The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

that assigns an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

n and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

, such as

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Identifying this scheme using the generic term "''

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

''" reflects several superficial similarities to the

Western zodiac Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. Western astrology is historically based on Ptolemy's ''Tetrabiblos'' (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian tra ...

: both have time cycles divided into twelve parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. Nevertheless, there are major differences between the two: the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s spanned by the

ecliptic plane The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic again ...

. The

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

twelve-part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is represented by twelve animals, whereas some of the signs in the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

are not animals, despite the implication of the

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the English word ', which derives from ', the Latinized form of the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''zōdiakòs kýklos'' (), meaning "cycle of animals".

Signs

The

traditionally A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays o ...

begins with the sign of the Rat. The following are the twelve

signs in order, each with its associated characteristics (

Earthly Branch The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was buil ...

, yin/yang force, Trine, and nature element). In

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the ...

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

descriptions of

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 Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

is all twelve signs, with five seasons.

Decans

The Chinese zodiac features decans in the form of thirty-six calendar animals (Sanjūroku Kingyōzō 三十六禽形像; alternatively known as the Chikusan Reiki 畜産暦). The group originated in China, wherein the 36 were divided into four clusters, with each cluster made up of nine animal-deity pairs. The four clusters represent the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). The animals are also grouped in triads—three animals are combined under one of 12 zodiac signs. In Japan, the group appeared in the Nichū Reki 二中暦, a Japanese calendar from the second half of the 14th century. Eight of the 36 appear “fox like”—almost identical in physical attributes. These eight include the tanuki, mujna, fox, wolf, jackal, wild cat, and wild male-female dogs. The mujina, fox and rabbit are combined under the zodiacal sign of the rabbit. The tanuki, leopard, and tiger are combined under the zodiacal sign of the tiger.Gundel, p. 216-221, 225

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 the sign of the person, the current sign of the year and the person's perceived age (teens, mid-20s, 40s and so on). For example, a person who is a

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

is either 12, 24, 36 or 48 years old in 2010, the year of the

. In 2011, the year of the

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

, that person is one year older. The following table shows the 60-year cycle matched up to the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

for the years 1924–2043 (see

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

article for years 1804–2043). The

begins at

lichun Traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. ''Lìchūn'', ''Risshun'', ''Ipchun'', or ''Lập xuân'' is the 1st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the long ...

about February 4 according to some

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

sources.

Months and solar terms

Within the Four Pillars, the month is the pillar representing information about the person's parents or childhood. Many

Chinese astrologers Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

consider the month pillar to be the most important one in determining the circumstances of one's adult life. The twelve animals are also linked to the

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

agricultural calendar, which runs alongside the better known

Lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

. Instead of months, this

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

is divided into 24 two-week segments known as ''Solar Terms''. Each animal is linked to two of these solar terms for a period similar to the

month. Unlike the 60 year Lunar calendar, which can vary by as much as a month in relation to the

, the agricultural calendar varies by only one day, beginning on the Gregorian calendar on 3 or 4 February every year. Again unlike the cycle of the lunar years, which begins with the Rat, the agricultural calendar begins with the

as it is the first animal of

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. As each sign is linked to a month of the

solar year A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky of a celestial body of the Solar System such as the Earth, completing a full cycle of seasons; for example, the time fro ...

, it is thereby also linked to a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. Each of the elements are also linked to a season (see above), and the element that shares a season with a sign is known as the sign's ''fixed element''. In other words, that element is believed to impart some of its characteristics to the sign concerned. The fixed element of each sign applies also to the year and hour signs, and not just the monthly sign. The fixed element is separate from the cycle of elements which interact with the signs in the 60-year cycle.

Day

Four pillars calculators can determine the

animal of the day.

animal signs rule over days of the week, too. The term for them is "True Animals". If one's

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

wishes to prepare an

astrological chart A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...

(aka horoscope), it is essential they know the animal and element of one's day of birth. However, due to there being twelve animals and a ten-day week on the ancient Chinese calendar, it is not easy to find one's day element or animal. As the Day Master (element) affects the element of the Hour animal, among other things, caution is required when calculating this part of the chart. A professional will likely have tools for such a calculator on hand, but many online calculators that feature all four animals will also provide an accurate chart.

Compatibility

As the Chinese zodiac is derived according to the ancient Five Elements Theory, every

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 In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

of motions and changes of creatures in the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

. Different people born under each animal sign supposedly have different personalities, and practitioners of

consult such

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

details and compatibilities to offer putative guidance in life or for love and marriage.

