The Chinese zodiac is a mathematical cycle of 12 animals. Each animal represents one year. Chinese Zodiac signs are subdivided into inner animals -- representing months of the year, and secret animals -- representing each hour of the day. This enables the 12 basic animal signs to be interpreted in 8,640 possible combinations!
The well-trodden (no pun intended) story of the Chinese zodiac is cute, but a bit trite. The tale usually begins with the Jade Emperor, or Buddha, depending on the teller, who summoned all the animals of the universe for a race, or a banquet, depending on the teller. The 12 animals of the zodiac all headed to the palace. The order that they came in determined the order of the zodiac.
The Shengxiao, called the Chinese Zodiac colloquially, is a traditional Chinese system that relates the birth year of a person to an animal and its characteristics. The word 'Sheng' means 'year of birth' and the word 'Xiao' means 'resemblance'. Based on the lunar calendar, this system is a twelve-year cycle as opposed to the monthly cycle of western zodiac signs, although both have a twelve-part time cycle. This twelve-year cycle is a sub-cycle of the larger 60-year cycle, which is formed by the amalgamation of each one of these twelve earthly branches with ten heavenly stems.
The animals in the Chinese zodiac are believed to be created in order to count years. The time division in ancient China (during 200 A.D.) was mostly related to the number twelve: one ji = 12 years, one year has 12 months, and one day has 12 time periods called shi chen. Each of these time divisions is also named in the same manner as the twelve years.
People are associated with the animal for the year that they are born. The 12 animals in order are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Zodiac animals can also represent hours of the day and directions. Although it is called the Chinese zodiac, this system is also used in several other countries in Asia such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
The twelve animal zodiacs are the base of Chinese astrology. Here we have listed each zodiac and its unique characteristics. The birth year correspondence for the people born in January, or February should be double checked as the Chinese new year changes each year, usually falling between the end of January and the start of February. So, for example, if your birthday falls on January 13, 1900, and the Chinese new year that year is on January 29, your zodiac is Pig and not Rat, even though the table shows the people born in 1900 to be "Rat" people.
The foundation of Chinese Astrology is from Yin Yang and Five Elements, which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. All Chinese Horoscope signs, Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog and Pig, 12 Chinese Zodiac signs can be converted into Five Elements. Our free Chinese Five Element Astrology site provides you the advice on Baby Gender Prediction, Baby Lucky Names, Dating and Marriage Match, Lucky House and Bedroom Selections, and your Lucky Years using the combinations of Five Elements. We hope you can find the Chinese Astrology secrets of you and your family's members and wish your family live luckier, wealthier, healthier, happier and longer.
Actual History of the Zodiac
The actual history behind the Chinese zodiac is a much less fantastical and much harder to find. It’s known from pottery artifacts that the animals of the zodiac were popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), but they were also seen much earlier from artifacts from the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), a period of disunity in ancient Chinese history, as differing factions fought for control.
It’s been written that the animals of the zodiac were brought to China via the Silk Road, the same central Asian trade route that brought the Buddhist belief from India to China. But some scholars argue that the belief predates Buddhism and has origins in early Chinese astronomy that used the planet Jupiter as a constant, as its orbit around the earth took place every 12 years. Still others have argued that the use of animals in astrology began with nomadic tribes in ancient China who developed a calendar based on the animals they used to hunt and gather.
The scholar Christopher Cullen as written that beyond satisfying the spiritual needs of an agrarian society, the use of astronomy and astrology was also an imperative of the emperor, who had the responsibility for ensuring harmony of everything under heaven. To rule well and with prestige, one needed to be accurate in astronomical matters, Cullen wrote. Perhaps that is why the Chinese calendar, including the zodiac, became so entrenched in Chinese culture. In fact, reforming the calendar system was viewed as appropriate if political change was eminent.
