discussion in 'Pokémon General' started by Absolute Zero, Nov 26, 2015.

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  1. Absolute Zero

    Absolute Zero The second seal

    Jeff
    (Spinarak)
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    [​IMG]

    Hey, baby, what's your sign? Oh, you're a Libra? I was talking about the Chinese Zodiac. Me? I'm a ram. But I'm a monkey internally, an ox truly, and a horse secretively. I think. The Chinese Zodiac can get pretty complicated, and I for one don't try to read my own astrology. I just have my doubts about how well it can predict my future, that's all. Predicting some other things, however? That's a different story.

    In much of the western and western-influenced world, we pay more attention to the zodiac described by many Mediterranean cultures. Though mostly attributed to the Greeks, these twelve symbols were also agreed upon through much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. You know, Capricorn and Taurus and Gemini and all their friends. They're based on a certain designation of constellations observable in the night sky and their interpretation by philosophers and astrologers on the ground below. The Chinese Zodiac, on the other hand, is much more worldly. Still running with a base-twelve system like the Mediterraneans, they instead divided their calendar's representations among the animals found in the local area. They don't have centaurs and lions and infinitely-flowing jugs of water, but instead have pigs, monkeys, roosters, mice, dragons, and a few others. Wait, those seem familiar. Where have I seen those before?

    Of course! The fire-type starter Pokémon of every generation so far! Here's the full list of Chinese zodiac signs in the order they pass through each day, month, year, and 12-year cycle:
    1. Rat/Mouse
    2. Ox/Bull
    3. Tiger
    4. Rabbit
    5. Dragon
    6. Snake
    7. Horse
    8. Goat/Sheep/Ram
    9. Monkey
    10. Rooster
    11. Dog
    12. Pig/Boar
    Charizard is a dragon, Typhlosion is a rodent of unusual size, Blaziken is a rooster, Infernape is a monkey, Emboar is a pig, and Delphox is a fox, which is biologically in the Canidae family that includes wolves, coyotes, and most importantly, dogs! This can't be just a coincidence! I even bet the Metal element of my Outer Ram sign and Inner Monkey sign that the fire-type starters of the next six generations will all be members of the Chinese zodiac! Like a Fire Bull with massive physical attack, or maybe a Fire Rabbit with all the speed it needs to maximize fire's good attack stats? The only way to be sure is to wait and see, but the pattern is going strong!

    Now, I don't know about you, but I'm in a mood to keep talking about Fire-type Pokémon. One of my favorite designs from Gen V, and one of the most original designs from that Generation in my opinion, is that of Darmanitan, the fiery orangutan whose forme and stats depends on his current HP. There's just something about his second forme, the "Zen Mode" as it's called. Regular Darmanitan looks like he's ready to rumble! His eyes are wide open, teeth bared, and fists ready to knock some heads! Zen Mode Darmanitan, on the other hand, looks glass-eyed and blind, his hands are clenched to his head, and his mouth is sealed shut. A monkey with closed eyes, ears, and mouth? Darmanitan looks like he's mimicking all three of the wise monkeys: they who see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil! But why would he do that, if you'll pardon the expression, in the heat of battle? If we bring it back around to China for a moment, these three monkeys represent Confucius' answer to one of his students, Yan Hui, when asked how to be more ren, a trait that is most often translated into English as "authoritative" (but sometimes "influential" and "powerful" do the trick). Confucius answered the question by advising (paraphrased by me) "Don't look at, listen to, speak anything of, or for that matter do anything at all that violates the observance of ritual propriety." Maybe this is Darmanitan's way of moving forward in life. Through suffering (losing HP), Darmanitan has learned how to and decided to improve himself: to block out the pain of the world and exercise his authoritative ren to rise above the evils and future suffering of the battle (by destroying his opponent with massive Special Attack!). As for the name of Zen Mode, that forme of Darmanitan does seem rather calm, doesn't he? Regular mode was all riled up, but now there is peace, almost like he's going into a Buddhist Zen Meditation, becoming stationary and not worrying about the outside world. Through a blend of Confucianist wisdom and Buddhist meditation, Darmanitan is rising above hardship and moving forward through a life of battle, and finding inner power and completing his life's goal by helping you become a master trainer.

    What are your thoughts? Is Darmanitan on its way to reaching a Buddhist Nirvana? Is there a pattern hiding in the Grass and Water starters that I didn't notice? Did you like my Princess Bride reference? What do you most want to see as the Gen 7 Fire Starter? I for one would be psyched for a ram! If it has Flame Charge and a signature move like a STAB-worthy Headbutt, that will be one unstoppable flinch-inducing machine!

