The Jade Emperor of China decided long ago that there should be a means to measure time. He told the animals on his birthday that it was his birthday.
that there would be a swimming competition The winners would be the first twelve animals to cross the fast-flowing river.
They’d each be given their own zodiac sign and year.
In This Article...
What is the origin of the Chinese zodiac?
The twelve animals that make up the Chinese zodiac initially appeared during the Zhan Guo dynasty. Although no one knows when the zodiac was essentially founded, it was formally recognized during the Han Dynasty, which was almost 2000 years ago. During the North Zhou Dynasty, the zodiac became a popular method of determining a person’s birth year, and it is still widely used today. The zodiac is based on a sixty-year cycle in which each animal represents a different year.
The Chinese zodiac animals are arranged according to the lunar calendar. The origins of this calendar can be traced all the way back to the 14th century B.C. According to legend, Emperor Huangdi, the first Chinese emperor, founded the Chinese lunar calendar in 2637 B.C., which follows the lunar cycles.
The zodiac was based on Chinese astrology and was used to keep track of the calendar’s years, months, days, and hours. The Celestial Stem and the Terrestrial Branch were used to create it. Every two hours in a 24-hour day, each of the 12 animals represents a year in a 12-year cycle, a day in a 12-day cycle, and a year in a 12-year cycle. These were once used to name each year along with the animal signs, but they now primarily utilize the dates.
- “The Chinese Zodiac,” says the author. ChinaOrbit.com. http://chinaorbit.com>, 20 July 2007.
- “The Chinese Zodiac: Its History, Stories, and Structure.” 07/10/05,4 July 2007 Asian American Faculty and Staff Association http://spirit.dos.uci.edu/aafsa/?q=node/22/>.
What was the purpose of the Chinese zodiac signs when they were first created?
The animals of the zodiac were said to have arrived in China via the Silk Road, the same central Asian trading route that carried Buddhism from India to China. However, some academics suggest that the idea predates Buddhism and can be traced back to early Chinese astronomy, which utilized Jupiter as a constant because its orbit around the earth occurred every 12 years. Others claim that the usage of animals in astrology dates back to nomadic tribes in ancient China, who created a calendar based on the animals they hunted and gathered.
What is the significance of the Chinese zodiac?
In Chinese culture, the Chinese zodiac is a significant factor. The signs have been used to date years in the Chinese calendar’s 12-year cycle for a very long time. The Chinese zodiac is significant because the animal signs have been employed in storytelling and folklore. These were used to generate the many personality qualities associated with each animal.
Even today, millions of Chinese people believe in the prophesies and “superstitions” contained in the Chinese zodiac. Some people in Chinese culture have based their relationships on the Chinese zodiac.
Some people, for example, look for mates and friends by looking for someone who has the same zodiac sign as them.
They also utilize it to figure out who they’d get along with and collaborate with the best. In general, the zodiac offers advice on how to live one’s life. The Chinese zodiac has a fascinating influence on Chinese culture and community.
- “Chinese Zodiacs,” as the title suggests. Chinaspree.com. http://www.chinaspree.com>, 21 July 2007.
How are Chinese Zodiacs chosen?
The Chinese zodiac, known as shengxiao (/shnng-sshyao/, ‘born resembling’), is made up of 12 animals. The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig are the animals in order.
At Chinese New Year (in January/February), the Chinese zodiac years begin and end. Each year of the 12-year zodiac cycle is symbolized by a zodiac animal, each with its own set of purported characteristics.
People in China believe that a person’s horoscope, personality, and love compatibility are all linked to his or her Chinese zodiac sign, which is decided by his or her birth year.
You can learn everything there is to know about the Chinese zodiac, including how to determine your Chinese zodiac sign and horoscope.
Is the Chinese zodiac based on science?
Throughout history, the evolution of astronomy and astrology has been inextricably linked. However, in China, the two have traditionally had much greater ties than in Europe, where they have been mainly recognized as independent disciplines since the eighteenth century. Astronomy is now recognized as a scientific field that involves the observation of objects and occurrences outside of the earth’s atmosphere. Astrology, on the other hand, is more commonly defined as a sort of ‘divination,’ and is primarily concerned with making predictions about life on Earth based on the positions of celestial bodies in the sky. This assumes that happenings on Earth and in the sky are connected, and as such is a discipline that some take seriously while others dismiss.
