Chinese zodiac

The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. In traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese zodiac is very important and exists as a reflection of Chinese philosophy and culture. Chinese folkways held that one's personality is related to the attributes of their zodiac animal. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Identifying this scheme using the generic term "zodiac" reflects several superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into twelve parts, each label at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people's personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.

For the starting date of a zodiac year, there are two schools of thought in Chinese astrology: Chinese New Year or the Start of Spring.

History
According to legend, the Jade Emperor held a contest to decide which animals would be lucky enough to be included in the calendar. The winner of the race – the mouse – received the first year of the 12-year cycle, and so on.

However, according to historical records and research, the Chinese zodiac appeared after the establishment of the "Ganji Chronicle Law", and the twelve animals corresponded to the twelve branches one by one. People born in any given year have animals belonging to that branch of the earth, and accordingly, twelve animals are used for chronology and the genus of each person.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen said that the word "already" was the image of a snake, and the same was true of "Hai" and "Piggy". Since the twelve branches of the zodiac are easily remembered, twelve animals have been replaced by animals to borrow the ordinal symbols and match them with the branches of the earth to form a chronological symbol system,.

"Totem and celestial combination theory", puts forth the idea that the zodiac is ancient animal totem worship combined with astronomical images in astronomy. Among them, the explanation of the totem and celestial combinations is more scientific.

Signs
The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat. The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order, each with its associated characteristics (Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branch, yin/yang force, Trine, and nature element). The belief that everyone and every animal has a role to play in society translates well with Confucian beliefs in a hierarchical society. Just as Confucian beliefs persist in Asia today alongside more modern social views, so does the use of the zodiac.

In Chinese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent how others perceive one or how one presents oneself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many Western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. There are also animal signs assigned by month (called "inner animals"), by day (called "true animals"), and hours (called "secret animals"). The Earth is all twelve signs, with five seasons.

Michel Ferlus (2013) notes that the Old Chinese names of the earthly branches are of Austroasiatic origin. Some of Ferlus's comparisons are given below, with Old Chinese reconstructions cited from Baxter & Sagart (2014).


 * : Old Chinese *[n̥]ruʔ (compare Proto-Viet-Muong *c.luː 'water buffalo')
 * : Old Chinese *[m].qʰˤaʔ (compare Proto-Viet-Muong *m.ŋəːˀ)
 * : Old Chinese *[g]ˤəʔ (compare Northern Proto-Viet-Muong *kuːrˀ)

There is also a lexical correspondence with Austronesian:
 * : Old Chinese *m[ə]t-s (compare Atayal miːts)

The terms for the earthly branches are attested from Shang Dynasty inscriptions and were likely also used before Shang times. Ferlus (2013) suggests that the terms may have been ancient pre-Shang borrowings from Austroasiatic languages that were spoken in the Yangtze River region.

Years
Within the Four Pillars, the year is the pillar representing information about the person's family background and society or relationship with their grandparents. The person's age can also be easily deduced from their sign, the current sign of the year, and the person's generational disposition (teens, mid-20s, and so on). For example, a person born a Tiger is 12, 24, 36, (etc.) years old in the year of the Tiger (2022); in the year of the Rabbit (2023), that person is one year older.

The following table shows the 60-year cycle matched up to the Gregorian calendar for 1924–2043. The sexagenary cycle begins at lichun about February 4 according to some astrological sources.

First
The first Trine consists of the Rat, Dragon, and Monkey. These three signs are considered intense and powerful individuals capable of great good, who make great leaders but are rather unpredictable. The three are intelligent, generous, charismatic, charming, authoritative, confident, eloquent, and artistic, but can also be manipulative, jealous, selfish, aggressive, vindictive, and deceitful.

Second
The second Trine consists of the Ox, Snake, and Rooster. These three signs are said to possess endurance and application, with slow accumulation of energy, meticulous at planning but tending to hold fixed opinions. The three are said to be intelligent, hard-working, modest, industrious, loyal, philosophical, patient, goodhearted, and morally upright, but can also be self-righteous, egotistical, vain, judgmental, narrow-minded, and petty.

Third
The third Trine consists of the Tiger, Horse, and Dog. These three signs are said to seek true love, to pursue humanitarian causes, to be idealistic and independent but tending to be impulsive. The three are said to be productive, enthusiastic, independent, engaging, dynamic, honorable, loyal, and protective, but can also be rash, rebellious, quarrelsome, anxious, disagreeable, and stubborn.

Fourth
The fourth Trine consists of the Rabbit, Goat, and Pig. These three signs are said to have a calm nature and somewhat reasonable approach; they seek aesthetic beauty and are artistic, well-mannered and compassionate, yet detached and resigned to their condition. The three are said to be caring, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, empathetic, tactful, and prudent, but can also be naive, pedantic, insecure, selfish, indecisive, and pessimistic.

