12 Chinese Zodiac Signs

In China,there are various ways to ask about a person’s age.Such as “How old are you?” (to children),“What’s your age?” (to the young people),“Can I ask how old you are?” (to quinquagenarians),“May I know your age?” (to the elderly),and so on.In addition,you may ask “What sign were you born under?”

The latter refers to the Chinese zodiac signs comprising 12 animals,which represent the 12 Earthly Branches and are used to symbolize the year in which a person is born.A person will resemble a certain animal corresponding to the year he or she is born.

Before talking about Chinese zodiac signs,let’s talk about Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches first.Heavenly Stems refer to Jia (the first),Yi (the second),Bing (the third),Ding (the fourth),Wu (the fifth),Ji (the sixth),Geng (the seventh),Xin (the eighth),Ren (the ninth) and Gui (the last),while Earthly Branches refer to Zi (the first of the 12 Earthly Branches),Chou (the second),Yin (the third),Mao (the fourth),Chen (the fifth),Si (the sixth),Wu (the seventh),Wei (the eighth),Shen (the ninth),You (the tenth),Xu (the eleventh) and Hai (the last),both of which have been traditionally used as symbols to indicate order.Each of the ten Heavenly Stems is paired with an Earthly Branch,forming Jiazi,Yichou,Bingyin,Dingmao...until Guihai,a cycle of sixty pairs.This cycle is called one Jiazi,meaning a cycle of sixty years,so that age is also called “the year of Huajia”.After that,the cycle starts from Jiazi again.Repeating in endless cycles in this way,they can be used to represent the sequence of year,month,day and time.In ancient times,Stems and Branches were mainly used to count days,but also to count years,months and even hours.Even now,the traditional Chinese calendar still uses Stems and Branches to count years.

12 Chinese Zodiac Signs

The method to designate the years by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches came into being in the 3rd century BC during the period of the legendary Yellow Emperor,and was first used in the Central Plains, while the Northwest Minority regions designated the years by animals.Later in the ethnic exchanges that occurred,these two dating methods integrated to form the current twelfth Chinese zodiac signs.Archaeological excavations have confirmed the zodiac signs came into being as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC).

Under the system,one Earthly Branch strictly corresponds to one animal,that is,Zi Rat,Chou Ox,Yin Tiger,Mao Rabbit,Chen Dragon,Si Snake,Wu Horse,Wei Sheep,Shen Monkey,You Rooster,Xu Dog and Hai Pig.

One might ask: why were these 12 animals chosen and how are they ranked? Scholars have their own explanations,and then there are folk legends as well.

Scholars have explained that the 12 Chinese zodiac signs originated from people’s worship of animals in primitive times,and their ranking is associated with animal living habits,for example,Zi Shi runs from 23:00 to 01:00,when rats are the most active and so they come first.The same applies with the ranking of the other animals.In addition,there are other explanations in terms of yin-yang and the five elements or the odd and even number of the animals’ toes,and so forth.

Folk legends offer a more vivid explanation.It is said that the Jade Emperor wanted to elect 12 animals in the mortal world to be the representatives of the animal kingdom.Once the notice of the election was issued,all the animals were itching to try.At that time,the cat,which was fond of lying in,told its good friend the rat to wake it up when the rat set out on its forays,and the rat agreed.When it was time to set out,however,the rat tried but failed to wake up the cat.Then,the rat selfishly thought to itself: why not just let it go on lying in,so that I have one fewer competitor.On its way,it came across a river and was thinking hard about how to cross this barrier.At that moment,along came an ox,which was also going to stand for election,so the rat jump onto its back.The simple and honest ox simply walked on without complaint.The majestic-looking dragon always felt that it was not beautiful enough without a horn on its head.On this day,the dragon saw a cock dressed in colorful clothes proudly walking in a farm courtyard,and the dragon was attracted by its coxcomb.So,the dragon asked the cock for its loan,but the cock shook his head and said: “No,I am going to stand for election with it tomorrow.” The dragon said: “My cock brother,how beautiful you are! Your beautiful dress alone is already enough to ensure your success in election,so the horn is not necessary.” Upon hearing these honeyed words,the cock,which loved flattery,was inclined to agree but worried about getting the comb back.At that moment,a centipede crawled over and said: “My big brother,lend it.If you have any worry,I am the security for it.” Since the centipede was to be the guarantor,the cock handed its comb to the dragon while repeatedly stressing the need for its return after the election.The dragon was happy to make such a promise and departed.

On the day the election was held,theox was the first to arrive.When the Jade Emperor was about to confirm this,he saw a rat jump to the front from the ox’s back,so it turned out the rat was first and the ox second.The tiger and the rabbit came in third and fourth respectively.The dragon arrived quite late,but looked so beautiful that the Jade Emperor put it in the fifth place.When the dilatory pig arrived at the election convention with much groaning and moaning,the other animals had already been ranked,so it came in last.

The rat was so proud of gaining the first place it boasted to the cat so much that the latter became angry and pounced on it.Hence,the two former good friends became enemies,with the cat always trying to catch the rat,which had to hide to escape.The dragon was not willing to give back the comb to the cock despite its promise,so it jumped a pool to hide.The cock had no choice but to ask the centipede to assume responsibility,and the centipede said: “I have no way either if it doesn’t give back to you!” Then,it also hid.The cock was so unwilling to loose its comb that since then it ascended to the heights every morning to declaim: “My dragon brother! Return my comb!” It also dug in corners and cracks with its claws to try and peck the centipede.

The zodiac has such a long history thatit is difficult to ascertain its origin; however,since it is popular,practical and interesting,it continues to thrive.Fortune-telling usingthe zodiac,the relationship between it andone’s personality,the animal year and otheraspects of faith in the zodiac have becomepart of traditional Chinese culture.