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 (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in Chinese culture as a reflection of traditional Chinese philosophy. 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, Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, MalaysiaTables of the Malay twelve-year animal zodiac and the eight-year cycle. Probably Kelantan, 1894. PNM MS 1957 (cat. 47), fols. 12v-13r. Courtesy of Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia., Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkey, and Singapore, and among immigrants from these countries.
Identifying this scheme as a "zodiac" reflects superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both divide time cycles into twelve parts, label the majority of those parts with animals, and are used to ascribe a person's personality or events in their life to the person's particular relationship to the cycle. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in the cycle are not only used to represent years in China but are also believed to influence people's personalities, careers, compatibility, marriages, and fortunes.
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
Some scholars suggest the twelve animals were chosen for their symbolic traits, based on their revered status in traditional Chinese culture. The choice varied regionally before being standardized in the Han Dynasty,Cao, 2008 when the Chinese zodiac, as an essential part of Chinese culture, started to take shape. This era formalizes a twelve-year cycle, where each year is associated with a specific animal, as part of a timekeeping system. This system, known as the zodiac cycle, combined the twelve Earthly Branches (地支) with the ten Heavenly Stems (天干) to create a 60-year cycle, a cyclical timekeeping system seen as embodying both personality traits and the broader society. Each Earthly Branch was linked to one of the twelve zodiac signs and to an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.Zhou, 2017
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 rat – received the first year of the 12-year cycle, and so on.
However, historical research suggests that the Chinese zodiac emerged after the establishment of the "Ganzhi or Sexagenary cycle", with each of the twelve animals directly assigned to one of the twelve Earthly Branches. In this system, a person's birth year determines their associated animal, which is linked to a specific Earthly Branch and serves both a chronological function and a means of categorizing individuals into symbolic groups, akin to a genus.
In the Eastern Han dynasty, Xu Shen said that the character si (巳) was the image of a snake, and the same was true for hai (亥) and shi (豕; 'pig'). Since the twelve Earthly Branches of the zodiac were easily confused, people replaced them with animals and borrowed the ordinal symbols to match them with the Earthly Branches to form a chronological symbol system.
In "Totem and celestial combination theory", it is suggested that the zodiac is ancient animal totem worship combined with astronomical images in astronomy.
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).Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp. 2–8, 30–35, 60–64, 88–94, 118–124, 148–153, 178–184, 208–213, 238–244, 270–278, 306–312, 338–344, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005 The belief that everyone and every animal has a role to play in society conforms to Confucian beliefs in a hierarchical society. Just as Confucian beliefs persist in parts of East and Southeast Asia today alongside more modern social views, so does zodiac use.
Number English Animal Earthly branch Yin/yang Trine Fixed element 1 Rat shǔ zǐ Yang 1st Water 2 Ox niú chǒu Yin 2nd Earth 3 Tiger hǔ yín Yang 3rd Wood 4 Rabbit tù mǎo Yin 4th Wood 5 Dragon / lóng chén Yang 1st Earth 6 Snake shé sì Yin 2nd Fire 7 Horse / mǎ wǔ Yang 3rd Fire 8 Goat yáng wèi Yin 4th Earth 9 Monkey hóu shēn Yang 1st Metal 10 Rooster / jī yǒu Yin 2nd Metal 11 Dog gǒu xū Yang 3rd Earth 12 Pig / zhū hài Yin 4th Water
In Chinese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent self-presentation or perception by others. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many Western descriptions of Chinese astrology only reference 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.Ferlus, Michel (2013). The sexagesimal cycle, from China to Southeast Asia. 23rd Annual Conference of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, May 2013, Bangkok, Thailand. <halshs-00922842v2> 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 were ancient pre-Shang borrowings from Austroasiatic languages spoken in the Yangtze River region.
Chinese calendar
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.
