The Geng-Shen Tai Sui: General Mao Zi

Double metal

Geng and Shen are both yang metal: a pure sword and a quick-handed monkey. Together they are the purest metal pairing of all, like a fine golden scalpel, sharp enough to cut out the problem and precise enough not to hurt anyone else.

General Mao Zi guards this year. People born in Geng-Shen years are often clever and principled, keep their standards high, and are usually first to spot the solution nobody else saw.

Nothing he can't handle

He wears a neat hat with gold trim. His face is handsome and bold, his eyes sharp, with the confidence of someone who has solved many hard problems, not arrogance.

He wears a deep blue battle robe and a red cloak and holds a sword raised high as naturally as if it were part of his arm.

Building in pieces

According to legend, he was Mao Zi, a Tang dynasty engineer skilled in building and machines. Bridges then took years to build, and while they did, travelers had to take long detours.

After studying many bridges that had failed, he came up with a new method: split the bridge into sections that could be built at the same time, then join them at the end. It sounds simple, but every detail had to be calculated exactly so the pieces would meet perfectly.

On one large bridge, his method cut the building time in half, and people could cross two years earlier than expected.

The hard part

He said, "Any project can be done if you break it into pieces. The hard part isn't breaking it apart. It's making sure every piece fits back together."

Heaven named him the Tai Sui of the Geng-Shen year. A sword held high and clever, honest skill: that is his gift to everyone born in the Year of the Monkey.