By SUSAN TRIMBLE

Separating the sheep from the goats.

According to the lunar calendar, 2003 is the Year of the Sheep*. So, what about sheep? Rather than looking at the characteristics attributed to a person born in the Year of the Sheep, it might be more fun to think about where we would be if there were no sheep at all. No wool! No lanolin! No shish kebab! England would not knit, New Zealand would not shear, France would not have Roquefort, shepherds would not roam and the New York Yankees would not have baseballs! Imagine a world with no sheep!

As I look around this room where I sit writing, I find I'm toasting my feet in felt slippers made from the fleece of a Cheviot sheep from England. Flung on the corner of the chair is my husband's sheepskin jacket, and I'm wearing a cozy sweater from Scotland knitted with yarn spun from the fine fleece of Shetland sheep. Oh - and my socks are hand-knit with sheep's wool. I'm thinking about my gloves that are lined with Persian lamb, and my Tu minority hat - the brim of which is black sheepskin trimmed short so its curls show. My son has just walked in wearing his Tibetan jacket lined with the white and black skins of newborn lambs that didn't survive the cold winter weather in Qinghai. And in my hallway lies a colorful felt carpet from Kashgar. And I've just given my friend a super hat designed and hand felted from Australian Merino fleece by a woman in Beijing. My car has sheepskin seat covers and on my bed is a comforter filled with woolen batting.

Insulated for winter.

Sheep are grazing animals that flock together and follow a leader. Usually the leader is a ram that has proven his superiority in the flock. Sheep are split hoofed, cud-chewing animals, often with a pair of hollow, unbranched horns that do not shed. Sheep average 1 to 1.5 meters tall and weigh 75 to 200 kg at adulthood. Most have short hanging tails, pointed ears and a long narrow muzzle with no beard (goats have beards and standup tails). Most sheep have wool that varies in texture, colour, length and curliness. Sheep can live to 20 years. A ewe will have one to three lambs after a gestation period of about 150 days. Lambs stand as soon as they are born, can romp and play within days, and become as surefooted as the adult sheep before reaching four months.

Domestic sheep cannot defend themselves against predators. They are somewhat timid, not very curious, tend to be obedient, and learn to recognize their shepherd, guard dog or owner. These personality traits have given rise to the following expressions, poetry and silly sayings.

"Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go."

"Don't think like a sheep if you want to be a tiger."

"Wearing a sheepish look on his face as he was caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar."

"She was making sheep's eyes at the handsome hunter."

"Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn't know where to find them. Leave them alone, they'll come home, dragging their tails behind them."

"As gentle as a lamb."

Modern Chinese dance drama Tibetan Antelope.

Wild sheep have keen eyesight and a fine sense of smell. They are alert, speedy and extremely surefooted. Normally these traits are their only means of survival against predators. However in the case of some wild sheep with very large heavy horns, coupled with strongly developed butting instincts, even large cats and wild dogs are frequently injured or frightened off. Some say that wild sheep have hair rather than a woolen coat.

Throughout northern China, in the villages and the city hutongs*, you will see women knitting. They knit while they walk, while they talk, while they mind their children or while they tend their animals. In fact before the crops are in or the wood collected, the women have started to knit another sweater, hat or set of ear coverings. All spare moments are used to ensure that their family members will be insulated against the cold winter ahead - insulated with wool - just like sheep!

In Inner Mongolia and western China, the wool is felted* into carpets, hats, liners for boots, boots themselves, and of course the covering of the famous yurt or ger*.

In Tibet the fleece of the sheep is felted and made into horse blankets and door coverings. Every Tibetan, young or old wears a traditional coat lined with soft lambskin.

In Ningxia, Xinjiang and other Muslim parts of China, the men wear heavy black coats lined with sheepskin. Their hats are similarly lined, and they cover themselves with sheepskins at night.

Miao minority people in Guizhou, Guangxi and northern Yunnan use felted sheep's wool as a backing for baby carriers - for warmth in the cold months and to protect the mother's back from rubbing as she carries her child on her back while she works.

In fact, many of China's minorities depend heavily on the sheep to sustain their lives.

Traditional Tibetan sheepskin coat.

China has the largest sheep population in the world - 130 million sheep (Australia is second with 115 million). China's sheep are the fat tailed variety and are raised mainly for meat, but also for milk and other dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Generally the wool quality of these sheep is low, however there are some exceptions.

