Save the Tiger in the Year of the Tiger
The Chinese lunar calendar has just moved into the Year of the Tiger in February 2010. Everyone seems to be excited about tiger as it is the living symbol of power and strength. Many Chinese New Year greetings or phrases related to tiger, such as “be as magnificent as a tiger” and “live with the spirit of a dragon and the strength of a tiger”, come from the powerful and fearsome appearance of tiger, and remind me of wild tiger as the king of all animals in the Nature. As a matter of fact, tiger is the largest member in the biological family of the cats. Its cleverness and agility well equip it to sit at the top of the food chain and make it an important member in maintaining the ecological balance.
Tiger inspires fear and respect. Unfortunately, wild tigers are facing the danger of extinction. A century ago, there were more than 100,000 wild tigers in the world. Today, as few as 3,200 tigers are estimated to be left in the wild. WWF alerts us by introducing an interactive map showing top 10 trouble spots for tigers. Different subspecies of tigers surviving in the wild suffer from illegal and intensive hunting, trade of tiger parts, and disturbed and destroyed natural habitats by human activities such as the development of infrastructure and deforestation, and associated climate change.
The Chinese Lantern Festival yesterday ended all the celebrations of the Chinese New Year. We celebrated the day by decorating our places with lighted lanterns, guessing lantern riddles and having rice dumplings which symbolizes family reunion. We can extend our love and care to the family of tigers by supporting the ban of tiger trade and conservation efforts and implementing all the carbon reduction practices in a hope that they will secure a better future and an increasing population.
The Chinese animal signs, including the tiger, are part of the diverse and rich Chinese culture, but they only cover 12 animals chosen by the ancient Chinese. As each kind of animal is crucial to the ecological balance, conservation and protection is needed whether or not the animal is chosen by our ancestors. As the Year of the Tiger begins, we can think about what we can actually do for animal conservation while wishing our beloved a fruitful year of the Tiger.
WWF map showing areas of the world where tigers are threatened with extinction:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/tigertroublespots
Extract of English poet William Blake’s The Tyger:
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire in thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, and what art?
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand, and what dread feet?
To me, the beauty of life lies in love, nature and arts. After years of planning and development, I and my team have established K11 in Hong Kong, with the vision of Art ‧ People ‧ Nature, to be opened by the end of 2009. I wish to share with you the perfect blending of art appreciation, humanistic experience, nature enjoyment and shopping.