Compatibility
As the Chinese zodiac is derived according to the ancient Five Elements Theory, every Chinese sign is associated with five elements with relations, among those elements, of interpolation, interaction, over-action, and counter-action—believed to be the common law of motions and changes of creatures in the universe. Different people born under each animal sign supposedly have different personalities, and practitioners of Chinese astrology consult such traditional details and compatibilities to offer putative guidance in life or for love and marriage. One of the most common ways to explore the compatibility of the zodiac is to use a compatibility chart that shows how each zodiac sign interacts with another zodiac sign.For example, constellations that are considered compatible with each other may have similar values and interests, while constellations that are considered incompatible may have conflicting personalities and ways of communicating.

Origin stories
There are many stories and fables to explain the beginning of the zodiac. Since the Han Dynasty, the twelve Earthly Branches have been used to record the time of day. However, for the sake of entertainment and convenience, they have been replaced by the twelve animals, and a mnemonic refers to the behavior of the animals:

Earthly Branches may refer to a double-hour period. In the latter case it is the center of the period; for instance, 马 (Horse) means noon as well as a period from 11:00 to 13:00.

Great Race
An ancient folktale called "The Great Race" tells of the Jade Emperor's decree that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river.

"The Cat and the Rat were not good at swimming, but they were both quite intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the Ox. The Ox, being kindhearted and naive, agreed to carry them both across. As the Ox was about to reach the other side of the river, the Rat pushed the Cat into the water, and then jumped off the Ox and rushed to the Jade Emperor. It was named as the first animal of the zodiac calendar. The Ox had to settle for second place.

The third animal to come was the Tiger. Even though it was strong and powerful, it admitted to the Jade Emperor that the currents were pushing it downstream.

Suddenly, a thump sound came from the distance, signaling the arrival of the Rabbit. It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it thought it might lose the race, but it was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed it to shore. For that, it became the fourth animal in the zodiac cycle.

In fifth place was the flying Dragon. The Jade Emperor wondered why a swift, airborne creature such as the Dragon did not come in first place. The Dragon explained that it had to stop by a village and bring rain for all the people, and therefore it was held back. Then, on its way to the finish, it saw the helpless Rabbit clinging onto a log, so it did a good deed and gave a puff of breath in the poor creature's direction so that it could land on the shore. The Jade Emperor was astonished by the Dragon's good nature, and it was named as the fifth animal of the zodiac.

As soon as the Dragon arrived, there came a galloping sound, and the Horse appeared. Hidden on the Horse's hoof was the Snake, whose sudden appearance gave the Horse a fright, thus making it fall back and giving the Snake the sixth spot while the Horse placed seventh.

After a while, the Goat, Monkey, and Rooster came to the river blocking the heavenly gate. The Rooster found a raft, and the Monkey and the Goat tugged and pulled, trying to get all the weeds out of the way. With combined efforts, they managed to arrive to the other side. The Jade Emperor was pleased with their teamwork and decided to name the Goat as the eighth animal, followed by the Monkey and then the Rooster.

The eleventh animal placed in the zodiac cycle was the Dog. Although it should have been the best swimmer and runner, it spent its time playing in the river water. Its explanation for being late was that it needed a good bath after a long journey, but it almost did not make it to the finish line.

Right when the Jade Emperor was going to end the race, an oink sound was heard: it was the Pig. The Pig felt hungry in the middle of the race, so it stopped, ate something, and then fell asleep. After it awoke, it finished the race in twelfth place, making it the last animal to arrive.

The Cat eventually drowned and failed to become part of the zodiac. It is said that this is the reason why cats hate water. It is also the reason for the rivalry between the Cat and Rat, as it was the Rat's callous act to push the Cat into the river."

Variations
Another version of the folktale tells that the Rat deceived the Ox into letting it jump on its back by promising the Ox that it could hear the Rat sing, before jumping off at the finish line and finishing first. Another variant says that the Rat cheated the Cat out its place at the finish line, by hiding on the back of the Dog, who was too focused to notice that he had a stow-away. The Cat tried to attack the rat in retaliation, but hurt the Dog by accident. This is said to account for the antagonistic dynamic between cats and rats, beyond normal predator and prey behavior, and also why dogs and cats fight.

In Chinese mythology, a story tells that the cat was tricked by the Rat so it could not go to the banquet. This is why the Cat is ultimately not part of the Chinese zodiac.

In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to them in the order they had arrived.

The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were developed in the early stages of Chinese civilization, so therefore it is difficult to investigate its real origins. Most historians agree that the Cat is not included, as cats had not yet been introduced to China from India with the arrival of Buddhism. Until recently, however, the Vietnamese have moved away from their traditional texts and literature and, unlike all other countries who follow the Sino lunar calendar, include the Cat instead of the Rabbit as a zodiac animal. The most common explanation for this would be that cats are worshipped by farmers in East Asia, who believe that cats' luck and prosperity protects their crops. Another popular cultural reason is that the ancient word for rabbit (Mao) sounds like cat (Meo).

