I notice that they use the word "cattle" here, which is different as we say "the year of the ox", and I find myself wondering why. Back in school I only ever learned the word "cow", which is what I understand to be the direct translation of "niu". So how come there are so many ways to translate "niu"? I ask my American friend, and quickly get the answer. My friend tells me that "cattle" generally means "niu" in the plural and "cow" actually means "female niu", while the ox we refer to in terms of the zodiac means "male niu". The plural of "ox" is "oxen". Now I bet you probably never thought about any of this before, did you?
Taking our place in the crowded queue, we finally get into the official show, where we see lots of cattle in different shapes and materials, all very lifelike. Turning a corner, we see a big wall full of Chinese "niu" characters; the fascinating thing is that all these characters are written in different ways and styles. While I carefully examine the wall, people all around me are taking pictures. Why are they choosing this wall as the background? I ask one couple beside me, and the husband tell me he was born in the year of the ox, so he thinks it's lucky to have a picture in front of so many niu. The wife says they heard of this show a week ago, and thought it would be ideal to come here to celebrate the New Year holiday.
