My last example is based on 紫微斗數 (Zi Wei Dou Shu). Ancient texts mention that 天同 (Tian Tong) or Heavenly Child, will be more beneficial for females than males.
The reason is, the Tian Tong star is a passive, peach blossom star that has a tendency to be lazy and depend on benefactors to get by. She loves to play (like a child). For those who have never heard of this star, think of her as a more innocent, introverted version of the Greek Aphrodite. Tian Tong is milder, purer, naïve and optimistic, adopting a happy-go-lucky outlook. She is also known as a star of blessing and metaphysics, and a female with this star in her Life palace is said to prosper her husband. In other words, in a patriarchal society, she is the perfect wife.
On the other hand, if a male has Tian Tong in his Life palace, he will find it very hard to adapt as this star has ‘feminine’ traits. Men in the past were expected to rule their households, exhibit leadership qualities, be ambitious, capable and actively work hard. If a man has this star in a patriarchal society, he will be under pressure to be someone he is not. Conversely, a female with 紫微 (Zi Wei), or Emperor, and 杀破狼 (Sha-Po-Lang) in her Life palace will also be under the opposite pressure to be someone she is not.
Our society must be better than that. We must allow a person to be who he or she really is.
In the olden days, women accept their lot in life despite their charts showing great potential. Take a female Tian Tong again for example. She has the fortune of marrying a rich and powerful general during the Han dynasty, who dotes on her and gives her everything she wants. She doesn’t need to do any household chores because the maidservant(s) do everything. Every day, she wakes up, puts on make-up, looks pretty and says a few endearing words to her husband. Then her husband happily goes to work. She has nothing left to do, so she goes shopping to buy clothes and cosmetics that make her look even more beautiful. When she reaches home, she reads some poetry while waiting for her husband. He comes home, and she gets ready to have a romantic evening with him after dinner. Rinse and repeat the next day.
You can’t really blame her. She may not be really happy or fulfilled, but what to do? Many Tian Tong women are content to live in a patriarchal society because it allows them to be lazy and there is no need to prove themselves. They still get by, whether they do anything or not. So why do anything?
Fast forward till today. Modern men are no longer so willing to pamper their wives. This is actually a good thing for women. They step up as they no longer have the excuse that they are Tian Tongs to justify their laziness. You don’t work, you won’t eat.
Some modern Tian Tongs, both male and female, tend to be more passive though. There are, however, other Tian Tongs who are successful and highly driven business owners. They understand their charts well, and find a way to evolve using their decade / annual luck.
Conclusion: We modern men may feel slightly insecure, even threatened by women who are more ambitious and competitive nowadays. But perhaps we can look at the issue another way. We men can, at last, be lazy and take the back seat without being criticised for not ‘being a man’. Let women have the right to take the initiative of inviting us out. Allow them to buy us dinner and stuff. And other more expensive things.
Another example: those of us who have more artistic traits can pursue our interests without our traditionally-inclined family members pointing fingers at us. Challenge them a bit. Who says that we men cannot be good at the languages and humanities? And who says that women cannot be good at maths and science too?
Gender stereotypes in the past restrict both men and women from what they want to be and who they are supposed to be. Our modern society corrects that. You have the freedom to choose. With the freedom comes the responsibility. (I know this is such a cheesy, cliché, overused Spiderman statement.) Men in the past were believed to be superior and had to work doubly hard to prove their superiority. Now this burden is gone. Men, pat yourselves on the back and congratulate yourselves. Everyone is on equal footing now. We are free to work hard, free to take a break, free to be competitive, free to be lazy.
We rest to recuperate - and evolve - to go the longer distance.
Laziness is not always a bad thing.