The location of the major planets, sun, moon, and comets in the sky at the exact hour of a person’s birth, as well as the year in which they were born, according to Chinese astrological philosophy, can define a person’s destiny. Each year in China is associated with one of twelve animals and one of five elements, resulting in a sixty-year cycle. Although it is by no means scientific, accurate astrological prediction is a difficult process that some people take extremely seriously. By contrast, most Chinese are familiar with their year sign, and it is frequently mentioned in reference to compatibility with others, but it is no longer utilized seriously in significant decision-making.
Who created the Chinese horoscopes?
Beginning Jan. 26, Asian communities around the world will celebrate the Lunar New Year with food, firecrackers (to ward off evil spirits), red paper lanterns (red being a bright hue that foreshadows a bright future), and dragon and lion dances for good luck. (A group of dancers holds a model of the animal’s head and a long train depicting its body and moves sinuously to symbolize power and dignity; no lions or dragons are hurt.) Such customs come from an astrological system that dates back to the Shang Dynasty (about 1700 B.C. ), when soothsayers would burn turtle shells or goat or bovine shoulder blades and utilize the cracks to predict what would happen in the future. Years later, the remains of these “readings” were discovered and dubbed “dragon bones.” The time marks the beginning of the Chinese link to the celestial bodies that form the basis of the Chinese zodiac, despite the fact that these approaches were not technically astrological. (Photos of Chinese New Year celebrations can be found here.)
The Chinese calendar is based on the revolution of the moon, therefore the new year might fall anywhere between mid-January and late-February. According to tradition, Ta Nao, an Emperor Huang Ti’s minister, invented the calendar, which has been used in Asia from 4000 B.C. It is based on 12 temperaments represented by 12 symbolic animals: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig (the dragon being the well-known favorite). The cycle restarts after 12 years, matching the duration of Jupiter’s solar orbit. (See “China’s Year of the Ox Isn’t So Bullish.”)
Each animal in the zodiac is linked to a specific element.
Metal, wood, earth, water, or fire are the elements given to each year. A person’s personality is believed to be defined by the mix of these two traits. For example, 2009 is the year of the earth ox, yet the ox’s fixed element is water; some say the combination of the two elements, earth and water, is destructive.
Animals and some of the years they connect to:
1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003: Goat/Sheep (well-mannered, altruistic, insecure, reckless)
1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, Monkey (independent, passionate, unscrupulous, infantile personality)
Rooster (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005): resourceful, adventurous, short-sighted, impractical
1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 (attentive, faithful, stubborn, guarded)
1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, pig/boar (sincere, cultivated, noncompetitive, gullible)
1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 (hardworking, thrifty, quick-tempered, neurotic)
1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 (patient, self-sacrificing, jealous, inflexible)
1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, Tiger (fortunate, bold, vain, undisciplined)
1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, Rabbit (ambitious, unflappable, aloof, private)
1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 (intuitive, influential, demanding, judgemental)
1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 (calm, intellectual, indolent, possessive)
1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 (entertaining, forceful, egotistical, rebellious)
Elements that correspond to specific animals include:
Wood (tiger, rabbit, dragon) represents high moral standards and a proclivity for taking on too much.
Earth (not fixed because it is made up of the other four elements): practical and dependable, but lacking in inventiveness)
Aggressive, domineering, dynamic in voice and action (snake, horse, sheep)
When charting a person’s characteristics or predicting what the new year will bring, a Chinese astrologer takes all of these factors into account. These forecasts aren’t just for carnival sideshows or fortune cookies; in many Asian cultures, the year’s forecasts are closely scrutinized for omens relating to business, romantic, and family decisions in the future year. Some Chinese parents schedule their children’s births during dragon years in order to increase their children’s fortune. Some persons who were born in the “wrong” years have apparently been denied entry to weddings and funerals. Those planning for 2009 should be aware that, due to the lack of fire in this year’s prophecy, fortune tellers believe the economy will do no better than it did in 2008, the year of the rat.
How reliable is the Chinese zodiac?
You might not know that Chinese astrology has been around for almost 5,000 years if you’ve just read about your Chinese zodiac sign on mass-produced place mats at Chinese restaurants. It’s a significant part of traditional Chinese culture, influencing perspectives on how to connect with the world in the best possible way, Chinese traditional medicine, and Feng Shui, the Chinese art of design. You might also be shocked to learn that your Chinese Zodiac sign is considered more accurate than your astrological zodiac sign by some astrologers, for a variety of reasons.
