Chinese zodiac

For the 2012 film starring Jackie Chan, see CZ12.
Unless otherwise specified, Chinese text in this article is written in the format Simplified Chinese / Traditional Chinese, Pinyin. If the Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters are identical, they are written only once.
Chinese zodiac
Chinese生肖
Hanyu Pinyinshēngxiào
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinshēngxiào
Bopomofoㄕㄥ ㄒㄧㄠˋ
Gwoyeu Romatzyhshengshiaw
Wade–Gilessheng1-hsiao4
IPA[ʂə́ŋ.ɕjâʊ]
Wu
Romanizationsen平-siau去
Hakka
Romanizationsensiau
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationsāangchiu
Jyutpingsaang1 ciu3
IPA[saŋ˥.tsʰiw˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJsingsiàu
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUCsăng-ngá
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese属相
Traditional Chinese屬相
Hanyu Pinyinshǔxiàng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinshǔxiàng
Bopomofoㄕㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ
Gwoyeu Romatzyhshuushianq
Wade–Gilesshu3-hsiang4
IPA[ʂù.ɕjâŋ]
Wu
Romanizationzoh入-sian平
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationsuhkseung
Jyutpingsuk6 soeng3
IPA[sʊk̚˨.sœŋ˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJsio̍ksiùnn

The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle.[1] The zodiac is very important in traditional Chinese culture and exists as a reflection of Chinese philosophy and culture.[2] Chinese folkways held that one's personality is related to the attributes of their zodiac animal.[3] Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan,[4] South Korea,[5] Vietnam,[5] Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand.[6]

Identifying this scheme as a "zodiac" reflects superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both divide time cycles into twelve parts, label the majority of those parts with animals, and are used to ascribe a person's personality or events in their life to the person's particular relationship to the cycle. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people's personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.[7]

For the starting date of a zodiac year, there are two schools of thought in Chinese astrology: Chinese New Year or the start of winter.

  1. ^ "The Chinese Zodiac". Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  2. ^ "Chinese Zodiac | Home". UW Departments Web Server. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  3. ^ Gao, Jinlin; Joh, Yoon-kyoung (2019-04-30). "Chinese Zodiac Culture and the Rhetorical Construction of A Shu B, C" (PDF). Lanaguage Research. 55 (1). Seoul National University: 2. doi:10.30961/lr.2019.55.1.55. Archived (PDF) from the original on Jan 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Abe, Namiko. "The Twelve Japanese Zodiac Signs". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  5. ^ a b "Chinese Zodiac and Chinese Year Animals". astroica.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  6. ^ "Animals of the Thai Zodiac and the Twelve Year Cycle". Thaizer. 2011-09-08. Archived from the original on 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  7. ^ "Chinese Zodiac: 2024 Year of Dragon, 12 Animal Signs, Calculator". www.travel china guide.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.