Chinese zodiac

Chinese zodiac, annual classification system in Chinese culture following the Chinese lunar calendar yingyang li (literally, “heaven-earth”) in which each year in a 12-year cycle is assigned an animal and each animal is associated with a personality that typifies the year and those born during that year. The cycle changes to a new animal each year at the Chinese New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar, and the order of animals restarts after going through the cycle of 12 animals. Unlike the Western zodiac system, which is based on months named for constellations, the Chinese zodiac changes its animal sign with each year. In terms of predicting human outcomes, the emphasis is on one’s birth year rather than month.

In Chinese the zodiac system is called Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang: Sheng means “birth year,” and Xiao means “likeness”; Shu means “the 12 earthly branches,” and Xiang means “animal symbolism.” The 12 earthly branches are a Chinese system of organizing years and hours in sets of 12, to which the representative animals were later added. A legendary race between animals is said to have founded the Chinese zodiac. The astrological system is still prominent in Chinese culture and is especially celebrated annually around the Chinese New Year.

History and legend of the Chinese zodiac

The Chinese zodiac’s history is unclear. A few sources suggest that it can be traced to the Warring States period (475–221 bce), other sources place its beginning in the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce), and others during the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). In any event, it had been firmly established by the latter half of the Han dynasty.

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Historical matters aside, a popular legend about a race between animals is frequently recounted as the origin of the Chinese zodiac. A common telling of the legend says that the Jade Emperor—the most revered and popular of the Daoist deities—initiated the race, while another version claims that the Buddha did. The occasion for calling the race, according to the legend, was to create the zodiac itself, and all animals were invited to participate for a chance to be featured in the zodiac system. The first 12 to cross the finish line would earn a place in the calendar in the order they completed the race. A main feature of the racecourse was a river that the animals had to cross.

Although all tellings include the animals arriving in the same order, there are variations on the reasons certain animals finished in certain places. A prominent version recounts that the first animal to cross the river, the rat, used its smarts to hitch a ride on the ox before jumping off at the last second to win the race. After the ox came the tiger, rabbit, and dragon. The dragon could fly and thus win the race handily, but, according to some versions of the story, the dragon made a detour to save some villagers from a fire. Next came the snake and the horse in that order. Some accounts suggest that, to come out ahead, the snake startled the horse, but other accounts suggest that the snake hid in, or wrapped itself around, one of the horse’s hooves while fording the river and, like the rat, sneaked ahead just before the finish line. The sheep, monkey, and rooster came next after helping one another across the river. The dog finished second to last after pausing to take a bath or to play in the river. The pig came in last after stopping to eat and rest along the way. Thus, the animals in order are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Another variation of the story includes a cat asking the rat to wake it up on the morning of the race. When the rat forgot, the cat was too late to take part, resulting in its exclusion from the calendar. In another version, the cat and rat were both on the ox’s back while crossing the river, but the rat pushed the cat overboard, sinking its chances of inclusion on the list. Legend says that this is why cats hate rats and try to chase and kill them. In other legends, either the Buddha or the Jade Emperor invites all the animals to a banquet rather than a race, and those that attend are featured in the zodiac.

Personalities, meanings, and other variations

The characteristics of each animal are said to correspond to traits of those born in each sign’s year, influencing such things as personalities, relationships, and careers. Certain signs are said to be more compatible with others or more fit for certain careers. In conjunction with other methods of astrological prediction in China, the Chinese zodiac was once assumed to indicate the nature of coming harvests and political futures.

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In addition to the cycle of animals, there is also a corresponding system of elements. Ancient Chinese cosmology developed the concept of wuxing, the five basic elements of earth, wood, metal, fire, and water. These elements underlie the universe and their cycles explain change in the cosmos. This cycle of elements intersects with the cycle of 12 zodiac signs, thus yielding specific combinations—such as wood snake or metal monkey—and allowing for further predictive specificity for astrological calculations.

The Chinese zodiac system is also believed to indicate when people need to take extra precautions. The return after 12 years of people’s birth year sign (ben ming nian) is thought to be unlucky, so, rather than a cause for celebration, people are extra cautious when their birth year sign cycles around again. Additionally, each year in a 60-year cycle is guarded by a different celestial deity, or Tai Sui. People during the sign of their birth year are believed to be in a state of fan tai sui, which means clashing with the Tai Sui. All hope is not lost, however, since people may perform certain rituals or take certain talismanic precautions to try to curb any bad luck, including praying to and worshipping the Tai Sui, wearing red, and wearing an amulet with a winged lion known as a pixiu.

Asian countries neighboring China have adopted the Chinese mythology of the zodiac. The Chinese model is known in North Korea and South Korea, Cambodia, and Singapore. Sometimes variations of the list of animals occurred in the process of translation from China to other regions. For example, in some parts of Thailand, the pig was replaced with an elephant. In Thailand a naga—a mythical humanoid and serpentine being—replaced the dragon. In Japan, the pig was replaced with a boar, and the system moved to a solar rather than lunar calendar. In Vietnam the sheep, ox, and rabbit are replaced by the goat, buffalo, and cat, respectively.