Major calamities, earthquakes in particular, were viewed in imperial China as a sign that a dynasty had lost the mandate of Heaven.
Lucy Hornby and Alfred Cang reporting on the Chinese Curse of the Fuwa fulfilled in a 19 June Reuters wire story.
The Reuters' story recaps the Chinese government's efforts to suppress Chinese bloggers who are floating the theory that the five cuddly Beijing Olympic mascots, the Fuwa, each represents a disaster to be visited upon China in recent months.
Blogadilla recaps the force of the Fuwa in full. They include:
- Huanhuan - The Olympic Flame - “The Bearer of Incendiary Strife”
- Jingjing - The Giant Panda - “The Lord of Angry Earth”
- Yíngying - The Tibetan Antelope - “The Creature of Righteous Unrest”
- Nini - The Swallow/Shayan Kite - “The Bearer of Unfortunate Wind”
- Bèibei - The Chinese Sturgeon - “The Bringer of Torrent and Flood”
Via Neatorama