Four Pillars of Destiny

The Four Pillars of Destiny method can be traced back to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

( 220 CE), and is still much used in feng shui

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

and general analysis today. The Four Pillars or columns chart is called such as the

Chinese writing Written Chinese () comprises Chinese characters used to represent the Chinese language. Chinese characters do not constitute an alphabet or a compact syllabary. Rather, the writing system is roughly logosyllabic; that is, a character generally r ...

causes it to fall into columns. Each pillar or column contains a stem and a branch—and each column relates to the year, month, day and hour of birth. The first column refers to the year animal and element, the second to the month animal and element, the third to the day animal and element, and the last to the hour animal and element. Within the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year column purports to provide information about one's ancestor or early age, and the month column about one's parents or growing age. The day column purports to offer information about oneself (upper

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

) and one's spouse (lower

) or adult age, and the hour column about children or late age.

Animal trines

First

The first trine consists of the Rat,

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, and

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

. These three signs are said to be intense and powerful individuals capable of great good, who make great leaders but are rather unpredictable. The three are said to be intelligent, magnanimous, charismatic, charming, authoritative, confident, eloquent, and artistic, but can be manipulative, jealous, selfish, aggressive, vindictive, and deceitful.

Second

The second trine consists of the Ox,

Snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

, and

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

. These three signs are said to possess endurance and application, with slow accumulation of energy, meticulous at planning but tending to hold fixed opinions. The three are said to be intelligent, hard-working, modest, industrious, loyal, philosophical, patient, goodhearted, and morally upright, but can also be self-righteous, egotistical, vain, judgmental, narrow-minded, and petty.

Third

The third trine consists of the

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

, and

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

. These three signs are said to seek true love, to pursue humanitarian causes, to be idealistic and independent but tending to be impulsive. The three are said to be productive, enthusiastic, independent, engaging, dynamic, honorable, loyal, and protective, but can also be rash, rebellious, quarrelsome, anxious, disagreeable, and stubborn.

Fourth

The fourth trine consists of the

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

, and

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

. These three signs are said to have a calm nature and somewhat reasonable approach; they seek aesthetic beauty and are artistic, well-mannered and compassionate, yet detached and resigned to their condition. The three are said to be caring, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, empathetic, tactful, and prudent, but can also be naïve, pedantic, insecure, selfish, indecisive, and pessimistic.

Origin stories

There are many stories and

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...

s to explain the beginning of the

. Since the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, the twelve

Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

have been used to record the time of day. However, for the sake of entertainment and convenience, they have been replaced by the twelve animals, and a

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

refers to the behavior of the animals:

may refer to a double-hour period. In the latter case it is the center of the period; for instance, 马 (

) means noon as well as a period from 11:00 to 13:00.

Great Race

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

called the "Great Race" tells that the Jade Emperor decreed that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river .

Variations

Another folk story tells that the Rat deceived the Ox into letting it jump on its back, in order for the Ox to hear the Rat sing, before jumping off at the finish line and finishing first. Another variant says that the Rat had cheated the Cat out its place at the finishing line, having stowed-away on the dog's back, who was too focused to notice that he had a stow-away; this is said to account for the antagonistic dynamic between cats and rats, beyond normal predator-and-prey behaviour; and also why dogs and cats fight, the cat having tried to attack the rat in retaliation, only to get the dog by accident. In

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

, a story tells that the cat was tricked by the Rat so it could not go to the banquet. This is why the cat is ultimately not part of the Chinese zodiac. In

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

has it that

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

summoned all of the animals of the

to come before him before his departure from this

, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to them in the order they had arrived. The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were developed in the early stages of Chinese civilization, therefore it is difficult to investigate its real origins. Most historians agree that the cat is not included, as they had not yet been introduced to China from India with the arrival of

. However, the Vietnamese, unlike all other countries who follow the Sino lunar calendar, have the cat instead of the rabbit as a zodiac animal. The most common explanation is that the ancient word for

(Mao) sounds like cat (Meo).

Problems with English translation

Due to confusion with synonyms during translation, some of the animals depicted by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

words did not exist in

ancient China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

. For example: *The term Rat can be translated as

Mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, as there are no distinctive words for the two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. However, Rat is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms. *The term Ox, a castrated

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

, can be translated interchangeably with other terms related to

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

(male

, female

Cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

) and Buffalo. However, Ox is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms. *The term

can be translated as

Hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

, as 卯 (and 兔) do not distinguish between the two genera of leporids. As hares are native to China and most of Asia and rabbits are not, this would be more accurate. However, in colloquial English ''Rabbit'' can encompass hares as well. *The term

can be translated as

Serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

, which refers to a large species of snake and has the same behavior, although this term is rarely used. *The term

can be translated as

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

, a male Sheep. However,

is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms. *The term

can be translated interchangeably with

Chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

, as well as the female

Hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

. However,

is the most commonly used one among all the synonyms in English-speaking countries. *The term

is sometimes translated to

Boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

after its Japanese name.

