Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese zodiac is a cycle of 12 animals. Each animal represents one year. People are associated with the animal for the year that they are born. The 12 animals in order are: the rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, 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.
Contents |
[change] Personality
Chinese believe that each zodiac animal has a personality, and people born in the same year may have similar personalities.[1]
Rat
years: 1984, 1996, 2008
Honest, freedom, hard working, charming. Can be selfish, ruthless, controlling, scheming.
Ox
years: 1985, 1997, 2009
Smart, calm, patient, inspiring, modest. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, demanding, rigid.
Tiger
years: 1986, 1998, 2010
Aggressive, rebellious, strong, daring, generous. Can be restless, clumsy, hot-temper, impatient.
Rabbit
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
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
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.
[change] 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:
Midnight to 2am is the hour of the rat.
2am to 4am is the hour of the cow.
4am to 6am is the hour of the tiger.
6am to 8am is the hour of the rabbit.
8am to 10am is the hour of the dragon.
10am to 12 noon is the hour of the snake.
12 noon to 2pm is the hour of the horse.
2pm to 4pm is the hour of the goat.
4pm to 6pm is the hour of the monkey.
6pm to 8pm is the hour of the chicken.
8pm to 10pm is the hour of the dog.
10pm to midnight is the hour of the pig.
[change] 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)
[change] References
- ↑ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp. 2–8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005
[change] Other websites