Qinghai has the Black Tibetan sheep and a hybrid called the Qinghai Semifinewool sheep. In Gansu you will find the Alpine Finewool; in Shanxi, the Guanglin Largetail; in Ningxia, the Tanyang. Zhejiang and Jiangsu have the Hu variety. Xinjiang has 10 million Merino sheep of Australian origin. All of these sheep are raised primarily for their wool. While the wool varies in texture, overall it is most suitable for carpets.

I'm thinking about last night's dinner. My friend had lamb chops, and I had pasta with feta cheese - sheep's milk feta cheese. I recall the festive whole roasted lamb of Xinjiang and of course the kebabs or yangrouchuan cooked over those iron briquette burners that we used to find on all the street corners in Beijing. And Hot Pot parties where paper-thin rolls of mutton cooked to perfection in broth melt in your mouth and make a warm and comfortable winter meal. Sheep's milk is very white, creamy rich but not strong tasting. It is naturally homogenized, easily digestible, and very rich in calcium, protein and other nutrients. It has twice the fat content of cow's milk and therefore makes fabulous cheese (Roquefort, brie and feta), outstanding yogurt and delicious ice cream. I can still taste the sheep's milk yogurt with which I finished every meal in northern Tibet. And I can't wait for someone in China to start marketing locally made feta cheese!

Sheep's wool insulates and decorates. You can spin it, knit it, felt it, weave it, dye it, wear it.

Sheep also have impacted our language and culture. Here are...

A Few More Sheepish Expressions

The black sheep in the family - came from the fact that black sheep wool couldn't be dyed and therefore was worth less than white wool.

Pull the wool over his eyes - came from the judges wearing oversize wigs that often slipped over their eyes, causing momentary blindness.

Dyed in the wool - comes from adding dye to raw wool rather than spun wool, resulting in a much stronger and deeply engrained colour - thus "a dyed in the wool traditionalist"

Spin a yarn - comes from women telling stories to amuse each other while they worked together at their spinning wheels.

Felt boots for Lamas.

Being fleeced - means being cheated or having all your belongings stolen. It comes from sheep having all their wool sheared.

Go for wool and come home shorn - means to have the tables turned on you.

Some Wooly Proverbs

Without a shepherd, sheep are not a flock - Russia

A lazy sheep thinks his wool is heavy - Turkey

An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep - Arabia

The sheep has no choice when in the jaws of a wolf - China

A camel standing amidst a flock of sheep looks awkward - China

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb - England

Hang out a sheep's head to sell dog's meat - China

It is the part of a good shepherd to shear his flock not to skin it - Latin

Some Fleecy Words

Haggis - sheep stomach stuffed with yummy heart, liver, mutton and spices, boiled.

Muttonchops -side whiskers wedge-shaped like mutton chops

Lanolin - greasy secretion from the sheep's skin that is found in the wool - used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and pharmaceutical creams

Woolgathering - idle daydreaming - from feudal England when poor children wandered the countryside gathering tufts of wool snagged on hedges as sheep passed by.

Mouton - French for sheep - thus Mouton coats

Hogget - a one-year-old lamb

Some Sheepy Traditions in China

The sheep is the mainstay of at least two of China's ethnic peoples. The Mongolians and the Kazaks are pastoral people whose dependency on sheep is uppermost. They

produce excellent dairy products from sheep's milk including butter. Their traditional clothing is made from sheepskins and of course they live in felt gers. Both also use the sheep as pack animals during their seasonal move to better pastures.

Xiushi (Buhele) is the traditional Mongolian fare served at ceremonious banquets, festivals and weddings. It is a congratulatory offering of whole roasted sheep, and was given to honored guests such as Genghis Khan.

Kazaks have a similar ceremony during which they serve a prize sheep; the head is presented to the honored guest who returns a slice of cheek to the host and an ear to the youngest guest.

Some Shepherd's Advice

There are many descriptions of people born in the year of the Sheep. The traits that I find most fitting to the "Sheep" that I know are artistic, gentle, kind and sensitive. Sheep have the good sense to look for comfort and to find the easy way to water. They love company but do not tread on each other's toes. They are loyal and trusting.

Look after the Sheep in your life. It would be tough if there were none!