Personality
Chinese people believe that each zodiac animal has a personality, and people born in the same year may have similar personalities.[1] During the journey, however, the animals got involved in everything from high jinx to heroism. For example the rat, who won the race, only did so through guile and trickery: it jumped onto the back of the ox and won by a nose. The snake, apparently also a little sneaky, hid on the hoof of a horse in order to cross a river. When they got to the other side, it scared the horse and beat it in the contest. The dragon however, proved to be honorable and altruistic. By all accounts the dragon would have won the race as it could fly, but it had stopped to help villagers caught in a flooding river cross safely, or it stopped to assist the rabbit in crossing the river, or it stopped to help create rain for a drought-ridden farmland, depending on the teller.
Rat or Mouse
years: (1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 add 12 years for each subsequent year)
Honest, freedom, hard working, charming. Can be selfish, ruthless, controlling, scheming.
Ox
years: 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Smart, calm, patient, inspiring, modest. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, demanding, rigid.
Tiger or Lion
years: 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Aggressive, rebellious, strong, daring, generous. Can be restless, clumsy, hot-temper, impatient.
Rabbit or Hare
years: 1987, 1999, 2011
Kind, sensitive, elegant, artistic, cautious. Can be moody, shy, lazy, opportunistic.
Dragon
years: 1988, 2000, 2012
Strong, proud, direct, eccentric, show off. Can be arrogant, violent, brash, controlling.
Snake
years: 1989, 2001, 2013
Wise, graceful, calm, mystic, shrewd. Can be a loner, bad communicator, possessive, distrustful.
Horse
years: 1990, 2002, 2014
Cheerful, popular, talkative, witty, earthly. Can be fickle, rude, gullible, stubborn.
Goat or sheep
years: 1991, 2003, 2015
Righteous, honest, shy, artistic, understanding. Can be moody, a worrier, a complainer, and or too soft.
Monkey
years: 1992, 2004, 2016
Witty, curious, flexible, sociable, smart. Can be vain, clumsy, trickster, snobbish.
Rooster
years: 1993, 2005, 2017
Neat, organized, alert, scientific, responsible. Can be critical, egotistical, rough, opinionated.
Dog or puppy
years: 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Honest, smart, loyal, sense of justice, affectionate. Can be lazy, cold, stubborn, quarrelsome.
Pig
years: 1995, 2007, 2019
Simple, hard working, strong, peace-loving, trusting. Can be naive, gullible, materialistic, clingy.
The Hours
In the old days, China and Japan used a 12 hour system to tell the time of day and night (unlike the 24 hour system used today). The 12 hour system divides the day of 24 hours into 12 hours, each of which has a sign of the zodiac:
11:00 PM to 1:00 AM is the hour of the Rat.
1:00 AM to 3:00 AM is the hour of the Ox.
3:00 AM to 5:00 AM is the hour of the Tiger.
5:00 AM to 7:00 AM is the hour of the Rabbit.
7:00 AM to 9:00 AM is the hour of the Dragon.
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM is the hour of the Snake.
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM is the hour of the Horse.
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM is the hour of the Goat.
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM is the hour of the Monkey.
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM is the hour of the Rooster.
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM is the hour of the Dog.
9:00 PM to 11:00 PM is the hour of the Pig.
Directions
The Chinese and Japanese would call the different directions (North, Northeast, Northwest, East, South, Southeast, Southwest, West), based on the names of the zodiac animals.
1. Rat (Water, North)
2. Ox (Earth, North-Northeast)
3. Tiger (Wood, East-Northeast)
4. Rabbit (Wood, East)
5. Dragon (Earth, East-Southeast)
6. Snake (Fire, South-Southeast)
7. Horse (Fire, South)
8. Goat (Earth, South-Southwest)
9. Monkey (Metal, West-Southwest)
10. Rooster (Metal, West)
11. Dog (Earth, West-Northwest)
12. Pig (Water, North-Northwest)
Zodiac Fits With Confucianism
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.
It’s been written by Paul Yip, Joseph Lee, and Y.B. Cheung that births in Hong Kong regularly increased, bucking declining trends, to coincide with the birth of a child in a dragon year. Temporary fertility rate increases were seen in the dragon years of 1988 and 2000, they wrote. This is a relatively modern phenomenon as the same increase wasn’t seen in 1976, another dragon year.