Adaptations

The Chinese zodiac signs are also used by

cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

other than

. For one example, they usually appear on Korean New Year and

Japanese New Year The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

's cards and stamps. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

and several other countries' postal services issue a "Year of the ____" postage stamp each year to honor this

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

. The

Chinese lunar coins In 1981, China began minting coins to commemorate the Chinese New Year. The Chinese lunar series consist of gold, silver, and platinum coins in a variety of sizes, denominations, and shapes. The reverse of each coin depicts the zodiac animal for t ...

, depicting the

animals, inspired the

Canadian Silver Maple Leaf The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is a silver bullion coin that is issued annually by the Government of Canada since 1988. It is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Silver Maple Leaf is legal tender. The face value is 5 Canadian dollars. The m ...

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s, as well as varieties from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

influence of

. However, some of the animals in the

may differ by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

Asian

The Korean zodiac includes the ''Sheep'' (''yang'') instead of the ''Goat'' (which would be ''yeomso''), although the

source of the loanword ''yang'' may refer to any

goat-antelope The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine, or, more informally, a goat-antelope (a ...

. The Japanese zodiac includes the ''

'' (''hitsuji'') instead of the ''

'' (which would be ''yagi''), and the ''

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

'' (''inoshishi'', ''i'') instead of the ''

'' (''buta''). Since 1873, the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

have celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the

. The Vietnamese zodiac varies from the Chinese zodiac with the second animal being the

Water Buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal being the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

instead of the

. The Cambodian zodiac is exactly identical to that of the Chinese although the dragon is interchangeable with the Neak (

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

)

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

n sea snake. Sheep and Goat are interchangeable as well. The

Cambodian New Year Cambodian New Year (or Khmer New Year; km, បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ ), also known as Choul Chnam Thmey ( km, ចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ; ) and Moha Sangkranta ( km, មហាសង្ក្រាន្� ...

is celebrated in April, rather than in January or February as it is in China and most countries. The Cham zodiac uses the same order as the Chinese zodiac, but replaces the

with the turtle (known locally as ''kra''). Similarly the Malay zodiac is identical to the

but replaces the

with the mousedeer (''pelanduk'') and the

with the tortoise (''kura'' or ''kura-kura''). The

(''Loong'') is normally equated with the

but it is sometimes called Big Snake (''ular besar'') while the Snake sign is called Second Snake (''ular sani''). This is also recorded in a 19th-century manuscript compiled by

John Leyden John Caspar Leyden, M.D., (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a Scottish indologist. Biography Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh Univers ...

. The Thai zodiac includes a ''

'' in place of the

and begins, not at the Chinese New Year, but either on the first day of the fifth month in the

Thai lunar calendar The Thai lunar calendar ( th, ปฏิทินจันทรคติ, , , literally, ''Specific days according to lunar norms''), or Tai calendar, is a lunisolar Buddhist calendar. It is used for calculating lunar-regulated holy days. Based o ...

, or during the

Songkran Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam an ...

New Year festival New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system tod ...

(now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use. Historically, Lan Na (Kingdom around Northern Thailand) also replace pig with Elephant. Modern Thai are changed back into pig, but the name กุน (gu̜n) which was meant elephant are still stuck as zodiac pronunciation The

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha, ...

zodiac in

includes a Cow instead of Ox, Cat instead of Rabbit, Eagle instead of Dragon (''Loong''), Bird instead of Rooster, and Deer instead of Pig. The Bulgar calendar used from the 2nd century and that has been only partially reconstructed uses a similar sixty-year cycle of twelve animal-named years groups which are: The Old Mongol calendar uses the Mouse, the Ox, the

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

, the

Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

, the Serpent, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the

, the Dog and the Hog. The

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years ...

replaces the

with the

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

. The

Volga Bulgars Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...

