{"id":16536,"date":"2024-08-24T15:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T08:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/?post_type=activity&p=16536"},"modified":"2025-01-21T09:47:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T02:47:05","slug":"the-year-of-the-snake","status":"publish","type":"activity","link":"https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/th\/activity\/the-year-of-the-snake\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcoming the New Year: The Year of the Snake"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” background_image=”https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/JP_zodiac_snake_.jpeg” background_size=”contain” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”350px” max_height=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}” background__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”|auto|28px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||15px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ module_class=”second-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb url=”\/lectures\/” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”H||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”24px” _builder_version=”4.16″ body_font=”|700|||||||” link_option_url=”\/lectures\/” icon_font_size=”24px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” body_text_color__hover=”rgba(29,39,49,0.7)”]Back to Lectures[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Pre-header message” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||15px||false|false” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfcHJlLWhlYWRlcl9tZXNzYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Lecture Topic Heading” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_text_color=”#8e794c” max_width_tablet=”90%” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”off|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||62px|||” custom_padding=”||30px||false|false” module_alignment_last_edited=”off|tablet” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#dbd3d8″ text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDE+In19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” width=”100%” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

What is it about snakes? From Eve\u2019s first memorable conversation with a snake, they have held our rapt attention. And how in the world did they end up as one of China\u2019s twelve animals of the zodiac?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is indeed something extraordinary about the fascination that serpents exercise upon us through a subtle, indefinable power that distinguishes them from other beautiful and powerful creatures like birds and felids.\u201d – Balaji Mundker, The Cult of the Serpent<\/em><\/p>\n

Our speaker explores this question as she takes us through Chinese history, archaeology and literature to try to find an answer as to how and why the snake features so significantly in man\u2019s consciousness.<\/p>\n

Given that snakes aren\u2019t amongst those animals who are an integral part of a farming or herding tradition, nor do they fall into the \u2018cute and cuddly\u2019 category, how in the world did they earn their place as one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac? This and other questions are those that will be addressed by our speaker, Patricia Bjaaland Welch, who returns to us to look at the Chinese zodiac animal of the year: the snake.<\/p>\n

Once again, this is not a talk about Chinese New Year, but about one of the stranger choices to have made the final twelve animals selected to grace China\u2019s calendar. One of the earliest questions our speaker will address is \u201cWere snakes the precursors of dragons?\u201d Come hear what she and other scholars have concluded from a wealth of texts and artefacts. After a quick look at how other cultures have regarded snakes, we turn to how the half-serpent\/half-human N\u01daw\u0101 and F\u00fax\u012b, infiltrated Chinese mythology and how the snake earned its place on the Chinese calendar.<\/p>\n

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Patricia Bjaaland Welch<\/strong> is well-known to our audiences as our annual \u201cYear of …\u201d speaker and as the author of the popular reference guide to Chinese art and symbols, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery (Tuttle: 2008).<\/em> Today, she writes for a number of publications, guides at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, and leads study groups to her favourite lesser-known Asian sites. A former president of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society, she continues on their Council, and admits she is hooked on the sinologist Robert van Gulik\u2019s series of Chinese crime novels based in the Tang Dynasty featuring the legendary \u2018Judge Dee\u2019.<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ module_class=”first-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#4e4e4d” custom_padding=”40px|40px|40px|40px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”|40px||40px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_main_element=”margin-bottom: 50px;” border_width_top=”4px” border_color_top=”#8e794c” border_width_bottom=”2px” border_color_bottom=”#8e794c” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”When” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.2″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Thursday, 16 January 2025 at 19:00<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Where” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9sb2NhdGlvbiIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwiZW5hYmxlX2h0bWwiOiJvbiJ9fQ==@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Admission” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfYWRtaXNzaW9uIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”For more information, please contact” icon_placement=”left” module_class=”contact-on-dark” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” body_link_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” body_link_text_color__hover=”#81bbc3″]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9lbnF1aXJ5X2NvbnRhY3QiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImVuYWJsZV9odG1sIjoib24ifX0=@[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_color=”#eff1f3″ custom_margin=”||-27px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”More Upcoming Trips” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”23px||31px||false|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

More upcoming lectures<\/h2>\n

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