On the surface, Chinese and Western astrology appear to be very similar. According to the Feng Shui Institute, the Chinese zodiacSheng Xiaoincludes 12 primary signs, also known as terrestrial branches, each of which is symbolized by an animalRat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, similar to western astrology. Your Chinese zodiac sign is based on your year of birth on the Chinese calendar, rather than your month of birth, and forecasts everything from your personality to how well you get along with others, according to Travel China.
The Chinese zodiac incorporates five earthy elements that interact to form a cycle of ups and downs for each sign, as well as your birth date, month, and time, making it far more complicated than Western astrology. Your Chinese horoscope, unlike Western astrology, is not set in stone, according to the website Your Chinese Astrology. Rather, it is up to you to apply the information to improve your future luck. Continue reading to learn more about your Chinese zodiac sign and how it may be even more accurate than your astrological zodiac sign:
Why isn’t the cat considered a sign of the zodiac?
The Cat is the 13th animal emblem in the Vietnamese and Gurung zodiacs’ 12-year cycle, replacing the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. As a result, the Rabbit’s characteristics are assigned to the Cat. The Rat and the Cat are at odds.
Legends about the Chinese zodiac arrangement frequently include tales about why the cat was not included among the twelve animals. Because the Rat duped the cat into missing the Jade Emperor’s dinner, the cat was not invited, was unaware that the feast was taking place, and was not given a year, and thus began the animosity between cats and rats. Domesticated cats may not have been widespread in China at the time of the zodiac’s inception.
Another mythology, known as “The Great Race,” claims that all of the zodiac animals were on their way to the Jade Emperor. The Cat and Rat were the smartest of the animals, but they were also bad swimmers and ended up in a river. They both conned the helpful, ignorant Ox into letting them ride on its back across the river. The Rat pushed the Cat into the river as the Ox approached the opposite side, then hopped from the Ox and dashed to the Jade Emperor, becoming the first of the zodiac. The other animals made it to the Jade Emperor, but the Cat was sabotaged by the Rat and left to drown in the river. This is also supposed to be why cats are continuously on the lookout for rats.
There have been several theories as to why the Vietnamese, unlike all other countries that use the Sino lunar calendar, have the cat as their zodiac animal rather than the Rabbit. The most frequent reason is that “rabbit” (mao) sounds like “cat” in ancient Chinese (meo).
The Chinese zodiac is a fiction, right?
According to legend, the Chinese zodiac’s twelve animals were chosen through a race. The purpose of this race is to provide a time measurement for the participants. There could only be twelve winners, and the animals had to cross a fast-flowing river and reach the finish line on the coast in order to win.
When did the zodiac come into being?
Babylonian astronomers split the ecliptic into 12 equal “signs” at the end of the 5th century BC, analogous to 12 schematic months of 30 days each. The first known celestial coordinate system was created when each sign contained 30 degrees of celestial longitude. According to contemporary astronomical estimates, the zodiac was first used between 409 and 398 BC, during Persian dominance, and most likely within a few years of 401 BC. Unlike modern astrologers, who place the beginning of the sign of Aries at the position of the Sun at the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (March equinox), Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the beginning of Cancer at the “Rear Twin Star” (Geminorum) and the beginning of Aquarius at the “Rear Star of the Goat-Fish” ( Capricorni).
Since Babylonian times, the time of year when the Sun is in a certain constellation has altered due to equinox precession; the point of March equinox has moved from Aries to Pisces.
They formed a perfect system of reference for making predictions about a planet’s longitude since they were divided into 30 equal arcs. However, Babylonian observational measurement techniques were still in the early stages of development. They measured the position of a planet in relation to a group of “normal stars” near the ecliptic (9 degrees latitude) as observational reference points to aid in planet placing inside the ecliptic coordinate system.
A planet’s location in Babylonian astrological journals was usually stated in terms of a zodiac sign alone, rather than particular degrees within a sign. When degrees of longitude were given, they were stated in terms of the 30th degree of the zodiac sign, rather than the continuous 360 ecliptic. The positions of prominent astronomical phenomena were estimated in sexagesimal fractions of a degree in astronomical ephemerides (equivalent to minutes and seconds of arc). The daily locations of a planet were less important in daily ephemerides than the astrologically significant times when the planet moved from one zodiac sign to the next.