, Kazars and other Turkic peoples replaced some animals by local fauna: Leopard (instead of Tiger),

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

or Crocodile (instead of Dragon/Loong),

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

(instead of Monkey),

Elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

(instead of Pig), and

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

(instead of Rat/Mouse). In the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

version of the Eastern zodiac brought by Mongols during the Middle Ages, the Chinese word ''lóng'' and Mongol word ''lū'' (Dragon) was translated as ''nahang'' meaning "water beast", and may refer to any dangerous aquatic animal both mythical and real (crocodiles, hippos, sharks, sea serpents, etc.). In the 20th century the term ''nahang'' is used almost exclusively as meaning

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

, thus switching the Loong for the Whale in the Persian variant. In the traditional Kazakh version of the 12-year animal cycle ( kk, мүшел, ''müşel''), the

is substituted by a snail ( kk, ұлу, ''ulw''), and the

appears as a leopard ( kk, барыс, ''barıs''). In the Kyrgyz version of the Chinese zodiac ( ky, мүчөл, ''müçöl'') the words for the Dragon ( ky, улуу, ''uluu''), Monkey ( ky, мечин, ''meçin'') and Tiger ( ky, барс, ''bars'') are only found in Chinese zodiac names, other animal names are regular words used in everyday speech like Mouse, Cow, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Chicken, Dog and Wild boar.

Emoji

All early Japanese

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...

sets had at least one suitable

pictograph A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...

for each Eastern zodiac. They also had either a symbol or a pictograph subset for all the Western zodiac signs. During the harmonization and standardization phase led by Unicode, some additional animals to represent local variants were added. Also, most signs got both a facial pictograph and a full-body one. For the full-body animals (U+1F400...4C), the local variant is recorded in the respective code point annotation. Some original emojis for applicable animals according to the previous subsection do not have such a note and all animal emojis that have been added in subsequent versions of Unicode are also not annotated for zodiac use: # 🐭 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐀 default #* 🐁 Persia #* 🐪🐫 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐮 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐂 default #* 🐄 Persia #* 🐃 Vietnam # 🐯 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐅 default #* 🐆 Persia #* 🐺 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐰🐱 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐇 default #* 🐈 Vietnam # 🐲 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐉 default #* 🐊 Persia #* 🐋 Persia, 🐳 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐌 Kazakhstan #* 🦈 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐟 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🦛 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🦅 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐍 # 🐴 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐎 # 🐏 default #* 🐐 Vietnam, Malaysia #* 🐑 Persia # 🐵 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐒 default #* 🐢 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🦔 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐔 Persia #* 🐓 default #* 🐦 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐶 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐕 default #* 🐩🦮🐕‍🦺 (no annotation in Unicode) # 🐷 (no annotation in Unicode) #* 🐖 default #* 🐗 Japan #* 🐘 Thailand #* 🐢 Malaysia #* 🦌 (no annotation in Unicode)

Gallery

Image:Bloodletting chart, Tibet Wellcome L0035125.jpg, A

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

indicating good and bad bloodletting days and when to guard against

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s. Detail: The

contains a ''sme ba'' (9 figures

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

izing the elements in

geomancy Geomancy ( Greek: γεωμαντεία, "earth divination") is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory geomancy in ...

) in the center with the

pa-kua (eight

trigram Trigrams are a special case of the ''n''-gram, where ''n'' is 3. They are often used in natural language processing for performing statistical analysis of texts and in cryptography for control and use of ciphers and codes. Frequency Contex ...

s) surrounded by twelve animals of months and years. Image:Soyombo.jpg, Soyombo and several

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Tengrist Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. ...

, and Chinese zodiac

s in a wall

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. Image:12 zodiac.jpg, Twelve Chinese zodiac jade figurines.

Capital Museum The Capital Museum ( Chinese: 首都博物馆) is an art museum in Beijing, China. It opened in 1981 and moved into its present building in 2006, which houses a large collection of ancient porcelain, bronze, calligraphy, painting, jade, sculpture, ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

References

Sources

* Shelly H. Wu. (2005). ''Chinese Astrology''. Publisher: The Career Press, Inc. .

External links

*
The Year of the Rooster: On Seeing
*
The Year of the Rooster, On Eating, Injecting, Imbibing & Speaking
*
2016: The Golden Monkey, A Year to Remember
*
The Dragon Raises its Head 龍抬頭
*
2019 year of the Pig
*
From the Year of the Ape to the Year of the Monkey
" (on use of Zodiac figures for political criticism) * {{East Asian topics Astrology by tradition Chinese astrology Chinese calendars Chinese culture East Asian culture Cultural lists

Signs

Decans

Chinese calendar

Years

Months and solar terms

Day

Compatibility

Four Pillars of Destiny

Animal trines

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Origin stories

Great Race

Variations

Problems with English translation

Adaptations

Asian

Emoji

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

External links