Chinese zodiac
Contrary to the West, people in the Far East have a cyclical concept of
time, rather than a linear one and the traditional Chinese calendar, for
one, is based on a twelve year cycle. It counts the years in sixty year
cycles, making use of combinations of two series of units known
as the Ten Heavenly Stems (Shi Tiangan) [which are connected with the Five Elements (water, fire, earth, wood and metal) and their
corresponding colors] and the Twelve Earthly Branches (Shier Dizhi). The
beginning of the cycle is the year ‘Jiazi’, being the first Heavenly
Stem (Jia), combined with the first Earthly Branch (Zi), and the last
year of the cycle is ‘Guihai’, being the tenth and last Heavenly Stem (Gui)
combined with the twelfth and last Earthly Branch (Hai). Every year is
also represented by a different animal corresponding to the Twelve
Branches and known as the Chinese
zodiac. Those animals are: the
rat
(shu), the
ox (niu), the
tiger
(hu), the
rabbit (to), the
dragon
(long), the
snake (she), the
horse (ma),
the
goat (yang), the
monkey (hou), the
cock (ji), the
dog (gou) and the
pig
(zu). According to this numbering the Year of the Monkey, for example,
is called ‘Jiashen’, being the first Heavenly Stem (Jia), combined with
the ninth Earthly Branch (Shen), and the Year of the cock is called ‘Yiyou’,
being the second Heavenly Stem (Yi) combined with the tenth Earthly
Branch (You). Note however that to make up a cycle of sixty years, only
the half of possible permutations is used. Every sixtieth year is a full
cycle and 2007
was celebrated as the Year of the ‘Golden’ Pig (fig.),
a once in 60 year occurrence. The animal signs of the
zodiac
also have a
useful social purpose: instead of asking directly how old a person is,
one may ask for someone's animal sign to find out someone's age. This
places that person’s age within a cycle of twelve years, and with a bit
of logic, one can deduce the exact age. According to Chinese legend, one
day the twelve animals quarreled as to who was to head the zodiac, thus
a contest was held: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river
first would become the leader and the rest of the animals would receive
their position according to their finish. The twelve animals gathered at
the riverside and jumped into the river. Unknown to the ox however, the
rat had jumped upon its back and as the ox was about to climb ashore,
the rat jumped off the ox's back, arriving first and winning the race.
The fat and lazy pig ended up last. That is the reason why the rat now
stands at the beginning of the zodiac as the first year of the animal
cycle, the ox second, and the pig last. In Thai, the animals of the zodiac have different names than their common Thai designations, i.e. chuat (ชวด) for rat (fig.); chalu (ฉลู) for ox (fig.), khaan (ขาล) for tiger (fig.), เถาะ (tho) for rabbit (fig.), มะโรง (ma-rohng) for dragon (fig.), ma-seng (มะเส็ง) for snake (fig.), ma-mia (มะเมีย) for horse (fig.), ma-mae (มะแม) for goat (fig.), wok (วอก) for monkey (fig.), ra-kah (ระกา) for cock (fig.), jo (จอ) for dog (fig.), and kun (กุน) for pig (fig.), terms that are proceeded by the prefix pih (ปี), when referring to the year of each of the specific animals, e.g. Pih Ma-rohng for
‘Year of the Dragon’.
Note that in
certain regions and cultures
one or more of the traditional zodiac animals may occasionally differ
based on local beliefs and traditions.
For example, in the
Lan Na
zodiac (fig.),
often seen in
Chiang Rai,
the
elephant
holds the position that the pig occupies
in the more widely known Chinese zodiac,
while in
Vietnam
the cat is used instead of the rabbit,
and the
water buffalo
instead of the ox.
The
division of time into hours and months, particularly the use of the
number 12, has ancient origins and
is likely rooted in the practice of counting with one hand, using the thumb as a
pointer to count the three segments of each finger, totaling twelve.
See
also CHINESE
CALENDAR
and
THEMATIC STREET LIGHTS (1),
(2),
(3),
(4), (5),
(6)
and
(7),
TRAVEL PICTURE,
and
WATCH
VIDEO.
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