In this article, we will talk about the Chinese zodiac signs, also, we will talk about the Chinese Calendar and the principle of Chinese Astrology. Records of the beginning and the importance of the Chinese Zodiac in the civilizations of the Far East abound in classical Chinese literature. Astrology was one of the bases of Chinese philosophy, and many accounts of it can be traced: The Book of Changes or the I Ching; The Book of Rites consulted by the emperor of China; and The Book of Poetry dating back to the first century BC when stars and constellations were first listed. China also had its own almanacs containing many astrological references, as was the case in Europe from the 14th century onwards, in the Berger almanacs.
The Chinese Zodiac Signs
Following the example of the Western zodiac, the Chinese Zodiac is an imaginary band comprising twelve signs symbolized by animals. These animals play an important part in Chinese mythology which is very different from the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek mythologies – sources of inspiration for the Western zodiac. It was the Buddha, circa 600 BC, who changed the complex and abstruse astrological signs in use to the twelve mythical animals that we know today: the Rat(Mouse), the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat(Sheep), the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Boar(Pig). Now let’s talk a little about the Chinese zodiac signs.
- People born in the Rat year(1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020) are temperamental, alert, sensitive, open-minded, and gentle. Read more about the Rat…
- People born in the Ox year(1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021) are firm, tenacious, diligent, honest, happy, and maybe a little stubborn. Read more about the Ox…
- Tiger people(1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022) are bright, enthusiastic, bold and unstrained but quick – tempered, for females, they may be as tender as a lovely cat. Read more about the Tiger…
- People born in the Rabbit year(1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023) are kind, considerate, gentle, quiet, attentive, polite, and peaceable but a little self–conceited. Read more about the Rabbit…
- Dragon people(1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024) are honorable, brave, healthy, energetic, and intelligent, but they are very temperamental and stubborn as well. Read more about the Dragon…
- People born in the Snake year(1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025) are wealthy, intelligent but maybe egotistical and conceited. Read more about the Snake…
- People born in the Horse year(1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026) are energetic, high–spirited, popular, humorous, and intelligent but occasionally quick-tempered. Read more about the Horse…
- Goat people(1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027) are prudent, gentle, honest, calm, compassionate, and fashionable but may be extremely dependent. Read more about the Goat…
- People born in the Monkey year(1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028) are shrewd, creative, agile, and successful but irritable, sly, and lack respect for others. Read more about the Monkey…
- Rooster people(1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029) are energetic, outspoken, enterprising, forceful, romantic, and profound in thinking but they may be spendthrifts and suspicious. Read more about the Rooster…
- People born in the Dog year(1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030) are faithful, trustworthy, righteous, and responsible but not very sociable and maybe a little obstinate. Read more about the Dog…
- Boar people(1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031) are gentle, magnanimous, reliable, tolerant, and calm but a little lazy and may not be very clever. Read more about the Boar…
The Chinese Calendar and Zodiac Signs
The Chinese calendar is a solar/lunar calendar based on the cycles of the Sun and the Moon. Like Western Astrology, Chinese Astrology takes into account the spring and autumn equinox and the summer and winter solstices but differs by not making use of the four cardinal points to regulate the seasons in their calendar and their zodiac. During the course of the Chinese solar year, the first animal sign (the Rat) coincides with the start of spring on the 4 or 5 February, depending on the year.
Summer starts between 5 and 7 May with the sign of Horse. Autumn arrives with the sign of the Boar between 5 and 7 August. And finally, winter, between the 5 and 7 November coincides with the start of the sign of the Snake. There lies another major difference between Western and Chinese Astrology. According to the latter, the solar year is not divided into twelve months, but into twelve half-months or 24 two-week periods of fortnights, which the Chinese call QI (breath).
The Principle of Chinese Astrology
Continuing to talk about the Chinese zodiac signs, we should also check the principle of Chinese astrology. The principle of Chinese astrology lies on a solar-lunar cycle as we have just seen, but also on the cycle of Jupiter whose zodiacal revolution – the time it takes for Jupiter to travel around the zodiac – is twelve years. Each year is dominated by the animal sign through which Jupiter is traveling. Consequently, in the same way, as Western astrology sometimes names a year according to the sign where Jupiter is in transit, Chinese astrology names a year depending on which animal sign Jupiter is passing through.
For instance, when Jupiter is in transit in Capricorn, we say that ‘it is the year of Capricorn’, whereas when Jupiter passes through the sign of the Ox, the Chinese call that year ‘the year of the Ox’. When following the pathway of the Sun inside the zodiac starting from Chinese New Year (4 or 5 February), we notice that the Sun exerts an influence complementary to that of Jupiter on the year in question.
The legend of Buddha and the twelve animals
Knowing that he had reached the end of his life, the Buddha invited the twelve animals of the zodiac to come and say goodbye to him before he left for the other world. The first one to arrive was the Rat. This is why the Rat is the first sign of the zodiac during the Chinese solar year. Then came the Ox, then the Tiger, followed by the Rabbit and the Dragon. The Snake was next, with the Horse and the Goat. Then the Monkey arrived, together with the Rooster and the Dog. Finally, the Boar was the last animal to see Buddha alive.