THE LEGEND OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

Many, many moons ago, a horrific beast roamed the Chinese countryside, striking at the close
of every year to eat innocent villagers, their livestock, and their hard-earned crops. The name of this
beast was Nian.

One year after a very horrific attack, the villagers banded together to find a way to conquer it
once and for all. Among those gathered was an old man who offered his advice on the best way to
defeat this beast. "It is scared of a lot of noises and bright lights," the old man said. "It's also terrified
of the color red, so use that to protect your homes."

The village sprang to action. Families hung red lanterns and hung scrolls and paper cutouts on
their front doors. Villagers lit firecrackers and banged gongs and drums. They even performed a loud
and discordant lion dance. And after that, they gathered to form a long dragon dance.

Their hard work paid off. The Nian retreated to the mountains or under the sea from where it
came. But they will never test fate again. As long as they perform these tasks every year, they can
keep the Nian at bay. That's why Chinese New Year is known as Guo Nian, which means "crossing
the Nian."

ANALYSIS

The Generic Structure

ORIENTATION :

COMPLICATION :

RESOLUTION :

RE-ORIENTATION :

Languange Features

1. PAST TENSE


2. ACTION VERB
 Roamed
 Striking
 Eat
  Attack
 Find
 Defeat
 Conquer
 Gathered
 Offered
 Use
 Protect
 Sprang
 Hung
 Lit
 Banged
 Performed
 Form
 Dance
 Retreated
 Came
 Test
 Perform
 Keep

3. ADVERB OF TIME

4. DIRECT SPEECH

"It is scared of a lot of noises and bright lights," the old man said. "It's also terrified of the
color red, so use that to protect your homes."