The Chinese zodiac also serves the practical purpose of figuring out a person’s age without having to ask directly and risk offending someone.
The well-trodden (no pun intended) story of the Chinese zodiac is cute, but a bit trite. The tale usually begins with the Jade Emperor, or Buddha, depending on the teller, who summoned all the animals of the universe for a race, or a banquet, depending on the teller. The 12 animals of the zodiac all headed to the palace. The order that they came in determined the order of the zodiac.
The Shengxiao, called the Chinese Zodiac colloquially, is a traditional Chinese system that relates the birth year of a person to an animal and its characteristics. The word 'Sheng' means 'year of birth' and the word 'Xiao' means 'resemblance'. Based on the lunar calendar, this system is a twelve-year cycle as opposed to the monthly cycle of western zodiac signs, although both have a twelve-part time cycle. This twelve-year cycle is a sub-cycle of the larger 60-year cycle, which is formed by the amalgamation of each one of these twelve earthly branches with ten heavenly stems.
The animals in the Chinese zodiac are believed to be created in order to count years. The time division in ancient China (during 200 A.D.) was mostly related to the number twelve: one ji = 12 years, one year has 12 months, and one day has 12 time periods called shi chen. Each of these time divisions is also named in the same manner as the twelve years.
People are associated with the animal for the year that they are born. The 12 animals in order are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Zodiac animals can also represent hours of the day and directions. Although it is called the Chinese zodiac, this system is also used in several other countries in Asia such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
The twelve animal zodiacs are the base of Chinese astrology. Here we have listed each zodiac and its unique characteristics. The birth year correspondence for the people born in January, or February should be double checked as the Chinese new year changes each year, usually falling between the end of January and the start of February. So, for example, if your birthday falls on January 13, 1900, and the Chinese new year that year is on January 29, your zodiac is Pig and not Rat, even though the table shows the people born in 1900 to be "Rat" people.
The foundation of Chinese Astrology is from Yin Yang and Five Elements, which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. All Chinese Horoscope signs, Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog and Pig, 12 Chinese Zodiac signs can be converted into Five Elements. Our free Chinese Five Element Astrology site provides you the advice on Baby Gender Prediction, Baby Lucky Names, Dating and Marriage Match, Lucky House and Bedroom Selections, and your Lucky Years using the combinations of Five Elements. We hope you can find the Chinese Astrology secrets of you and your family's members and wish your family live luckier, wealthier, healthier, happier and longer.
Actual History of the Zodiac
The actual history behind the Chinese zodiac is a much less fantastical and much harder to find. It’s known from pottery artifacts that the animals of the zodiac were popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), but they were also seen much earlier from artifacts from the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), a period of disunity in ancient Chinese history, as differing factions fought for control.
It’s been written that the animals of the zodiac were brought to China via the Silk Road, the same central Asian trade route that brought the Buddhist belief from India to China. But some scholars argue that the belief predates Buddhism and has origins in early Chinese astronomy that used the planet Jupiter as a constant, as its orbit around the earth took place every 12 years. Still others have argued that the use of animals in astrology began with nomadic tribes in ancient China who developed a calendar based on the animals they used to hunt and gather.
The scholar Christopher Cullen as written that beyond satisfying the spiritual needs of an agrarian society, the use of astronomy and astrology was also an imperative of the emperor, who had the responsibility for ensuring harmony of everything under heaven. To rule well and with prestige, one needed to be accurate in astronomical matters, Cullen wrote. Perhaps that is why the Chinese calendar, including the zodiac, became so entrenched in Chinese culture. In fact, reforming the calendar system was viewed as appropriate if political change was eminent.
Personality
Chinese people believe that each zodiac animal has a personality, and people born in the same year may have similar personalities.[1] During the journey, however, the animals got involved in everything from high jinx to heroism. For example the rat, who won the race, only did so through guile and trickery: it jumped onto the back of the ox and won by a nose. The snake, apparently also a little sneaky, hid on the hoof of a horse in order to cross a river. When they got to the other side, it scared the horse and beat it in the contest. The dragon however, proved to be honorable and altruistic. By all accounts the dragon would have won the race as it could fly, but it had stopped to help villagers caught in a flooding river cross safely, or it stopped to assist the rabbit in crossing the river, or it stopped to help create rain for a drought-ridden farmland, depending on the teller.
