In preparation for the Chinese New Year of the Pig, which starts on Tuesday and ends on January 24, 2020, students at our school learnt about the Chinese zodiac, and conducted research on a Chinese poem in both the Chinese and English languages.

The pig is the 12th of all animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar. According to a Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor invited the 12 animals to a party and decided their order in the zodiac according to their arrival to his party. It happened that the pig overslept and was the last to arrive to the party. This is why it is the last animal in the Chinese zodiac calendar.

The pig represents luck, good fortune, wealth and honesty

In Chinese culture, the pig is a symbol representing luck, good fortune, wealth and honesty. Anyone who happens to be born in the Year of the Pig is considered to be a peace-loving person, truthful, generous, indulgent, patient, reliable, trusting, sincere, giving, sociable and understanding person with a good sense of humour.

The research was conducted in the China Corner of St Margaret College, which was founded in 2010 by school teacher Martin Azzopardi in collaboration with the China Cultural Centre in Malta.

The authors are students from St Margaret College Senior Secondary School, Verdala, Cospicua, Malta.

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