Year Year Associated animalYin/yang Associatedelement Heavenlystem Earthlybranch 1924–1983 1984–204311924/02/05 - 1925/01/231984/02/02 - 1985/02/19 RatYang Wood 甲子21925/01/24 - 1926/02/121985/02/20 - 1986/02/08 OxYin Wood 乙丑31926/02/13 - 1927/02/011986/02/09 - 1987/01/28 TigerYang Fire 丙寅41927/02/02 - 1928/01/221987/01/29 - 1988/02/16 RabbitYin Fire 丁卯51928/01/23 - 1929/02/091988/02/17 - 1989/02/05 DragonYang Earth 戊辰61929/02/10 - 1930/01/291989/02/06 - 1990/01/26 SnakeYin Earth 己巳71930/01/30 - 1931/02/161990/01/27 - 1991/02/14 HorseYang Metal 庚午81931/02/17 - 1932/02/051991/02/15 - 1992/02/03 GoatYin Metal 辛未91932/02/06 - 1933/01/251992/02/04 - 1993/01/22 MonkeyYang Water 壬申101933/01/26 - 1934/02/131993/01/23 - 1994/02/09 RoosterYin Water 癸酉111934/02/14 - 1935/02/031994/02/10 - 1995/01/30 DogYang Wood 甲戌121935/02/04 - 1936/01/231995/01/31 - 1996/02/18 PigYin Wood 乙亥131936/01/24 - 1937/02/101996/02/19 - 1997/02/06 RatYang Fire 丙子141937/02/11 - 1938/01/301997/02/07 - 1998/01/27 OxYin Fire 丁丑151938/01/31 - 1939/02/181998/01/28 - 1999/02/15 TigerYang Earth 戊寅161939/02/19 - 1940/02/071999/02/16 - 2000/02/04 RabbitYin Earth 己卯171940/02/08 - 1941/01/262000/02/05 - 2001/01/23 DragonYang Metal 庚辰181941/01/27 - 1942/02/142001/01/24 - 2002/02/11 SnakeYin Metal 辛巳191942/02/15 - 1943/02/042002/02/12 - 2003/01/31 HorseYang Water 壬午201943/02/05 - 1944/01/242003/02/01 - 2004/01/21 GoatYin Water 癸未211944/01/25 - 1945/02/122004/01/22 - 2005/02/08 MonkeyYang Wood 甲申221945/02/13 - 1946/02/012005/02/09 - 2006/01/28 RoosterYin Wood 乙酉231946/02/02 - 1947/01/212006/01/29 - 2007/02/17 DogYang Fire 丙戌241947/01/22 - 1948/02/092007/02/18 - 2008/02/06 PigYin Fire 丁亥251948/02/10 - 1949/01/282008/02/07 - 2009/01/25 RatYang Earth 戊子261949/01/29 - 1950/02/162009/01/26 - 2010/02/13 OxYin Earth 己丑271950/02/17 - 1951/02/052010/02/14 - 2011/02/02 TigerYang Metal 庚寅281951/02/06 - 1952/01/262011/02/03 - 2012/01/22 RabbitYin Metal 辛卯291952/01/27 - 1953/02/132012/01/23 - 2013/02/09 DragonYang Water 壬辰301953/02/14 - 1954/02/022013/02/10 - 2014/01/30 SnakeYin Water 癸巳311954/02/03 - 1955/01/232014/01/31 - 2015/02/18 HorseYang Wood 甲午321955/01/24 - 1956/02/112015/02/19 - 2016/02/07 GoatYin Wood 乙未331956/02/12 - 1957/01/302016/02/08 - 2017/01/27 MonkeyYang Fire 丙申341957/01/31 - 1958/02/172017/01/28 - 2018/02/15 RoosterYin Fire 丁酉351958/02/18 - 1959/02/072018/02/16 - 2019/02/04 DogYang Earth 戊戌361959/02/08 - 1960/01/272019/02/05 - 2020/01/24 PigYin Earth 己亥371960/01/28 - 1961/02/142020/01/25 - 2021/02/11 RatYang Metal 庚子381961/02/15 - 1962/02/042021/02/12 - 2022/01/31 OxYin Metal 辛丑391962/02/05 - 1963/01/242022/02/01 - 2023/01/21 TigerYang Water 壬寅401963/01/25 - 1964/02/122023/01/22 - 2024/02/09 RabbitYin Water 癸卯411964/02/13 - 1965/02/012024/02/10 - 2025/01/28 DragonYang Wood 甲辰421965/02/02 - 1966/01/202025/01/29 - 2026/02/16 SnakeYin Wood 乙巳431966/01/21 - 1967/02/082026/02/17 - 2027/02/05 HorseYang Fire 丙午441967/02/09 - 1968/01/292027/02/06 - 2028/01/25 GoatYin Fire 丁未451968/01/30 - 1969/02/162028/01/26 - 2029/02/12 MonkeyYang Earth 戊申461969/02/17 - 1970/02/052029/02/13 - 2030/02/02 RoosterYin Earth 己酉471970/02/06 - 1971/01/262030/02/03 - 2031/01/22 DogYang Metal 庚戌481971/01/27 - 1972/02/142031/01/23 - 2032/02/10 PigYin Metal 辛亥491972/02/15 - 1973/02/022032/02/11 - 2033/01/30 RatYang Water 壬子501973/02/03 - 1974/01/222033/01/31 - 2034/02/18 OxYin Water 癸丑511974/01/23 - 1975/02/102034/02/19 - 2035/02/07 TigerYang Wood 甲寅521975/02/11 - 1976/01/302035/02/08 - 2036/01/27 RabbitYin Wood 乙卯531976/01/31 - 1977/02/172036/01/28 - 2037/02/14 DragonYang Fire 丙辰541977/02/18 - 1978/02/062037/02/15 - 2038/02/03 SnakeYin Fire 丁巳551978/02/07 - 1979/01/272038/02/04 - 2039/01/23 HorseYang Earth 戊午561979/01/28 - 1980/02/152039/01/24 - 2040/02/11 GoatYin Earth 己未571980/02/16 - 1981/02/042040/02/12 - 2041/01/31 MonkeyYang Metal 庚申581981/02/05 - 1982/01/242041/02/01 - 2042/01/21 RoosterYin Metal 辛酉591982/01/25 - 1983/02/122042/01/22 - 2043/02/09 DogYang Water 壬戌601983/02/13 - 1984/02/012043/02/10 - 2044/01/29 PigYin Water 癸亥
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. A common way to explore zodiac compatibility is with a chart showing how each zodiac sign interacts other signs. For example, constellations that are considered compatible with each other may have similar values and interests, while incompatible constellations may have conflicting personalities and ways of communicating.