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.[1] In traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese zodiac is very important and exists as a reflection of Chinese philosophy and culture.[2] Chinese folkways held that one's personality is related to the attributes of their zodiac animal.[3] Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan,[4] South Korea,[5] Vietnam,[5] Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand.[6]
For the 2012 film starring Jackie Chan, see CZ12.Chinese zodiac
shēngxiào
shēngxiào
shēngxiào
ㄕㄥ ㄒㄧㄠˋ
shengshiaw
sheng1-hsiao4
sen平-siau去
sensiau
sāangchiu
saang1 ciu3
singsiàu
săng-ngá
shǔxiàng
shǔxiàng
shǔxiàng
ㄕㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ
shuushianq
shu3-hsiang4
zoh入-sian平
suhkseung
suk6 soeng3
sio̍ksiùnn
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.[7]
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.
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).[10] 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.[11]
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. In fact, 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.[12] Some of Ferlus's comparisons are given below, with Old Chinese reconstructions cited from Baxter & Sagart (2014).[13]
There is also a lexical correspondence with Austronesian:[12]
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.[12]
Due to confusion with synonyms during translation, some of the animals depicted by the English words did not exist in ancient China. For example:
