Riding the wind of rebirth

This is also the reason why Zhouzhi insisted on developing the "minicos universal platform" in the first place. With a basic universal platform, a CNC operating system can be installed on various devices to achieve communication and control with the application, making the "digitalization" of various traditional machines universal, fast, modular and very easy to achieve.

As this system is increasingly used in MP3 players, DVDs, digital cameras, CNC machine tools, vehicle control systems, and digital programmable fiber optic switches, it has become more mature and universal, which in turn has promoted the development of large-scale operating systems and hardware systems.

Sony recognized this trend and quickly launched DVDs, dominating the market. Samsung also recognized this trend and quickly promoted its first consumer digital camera, filling a gap in Samsung's business.

The same is true for Jinan Group now. In just over a month, they launched a biometric security door lock, and now they even have further ideas to launch a biometric attendance system and a smart community management system.

Today, the Minicos general operating platform has been given a nice-sounding abbreviation by industry users: "Mike," while the Clover large operating system is called "SEEK."

"Mike" is the Chinese abbreviation of the English pronunciation of minicos, which is understandable. However, the name SEEK is a bit nonsensical. Originally, COS meant the four-leaf clover operating system, but because "Mike" was so famous, the industry added the "four-leaf clover" prefix to "Mike" and called it Clover Mike, then shortened it to C Mike, and finally simplified it to C Ke, and then homophonized it into the English word "SEEK".

Zhou Zhi readily accepted this suggestion, believing that similar linguistic corruptions and evolutions could be found in ancient Chinese language and ornamentation throughout its five-thousand-year history.

For example, the famous "Capricorn" is a case in point.

The term "Maka" was originally a transliteration of Buddhist scriptures. As one of the "Six Armaments" in Buddhism, it refers to one of the six decorative elements on the back of Buddhist statues: Garuda, Makara fish, dragon girl, boy, lion, and elephant. The earliest form of Makara was an image with a crocodile head and a fish body.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Kang Senghui, a monk from Kangju in the Wu region, translated the *Milindain Sutra*, which stated: "There is a divine fish in the sea, named Makara. It struck and destroyed the ship, and all the crew perished. Milinda, riding on a plank, barely escaped." Kumarajiva's translation of the *Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra* states: "When the Makara fish king opened its mouth, one was the sun, two were the fish's eyes, and white mountains were its teeth. The rushing water entered its mouth." Buddhist scriptures of this period continued the Indian tradition of destructive and devouring power, emphasizing the Makara's strength and ferocity to instill fear in the audience.

After the Northern Wei Dynasty, Capricorn became the reincarnation of sinners, bearing suffering with their enormous size, upholding precepts upon hearing the beautiful sounds of Buddha, dying when their suffering was exhausted, and even offering their bodies as alms for people to share, so that people could be freed from the pain of hunger and disease and be reincarnated.

Coincidentally, the twelve zodiac signs were also introduced at the same time. The Sanskrit word Makara for Capricorn in the twelve zodiac signs sounds similar to the Buddhist word Makara. Therefore, people at that time believed that the constellation Capricorn and the Capricorn decorations on objects were a kind of mythical beast.

After its development during the Tang and Five Dynasties period, astrology and fortune-telling gradually matured and became a prominent field of study during the Song Dynasty. Song Dynasty literati paid great attention to their own astrological charts, either consulting fortune tellers or calculating them themselves. A considerable number of people were familiar with their own birth charts and frequently studied and pondered them, making astrological divination a popular trend at the time.

Under the influence of astrology, Buddhism developed the *Lingtai Jing*, which used the twelve zodiac signs and the seven luminaries to explain personal fortune and misfortune. The Daoist text *Daomen Dingzhi* also included titles such as "Scorpio God" and "Sagittarius God." Daoist internal alchemy emphasized selecting the twelve zodiac signs and timing to absorb auspicious omens, and society developed a conscious awareness of Capricorn. Astrology considers the Sun's position at birth as the "Ascendant" and the Moon's position as the "Body." If either of these houses is in Capricorn, one's life will be unsuccessful, and retreat is preferable to advancement.

The originator of this theory was Han Yu. In his time, the twelve zodiac signs and the twenty-eight constellations had already been combined. Han Yu wrote the poem "The Three Stars" to lament his ill-fated destiny: "On the day I was born, the moon was in the Southern Dipper. The Ox brandished its horns, and the Winnowing Basket opened its mouth. The Ox was not seen pulling the cart, and the Dipper did not scoop up wine. Only the Winnowing Basket had a divine spirit, never ceasing to winnow. I have no good reputation yet, nor any bad reputation yet. Reputation multiplies and divides, gaining little and losing more. The three stars are each in the sky, arranged in groups of ten to five, east and west. Alas, you Ox and the Dipper, you alone cannot be divine."

The three stars "Dou", "Niu", and "Ji" in the poem correspond to the constellation Capricorn.

Su Shi felt that his fate was similar to Han Yu's, and based on this, he wrote in "Dongpo Zhilin" that "Han Yu's poem says: 'On the day I was born, the moon was in the constellation of the Dipper.' I then realized that Han Yu's life palace was Capricorn, while mine was Capricorn. Throughout my life, I have received much praise and slander, which is probably the same of us." This passage has had a profound influence and has been widely quoted by scholars.

So much so that later, people like Zhou Bida, Fang Dacong, Mou Yan, Wen Tianxiang, and Gao Qi in the Southern Song Dynasty all accepted their "scorpion fate".

This statement has given Capricorn a negative connotation, and has even hindered the use and development of Capricorn-themed patterns to some extent.

Originally a Buddhist theme, Capricorn was once very popular and gradually became "Sinicized." Crocodiles have a bad reputation in China, so the Chinese changed it to a dragon's head. Also, because the Tang Dynasty was ruled by the Li family, and "Li Li" is a homophone for "carp," the body of the sea fish was changed to that of a carp.

The Capricorn motif acquired negative connotations, yet the thriving handicrafts of the Northern Song Dynasty urgently needed more decorative patterns. The creation of new patterns often required two conditions: first, selecting and inheriting existing forms from traditional or foreign designs; and second, imbuing the new image with meanings readily accepted by the people of the time during the modification process. Thus, people stopped calling Capricorn "Capricorn" and instead referred to it as "Fish Transforming into Dragon" or "Fish-Dragon."

The theory of fish transforming into dragons originated in the pre-Qin period and had a broad popular psychological basis. Furthermore, the *Taiping Guangji* from the early Northern Song Dynasty records: "Longmen Mountain is located in Hedong… Every late spring, yellow carp swim upstream, and those that catch them transform into dragons… In a year, no more than seventy-two fish can ascend the Dragon Gate. Upon first ascending, clouds and rain follow, and heavenly fire burns their tails from behind, thus transforming them into dragons." From then on, the imagery of fish leaping over the Dragon Gate and fish transforming into dragons gradually became explicitly associated with the imperial examinations. In the mid-to-late Northern Song Dynasty, traditional Capricorn motifs faded from the decorative scene, and the "fish transforming into dragon" or "fish-dragon" motif, with a dragon's head and a carp's body, took center stage. Even the banquets for successful candidates in the imperial examinations were called "Tail-Burning Banquets."

The scorpion pattern originated from the crocodile pattern, where the snout was curled up and the fins were enlarged into wings. It was also combined with the pattern of another mythical creature in China, the "Yinglong," and became the standard pattern of the "Yinglong" until the Ming and Qing dynasties.

This phenomenon—where foreign cultural symbols are combined due to similar pronunciations, then modified in various ways by Chinese local culture, and finally return to the local context to further transform the original culture—is actually quite interesting. (End of Chapter)