May 2025

May 1

The first time I heard the phrase “Yin and Yang” or an approximation thereof was in the 1961 song by The Coasters titled Little Egypt (Ying-Yang), which opens with the memorable lines:

Step right up folks and see Little Egypt do famous dances of the pyramids.
She walks, she talks, she crawls on her belly like a reptile.

It continues with lyrics describing a scantily clad Little Egypt slithering seductively like an Egyptian reptile (perhaps a cobra?) all the while singing “Ying-Yang, Ying-Yang.”

It wasn’t until many years later that I realized Ying-Yang or Yin and Yang were not only the utterances of a serpentine carnival dancer but were elements in ancient Chinese philosophy representing the dualistic nature of the universe. Complementary yet seemingly opposing forces like lightness and darkness, and femininity and masculinity, combine to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Yin and Yang can also be found in the Chinese calendar. The years of the Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey and Dog are associated with Yang, which is masculine, active and energetic. The years of the Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster and Pig are associated with Yin, which is feminine, passive and nurturing.

As some alert readers (ARs) may already know, there are several explanations for how the years in the Chinese zodiac came to be named for animals. According to one legend, Siddhartha Gautama, aka the Buddha, called for a race among the animals to create the zodiac. The first 12 animals to complete the race would earn a spot in the zodiac in the order in which they finished.

The rat finished first by using its smarts to hitch a ride on the back of the ox across a river before jumping off at the last minute to dart across the finish line. The pig finished last because it stopped to eat along the way. The cat never finished at all because it too was on the back of the ox along with the rat, but the rat pushed it overboard into the river, sinking its chances for inclusion in the zodiac, thus accounting for the lingering antipathy cats have for rats.

For various reasons, the order of finish and order of all the years in the Chinese zodiac are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

While most ARs probably know that the Chinese calendar is followed in much of Asia and in Asian communities throughout the world, many may not be aware that it was proscribed in North Korea by Kim Il Sung, who ruled the country from 1948 to 1994. Why? Because Kim was born in 1912, the year of The Rat, an origin he deemed not suitable for The Supreme Leader, the title he bestowed on himself.

For the record, I too was born in The Year of The Rat, as were Pope Francis and five U.S. presidents: George Washington, Franklin Pierce, Richard Nixon (same year as Kim Il Sung), Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush (same year as Carter). Kim Il Sung, who disdained our shared birth year as beneath the dignity of a Supreme Leader, assumed the title of Eternal Leader upon his death in 1994, The Year of The Dog.

While the Buddha may not have been appreciated by The Eternal Leader, he is still widely revered today, especially in the Asian countries where his followers will celebrate Vesak or Buddha Day on May 5, the day of his birth, enlightenment and ultimate death. Even ARs who aren’t Buddhists may want to toast Siddhartha Gautama with a Schlafly Beer on his 2588th birthday.

Thanks to the Buddha, 2025 is the Year of the Snake, the animal that finished sixth in the race for zodiac priority. In addition to celebrating Vesak, ARs might also want to drink a beer in honor of Little Egypt, who slithered like a cobra while singing “Ying-Yang.”.

Tom Schlafly
Chairman
Schlafly | The Saint Louis Brewery