Rat or Mouse
years: (1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 add 12 years for each subsequent year)
Honest, freedom, hard working, charming. Can be selfish, ruthless, controlling, scheming.
Ox
years: 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Smart, calm, patient, inspiring, modest. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, demanding, rigid.
Tiger or Lion
years: 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Aggressive, rebellious, strong, daring, generous. Can be restless, clumsy, hot-temper, impatient.
Rabbit or Hare
years: 1987, 1999, 2011
Kind, sensitive, elegant, artistic, cautious. Can be moody, shy, lazy, opportunistic.
Dragon
years: 1988, 2000, 2012
Strong, proud, direct, eccentric, show off. Can be arrogant, violent, brash, controlling.
Snake
years: 1989, 2001, 2013
Wise, graceful, calm, mystic, shrewd. Can be a loner, bad communicator, possessive, distrustful.
Horse
years: 1990, 2002, 2014
Cheerful, popular, talkative, witty, earthly. Can be fickle, rude, gullible, stubborn.
Goat or sheep
years: 1991, 2003, 2015
Righteous, honest, shy, artistic, understanding. Can be moody, a worrier, a complainer, and or too soft.
Monkey
years: 1992, 2004, 2016
Witty, curious, flexible, sociable, smart. Can be vain, clumsy, trickster, snobbish.
Rooster
years: 1993, 2005, 2017
Neat, organized, alert, scientific, responsible. Can be critical, egotistical, rough, opinionated.
Dog or puppy
years: 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Honest, smart, loyal, sense of justice, affectionate. Can be lazy, cold, stubborn, quarrelsome.
Pig
years: 1995, 2007, 2019
Simple, hard working, strong, peace-loving, trusting. Can be naive, gullible, materialistic, clingy.
The Hours
In the old days, China and Japan used a 12 hour system to tell the time of day and night (unlike the 24 hour system used today). The 12 hour system divides the day of 24 hours into 12 hours, each of which has a sign of the zodiac:
11:00 PM to 1:00 AM is the hour of the Rat.
1:00 AM to 3:00 AM is the hour of the Ox.
3:00 AM to 5:00 AM is the hour of the Tiger.
5:00 AM to 7:00 AM is the hour of the Rabbit.
7:00 AM to 9:00 AM is the hour of the Dragon.
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM is the hour of the Snake.
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM is the hour of the Horse.
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM is the hour of the Goat.
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM is the hour of the Monkey.
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM is the hour of the Rooster.
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM is the hour of the Dog.
9:00 PM to 11:00 PM is the hour of the Pig.
Directions
The Chinese and Japanese would call the different directions (North, Northeast, Northwest, East, South, Southeast, Southwest, West), based on the names of the zodiac animals.
1. Rat (Water, North)
2. Ox (Earth, North-Northeast)
3. Tiger (Wood, East-Northeast)
4. Rabbit (Wood, East)
5. Dragon (Earth, East-Southeast)
6. Snake (Fire, South-Southeast)
7. Horse (Fire, South)
8. Goat (Earth, South-Southwest)
9. Monkey (Metal, West-Southwest)
10. Rooster (Metal, West)
11. Dog (Earth, West-Northwest)
12. Pig (Water, North-Northwest)
Zodiac Fits With Confucianism
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.
It’s been written by Paul Yip, Joseph Lee, and Y.B. Cheung that births in Hong Kong regularly increased, bucking declining trends, to coincide with the birth of a child in a dragon year. Temporary fertility rate increases were seen in the dragon years of 1988 and 2000, they wrote. This is a relatively modern phenomenon as the same increase wasn’t seen in 1976, another dragon year.
The Chinese zodiac also serves the practical purpose of figuring out a person’s age without having to ask directly and risk offending someone.
Your blog is very interesting. Thanks for sharing nice information on Astrology...
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