back-words... and you thought you were a Tiger…

May 16th, 2008
and you thought you were a Tiger…

Have you ever been out to eat Chinese food and you see one of those Chinese Zodiac placemats at your seat? It tells you what what your Chinese sign is based on what year you were born. Guess what? The Chinese year is based on the Lunar Cycle, not the Gregorian calendar followed by most civilizations. Therefore, just because you were born in a specific year, 1974 in the case, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a specific sign, such as a Tiger. Huh???

OK, show of hands- who understands the Chinese Zodiac? and who doesn’t? I’ll explain some things to bring everyone up to speed.

The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle. Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one the original 12 animals. The Chinese zodiac refers to a pure calendrical cycle; there are no equivalent constellations like those of the occidental zodiac.

That was pretty simple, right? Sure it was. Now here’s where things get interesting…

The 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each other. The first is the cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely the Five Elements (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in their Yin and Yang forms.

The second is the cycle of the twelve Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shēngxiāo) or Earthly Branches . They are in order as follows: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (ram or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and boar .

This combination of 5 elements × 12 animals creates the 60-year cycle, which always starts with Wood Rat and ends with Water Boar. Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can also only occur in either Yin or Yang: the dragon is always yang, the snake is always yin, etc.

It’s a little mathematical, but still fairly comprehendable. Now let’s get a bit complicated…

Since the (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, the switch over date is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, a person who was born in January or early February has the sign of the previous year.

Are you scratching your head yet? sort of? not really? Let me explain further…

Feb. 3, 1973 - Jan. 23, 1974 is the year of the Ox (Water).
Jan. 24, 1974 - Feb. 10, 1975 is the year of the Tiger (Wood).

Therefore, my fellow 1974′nians, if you were born between 1/1/74 & 1/23/74, you are an Ox. If you were born between 1/24/74 & 12/31/74, you are a Tiger. Can you dig it? Sure, it’s no sweat! Next time you’re out having Chinese with your friends and/or family you can blow their minds while waiting for your meals.