Boo hiss? Mixed feelings toward new zodiac animal(2)

FROM DIVINE TOTEM TO DINNER TABLE

The snake comes sixth in the 12-animal rotation used by the Chinese to represent the year, following the dragon and preceding the horse. Others in the zodiac include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Despite its formidable appearance, the scaly reptile was actually worshipped by ancient Chinese as a totem. Unearthed millennium-old stone carvings depict Fuxi and Nuwa, the mythological primogenitors of the Chinese, as half-human, half-snake.

Some historians also believe the dragon, the national emblem of China, was based on images of snakes, which is why people in many places still call snakes "lesser dragons."

But the earth-bound "dragons" might have lost their divinity over the centuries. For many Chinese, their most common encounters with snakes now happen either at the zoo or at the dining table.

In Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, myriad serpents from boas to cobras and pit vipers are all delicacies in the eyes of local foodies. Though some actually come from snake farms, they are all classified as "hunted meat" and secretly served in restaurants as trading in wild snakes has been banned in China since 2000.

"Snake meat is known for its freshness, so we usually stew it with chicken soup or in hot pots to retain its original flavor," explains the owner of a snake-meat restaurant who only gave his surname as Zheng.

Zheng says eating snake is a long-held tradition. "Many children here suffered skin allergies during the moist spring-summer transition, and in the old days, snake meat was an effective cure."

Zheng is correct in pointing out that snake is held by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory to have tremendous medical effects. Snake gall, TCM practitioners will tell you, can reduce inner heat and alleviate coughs.

But in many southern provinces, eating these animals has evolved from a healthy diet supplement to a luxury gastronomical culture. In Guangdong, "dragon-tiger fight" is an extravagant dish featuring snake and cat meat, while in Fujian, "wild" pit viper meat can sell for 1,000 yuan (160 U.S. dollars) a kg.