Adaptations
The Chinese zodiac signs are also used by cultures other than Chinese. For one example, they usually appear on Korean New Year and Japanese New Year's cards and stamps. The United States Postal Service and several other countries' postal services issue a "Year of the ____" postage stamp each year to honor this Chinese heritage.

The zodiac is also widely used in commercial culture, for example, in the Chinese New Year market, various products related to the zodiac, such as crafts, toys, books, accessories, paintings and so on are popular.

The Chinese lunar coins, depicting the zodiac animals, inspired the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins, as well as varieties from Australia, South Korea, and Mongolia.

The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China. However, some of the animals in the zodiac may differ by country.

Asian
The Korean zodiac includes the Sheep (yang) instead of the Goat (which would be yeomso), although the Chinese source of the loanword yang may refer to any goat-antelope.

The Japanese zodiac includes the Sheep (hitsuji) instead of the Goat (which would be yagi), and the Wild boar (inoshishi, i) instead of the Pig (buta). Since 1873, the Japanese have celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the Gregorian calendar.

The Vietnamese zodiac varies from the Chinese zodiac with the second animal being the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal being the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Cambodian zodiac is exactly identical to that of the Chinese although the dragon is interchangeable with the Neak (nāga) Cambodian sea snake. Sheep and Goat are interchangeable as well. The Cambodian New Year is celebrated in April, rather than in January or February as it is in China and most countries.

The Cham zodiac uses the same order as the Chinese zodiac, but replaces the Monkey with the turtle (known locally as kra).

Similarly the Malay zodiac is identical to the Chinese but replaces the Rabbit with the mousedeer (pelanduk) and the Pig with the tortoise (kura or kura-kura). The Dragon (Loong) is normally equated with the nāga but it is sometimes called Big Snake (ular besar) while the Snake sign is called Second Snake (ular sani). This is also recorded in a 19th-century manuscript compiled by John Leyden.

The Thai zodiac includes a nāga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at the Chinese New Year, but either on the first day of the fifth month in the Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran New Year festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use. Historically, Lan Na (Kingdom around Northern Thailand) also replaces pig with elephant. While modern Thai have returned to pig, its name is still กุน (gu̜n), retaining the actual word for elephant in the zodiac.

The Gurung zodiac in Nepal includes a Cow instead of an Ox, a Cat instead of Rabbit, an Eagle instead of a Dragon (Loong), a Bird instead of a Rooster, and a Deer instead of a Pig.

The Bulgar calendar used from the 2nd century and that has been only partially reconstructed uses a similar sixty-year cycle of twelve animal-named years groups.

The Old Mongol calendar uses the Mouse, the Ox, the Leopard, the Hare, the Crocodile, the Serpent, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Hen, the Dog and the Hog.

The Tibetan calendar replaces the Rooster with the bird.

The Volga Bulgars, Kazars and other Turkic peoples replaced some animals by local fauna: Leopard (instead of Tiger), Fish or Crocodile (instead of Dragon/Loong), Hedgehog (instead of Monkey), Elephant (instead of Pig), and Camel (instead of Rat/Mouse).

In the Persian version of the Eastern zodiac brought by Mongols during the Middle Ages, the Chinese word lóng and Mongol word lū (Dragon) was translated as nahang meaning "water beast", and may refer to any dangerous aquatic animal both mythical and real (crocodiles, hippos, sharks, sea serpents, etc.). In the 20th century the term nahang is used almost exclusively as meaning Whale, thus switching the Loong for the Whale in the Persian variant.

In the traditional Kazakh version of the twelve-year animal cycle (мүшел, müşel), the Dragon is replaced by a snail (ұлу, ulw), and the Tiger appears as a leopard (барыс, barıs).

In the Kyrgyz version of the Chinese zodiac (мүчөл, müçöl) the words for the Dragon (улуу, uluu), Monkey (мечин, meçin) and Tiger (барс, bars) are only found in Chinese zodiac names, other animal names include Mouse, Cow, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Chicken, Dog and Wild boar.

English translation
Due to confusion with synonyms during translation, some of the animals depicted by the English words did not exist in ancient China. For example:
 * The term Rat can be translated as Mouse, as there are no distinctive words for the two genera in Chinese. However, Rat is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms.
 * The term Ox, a castrated Bull, can be translated interchangeably with other terms related to Cattle (male Bull, female Cow) and Buffalo. However, Ox is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms.
 * The term Rabbit can be translated as Hare, as 卯 (and 兔) do not distinguish between the two genera of leporids. As hares are native to China and most of Asia and rabbits are not, this would be more accurate. However, in colloquial English Rabbit can encompass hares as well.
 * The term Snake can be translated as Serpent, which refers to a large species of snake and has the same behavior, although this term is rarely used.
 * The term Goat can be translated as Sheep and Ram, a male Sheep. However, Goat is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms.
 * The term Rooster can be translated interchangeably with Chicken, as well as the female Hen. However, Rooster is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms in English-speaking countries.