Animals are very important in the chinese culture because, according to the date and time of birth, it represents your strength, your character and your personality. Different from the european astrology sign, their symbols are well integrated and have strong root in asian culture since it is them which determine the destiny of each human being and the compatibility with others. Originated during Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BC), the chinese animals had strong relation with yin yang dualism and the 5 elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) called “ten celestial stems” system. Also known as “heavenly stems”, the element corresponded to a planet: |
- water to Mercury
- fire to Mars
- wood to Jupiter
- metal to Venus
- earth to Saturn
And using an ancient 10 cyclic character numeral system:
- 甲 means jia
- 乙 means yi
- 丙 means bing
- 丁 means ding
- 戊 means wu
- 己 means ji
- 庚 means geng
- 辛 means xin
- 壬 means ren
- 癸 means gui
However it was only during Zhou dynasty (1122-256 BC) that the 12 animals have been defined according to “twelve earthly branches” system which is based on observations of the orbit of Jupiter, the year star.
Astronomers divided the celestial circle in 12 sections to follow its orbit and by this way, the 12 months of the year, the 12 animals, directions, seasons and hours have been defined. Nowadays, both systems (12 earthly branches and 10 celestial stems) are used in the traditional calendar and in taoism.
The order of the 12 animals are positioned following the number of toes/hooves (alternating between even and odd numbers), yin yang dualism and the 5 elements:
| Rank | Animal | Yin Yang | Element | Zodiac | Description |
| 1 | Rat | Yang | Water | Capricorn | manipulative, selfish, obstinate, ruthless, intolerant |
| 2 | Ox | Yin | Water | Aquarius | stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding |
| 3 | Tiger | Yang | Wood | Pisces | restless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish |
| 4 | Rabbit | Yin | Wood | Aries | moody, detached, self-indulgent, opportunistic, lazy |
| 5 | Dragon | Yang | Wood | Taurus | arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, eccentric, impetuous |
| 6 | Snake | Yin | Fire | Gemini | loner, possessive, hedonistic, distrustful, mendacious |
| 7 | Horse | Yang | Fire | Cancer | fickle, anxious, rude, gullible, stubborn |
| 8 | Sheep | Yin | Fire | Leo | moody, indecisive, pessimistic, over-sensitive, wise |
| 9 | Monkey | Yang | Metal | Virgo | egotistical, snobbish, cunning, jealous, suspicious |
| 10 | Rooster | Yin | Metal | Libra | critical, puritanical, egotistical, abrasive, opinionated |
| 11 | Dog | Yang | Metal | Scorpio | cynical, lazy, pessimistic, stubborn, quarrelsome |
| 12 | Pig | Yin | Water | Sagittarius | naive, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic |
Linked to the lunar calendar, the new year starts on the first new moon after the winter solstice and normally it is the first week of february. Moreover the calendar has strong relation with the sun because following the solar longitude, the lunar month and seasons are defined, even the hour corresponding to each animal.
| Lunar month | Solar longitud | Date | Year | Time | Season |
| Rat | 251° - 271° | dec 7 - jan 5 | 2008 - 2020 | 23h - 1h | Winter |
| Ox | 284° - 301° | jan 6 - feb 3 | 2009 - 2021 | 1h - 3h | Winter |
| Tiger | 314° - 329° | feb 4 - mar 5 | 2010 - 2022 | 3h - 5h | Spring |
| Rabbit | 344° - 0° | mar 6 - apr 4 | 2011 - 2023 | 5h - 7h | Spring |
| Dragon | 14° - 29° | apr 5 - may 4 | 2000 - 2012 | 7h - 9h | Spring |
| Snake | 44° - 59° | may 5 - june 5 | 2001 - 2013 | 9h - 11h | Summer |
| Horse | 74° - 89° | jun 6 - jul 6 | 2002 - 2014 | 11h - 13h | Summer |
| Sheep | 104° - 119° | jul 7 - aug 6 | 2003 - 2015 | 13h - 15h | Summer |
| Monkey | 134° - 149° | aug 7 - sep 7 | 2004 - 2016 | 15h - 17h | Autumn |
| Rooster | 164° - 181° | sep 8 - oct 7 | 2005 - 2017 | 17h - 19h | Autumn |
| Dog | 194° - 211° | oct 8 - nov 6 | 2006 - 2018 | 19h - 21h | Autumn |
| Pig | 224° - 244° | nov 7 - dec 6 | 2007 - 2019 | 21h - 23h | Winter |
Normally the time of each animal shifts by day and it uses to determine our secret animal. There are some legends about how the Jade emperor (the great ruler of heaven and universe) determined the position of those 12 animals in the chinese calendar - following the most famous one.
In the 6th century BC, the Jade emperor invited animals to participate at a swimming race on which the prize was their name on the celestial sky and only 12 have responded to his invitation (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig).
The rat and the cat (good friends but poor swimmers) convinced the ox to carry them to cross the river and he accepted. Meanwhile they were crossing the river, the rat pushed the cat into the river because scaring that the cat may win and since this instant, they were good enemy. When close to the shore, the rat jumped from the back of the ox and won the first place and the ox the second.
The tiger came in 3rd position after the ox and explained to the emperor that he had difficulty crossing the river because of the current pushing him down the stream. The rabbit, after jumping from stones to stones, was able to get hold of a floating log which allowed him to finalize the race in the 4th position.
The flying dragon came belching fire in the air in the 5th position but the emperor was surprised for his late arrival since he could win easily the race. The dragon explained that he had to save people from a drought by stopping the rain and when he reached the river, he spotted a rabbit clutching to a log and blew it so that the rabbit could arrive safely to the shore. Hearing the horse, the emperor thought that he would arrive after the dragon but from his hoof, the snake sneaked out and scared the horse who jumped backwards so the snake won the 6th position and the horse, the 7th place.
The rooster, the monkey and the sheep came in same time and the rooster explained proudly that they worked in team. Indeed, he spotted a raft and picked up the sheep and the monkey; during the travel, the monkey and the sheep helped clear the weeds, pulled and pushed the raft to the shore. Pleased by the effort of the 3, the emperor gave the sheep the 8th, the monkey the 9th and the rooster the 10th position.
In spite to be one of the best swimmers, the dog arrived at 11th position and explained to the emperor that he was attracted by the river water which was so clean and fresh that he wasn’t unable to resist for taking a bath. The 12th and last position was for the pig who explained to the emperor that he was hungry so he stopped to eat and after, feeling tired, he took a little nap.
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