The Strong-Willed Pig[2] (Chinese: 猪坚强; pinyin: Zhu Jianqiang; April 2007[3] – June 16, 2021),[4] was a pig originally belonging to Wan Xingming, a villager in Tuanshan Village, Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou City, Chengdu City. [5] On May 12, 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake occurred and the pig was buried under rubble for 36 days but amazingly survived on just charcoal and rainwater.[6] On June 17, 2008, the pig was rescued and its weight was found to have dropped from 150 kg to 50 kg. [7] The pig became a symbol of hope, fortitude and resilience.[8] He was "revered for his heroism".[9]
Biography
After the Wenchuan earthquake, Jianchuan Museum adopted the pig,[10] and the curator, Fan Jianchuan, gave it two names: the nickname "36 Wa'er" and the formal name "Strong-Willed Pig".[11]
In September 2011, Chinese scientists cloned the Strong-Willed Pig.[12]
In the late stages of its life
On May 1, 2021, Fan Jianchuan stated that "the situation of Strong-Willed Pig is terrible". On the 10th, the Jianchuan Museum said that the pig had entered the final stage of its life.[13]
Death
On June 16, 2021, Strong-Willed Pig died at Jianchuan Museum Cluster at the age of 14 due to old age and exhaustion.[14] On Weibo there were 430 million views of the hashtag "Strong-Willed Pig has died".[8]
References
- ^ Alice Yan. "China's weirdest news stories of 2021 so far: a celebrity pig, snow for sale and a 90-year-old internet star who hasn't posted anything". South China Morning Post.
- ^ "China's 'Strong-Willed Pig' Has Been Cloned". National Public Radio. September 22, 2011.
- ^ ""Strong-Willed Pig" celebrates its birthday this month". cbgc.scol.com.cn. 2021-04-01. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13.
- ^ "Pig that survived earthquake inspires Chinese". The New York Times. Dec 22, 2008.
- ^ ""Strong-Willed Pig" is dying". RFI. May 10, 2021.
- ^ James Griffiths and Nectar Gan (May 14, 2021). ""Strong-Willed Pig" is moving to a new home". CNN.
- ^ Michael L. Tan (2018-07-20). "Miracles of survival". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ a b "Strong-Willed Pig: Animal that survived Sichuan earthquake dies". BBC. June 17, 2021 – via Yahoo!.
- ^ Sparks, Hannah (June 17, 2021). "'strong-willed' pig, famed earthquake survivor, dead at 14". New York Post.
- ^ Hannah Sparks (May 12, 2021). "China bids farewell to legendary 'strong-willed' pig who survived quake". New York Post.
- ^ "As US pulls out of Afghanistan, China sees opportunities - and potential for chaos". Xinhua News Agency. 2020-01-16. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020.
- ^ "China 'clones castrated pig who survived 2008 earthquake'". BBC. 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Strong-Willed Pig is not doing well". Sing Tao Daily. 2021-05-13.
- ^ Shweta Sharma (June 17, 2021). "China mourns heroic 'Strong-Willed Pig' that survived earthquake after it dies of old age". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25.