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The Wu-Zi Tai Sui: General Zou Dang
The "iron-faced" prefect who walked the markets in disguise before cleaning them up.
- Guardian of
- People born in a Wu-Zi year, the Year of the Rat
- Born between
- Feb 7, 2008 – Jan 25, 2009
- Past life (legend)
- Zou Dang, a prefect of the Northern Song dynasty known as "Iron Face" (folk legend)
- Symbol
- A small jade seal held high: everything seen is written down
If you were born between these dates, you were born in a Wu-Zi year, the Year of the Rat, and General Zou Dang watches over you.
(A new year starts on Lunar New Year’s Day.)
A spring at the foot of a mountain
Wu is yang earth, a mountain that never moves. Zi is midnight, when the little Rat is already awake, seeing in the dark and hearing the faintest sound. The mountain gives the Rat a solid base, and the Rat gives the mountain quick eyes.
General Zou Dang guards this year. People born in Wu-Zi years often have sharp eyes and great memories, spot the one detail that matters, and then follow through step by step.
Hard to lie to
He wears a tall black official hat. His full face has a few deep lines between the brows, and his round eyes say "I already know." Liars tend to get nervous around him.
He wears a dark green robe and a heavy red cloak. His right hand is raised, holding a small jade seal, half announcement and half verdict: everything I have seen is on record.
Eyes in the back of his head
According to legend, he was Zou Dang, a Northern Song prefect in a busy trading city full of disputes and scams. Earlier prefects had just smoothed things over. Zou Dang dressed as an ordinary merchant and walked every corner of the city, quietly noting every crooked deal.
In his first month, he laid out a thirty-point plan, every point backed by facts no one could argue with. People said, "That prefect has eyes in the back of his head." He said, "No. I just never turn my back on anyone."
Clear as a mirror
He served six years, and every year there were fewer scams. When he left, the merchants hung a couplet at the city gate: "Iron-faced and fair, clear as a mirror. Sharp-eyed and watchful, bright as a lamp."
Heaven named him the Tai Sui of the Wu-Zi year. A jade seal in his hand and eyes that miss nothing: that is his gift to everyone born in the Year of the Rat.
Questions people ask
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2008?
People born between Feb 7, 2008 and Jan 25, 2009 were born in a Wu-Zi year, the Year of the Rat. Their Tai Sui is General Zou Dang.
Who was General Zou Dang before becoming a Tai Sui?
Zou Dang, a prefect of the Northern Song dynasty known as "Iron Face" (folk legend).
What does General Zou Dang hold?
A small jade seal held high: everything seen is written down.
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