    Say what you will, but I'm of the mind that Wikipedia is pretty useful. There are three situations in which I use it, and use it shamelessly: quick, simple, low-stakes research; reinforcing knowledge I already have in my head to make sure I'm not mistaken; and used as a source-finding tool for more intense research. This is the first two situations. Wikipedia itself had more detailed (and non-contradictory) information on all the various levels of Chinese Zodiac signs than any source I could access through its references and external links, and also the most complete information for finding my own signs I came across anywhere online.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac

    Yeah, Wikipedia again, but if you just look at that diagram of skeletons and skulls, you can see for yourself that foxes and dogs are almost identical in a lot of ways. If that's not good enough for you, the second link here connects to an article published by the Zoological Society of London. It's a thick, boring read, but it confirms what Wikipedia said, insofar as foxes and dogs are almost the same.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canidae
    http://wooferhouse.net/Links/MolecularEvolutionOfTheDogFamily/MolecularEvolutionOfTheDogFamily.htm

    You know 'em, you love 'em, you know Wikipedia's "misinformed" if they try to tell you the monkeys are actually "Stay in bed, don't brush your teeth, and don't clean your ears." Very light research here, so Wikipedia satisfies my hunger again. I'll ease up on this defense of Wikipedia eventually, I promise.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys

    My personal reference for the Analects of Confucius is the English version as translated by Roger T Ames and Henry Rosemont Jr. (Amazon listing here) I've read this one cover to cover and one other I skimmed, and this copy is more informational and more scholarly, but somewhat less artful or poetic than the other (by the way, Yan Hui's question and the answer that originated the three monkeys is the very beginning of part 12). Still a very good resource, complete with lengthy discussions on Chinese words that simply can not be directly translated to English, such as Tian, Li, and Ren. Speaking of which...

    My version of the Analects translates Ren primarily as "authoritative conduct", but also suggests "benevolence", "goodness", and "humanity". However, after reading the text fully, my own translation is "the trait of being a good Chinaman." Seriously, that's what Confucius is going on about this whole book: how to respect the ways of your ancestors and make them happy, because if your ancestors are pleased, you must be doing something right. He acknowledges that people in other parts of the world and other lifestyles do things differently, but he's all "If you want to have power in government, with your family, or over yourself as a good Chinese citizen, these are the things you will do." That's why I like Lao-Tzu better, but be patient for that: his philosophy is going to be featured in a very good article coming up soon. Back to the point though, that's what I think Darmanitan is trying to do in Zen Mode: block out and defeat the troubles of the world so he can be an exemplar among the rest of the Darmanitan out there, less of a barbarian and more of a self-controlled warrior.

    I'm no Buddhist expert, but the short story of Zen meditation is blocking out the outside world and emptying your mind. After all, that's one of the main principles of Buddhism: emptiness. Emptiness is good: Just imagine if your drinking glass was actually a solid block of glass, or if your brain was already so full nothing new could fit inside? While I'm not a guru, I am a student and practitioner of loose Buddhism, so let me know if you want to know more! With a shift on attention to Darmanitan's origins and mentions of a few other Pokémon I have in mind, there may even be a full article in the future for Buddhism with Pokémon!
    http://szba.org/soto-zen/how-to-meditate/

    Title graphic made by me using resources from Bulbaimages, photograph of the Zodiac and Monkeys artifacts from Wikimedia Commons, their licenses visible on their pages.
     
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  2. shinygiratinaz

    shinygiratinaz Boats Against the Current

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    Hey, I always wondered where those three monkeys came from, but I didn't even think about Confucius having created the concept. :O I also wasn't sure how Delphox fit into the calendar, but what you said makes a lot of sense.

    Also, I would absolutely want a fire snake or tiger as the next starter. I can image both looking really cool, and giving us some awesome typings! (fire/poison and fire/dark maybe?)
     
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  3. Absolute Zero

    Absolute Zero The second seal

    Jeff
    (Spinarak)
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    Indeed, as far as we know, the see-no hear-no speak-no proverb originated with Confucius. It's entirely possible that he got the idea from somewhere else, but if that's the case, it's lost to history. Meanwhile, as for how it became "no evil" from "nothing that violates ritual propriety", let's just say it's really hard to translate Chinese into European languages (and Confucius put dead ancestors at priority #1). Well, that and it's easier to tell people to stay away from evil things than to stay away from anything that makes your great-great-grandpappy frown. The idea is the same though: don't involve yourself in wrongdoing.

    The difficulty of translating Chinese to English is going to come around again in either my next PH or the following, but definitely one coming soon (because I really like Eastern philosophy), and I have its article half-done.
     
  4. mweep

    mweep The Roaming Legendary

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    Huh, that's... I never noticed that before. I knew that some parts of it resonated with the Zodiac, Darmanitan Zen always felt like something from those weird Chinese folk tales I had to read, and the three monkeys(Pansage, and whatever the other ones were called)... they kind of reminded me of the three brothers from the Three Kingdoms Epic. Kind of. Not really.
    Well done, a lot of these connections I never would have even thought of!
     
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