The Chinese Zodiac (Sheng Xiao) also referred to as the Lunar, Yin, Xia or the old Chinese calendar, revolves around twelve year cycle, represented by an animal sign like rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Historically- from Xia Dynasty 16th -21st century BC) and Shang Dynasty 11th-16th Century BC, the Chinese calendar continues to define the dates of Chinese festivals and is widely used for horoscopes.
Following its creation in the Xia Dynasty, successful rulers continued to use the calendar with some modifications. The Han Dynasty rulers instituted the Taichu calendar, while during Tang Dynasty the Huangji calendar which was introduced and it was adopted by Japan, Korea and Vietnam. With the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, the Gregorian calendar was brought into use. Although ethnic groups such as Hindus, Tibet and Dai have their own calendars.
It is calculated according to Chinese lunar calendar and the animals in Chinese zodiac were also created for counting years as the system. The selection and order of the animals that influence people’s lives very much was originated during the Han Dynasty (202BC – 220AD) and based upon each animal’s character and living habits. The old time division was mostly related to number 12: one ji equals 12 years, one year has 12 months, one day has 12 time periods called shi chen. Ancient people observe that there are 12 full moons within one year. So, its origin is associated with astronomy. Each animal sign is usually related with an earthly branch, so the animal years were called zi rat, chou ox, yin tiger, mao rabbit, chen dragon, si snack, wu horse, wei sheep, shen monkey, you rooster, xu dog and hai pig.
It is deemed that the years represented by the animals affect the characters of people in the same manner as the sign of zodiac adopted by astrological systems.
The animal year when a person was born is called his/her Benming Nian (year of birth). The distinctive zodiacal way of calculating years based on the lunar calendar decides that every once in every twelve year cycle people will meet their birth sign.
According to Chinese Solar Terms, the Beginning of Spring is the first solar term regarded as the start of a new year. So, years should be divided by this day. Now, Chinese New Year’s Day is commonly adopted as the division of two animal years.
In one’s year of birth, one will offend ‘Taisui’, a mysterious power or celestial body that could control people’s fortune either Triumph or Misery during that year. According to Chinese pundits the best way to avoid miserable events is to wear red clothes, a waistband, or decorations such as a red bracelet and necklace as a talisman that must be purchased by others. If one buys the necklace themselves, the function of the talisman is greatly reduced.
Know your Benming Nian!
| Chinese Year of | Years | |||||||||
| Rat | 1912 | 1924 | 1936 | 1948 | 1960 | 1972 | 1984 | 1996 | 2008 | 2020 |
| Ox | 1913 | 1925 | 1937 | 1949 | 1961 | 1973 | 1985 | 1997 | 2009 | 2021 |
| Tiger | 1914 | 1926 | 1938 | 1950 | 1962 | 1974 | 1986 | 1998 | 2010 | 2022 |
| Rabbit | 1915 | 1927 | 1939 | 1951 | 1963 | 1975 | 1987 | 1999 | 2011 | 2023 |
| Dragon | 1916 | 1928 | 1940 | 1952 | 1964 | 1976 | 1988 | 2000 | 2012 | 2024 |
| Snake | 1917 | 1929 | 1941 | 1953 | 1965 | 1977 | 1989 | 2001 | 2013 | 2025 |
| Horse | 1918 | 1930 | 1942 | 1954 | 1966 | 1978 | 1990 | 2002 | 2014 | 2026 |
| Sheep | 1919 | 1931 | 1943 | 1955 | 1967 | 1979 | 1991 | 2003 | 2015 | 2027 |
| Monkey | 1920 | 1932 | 1944 | 1956 | 1968 | 1980 | 1992 | 2004 | 2016 | 2028 |
| Rooster | 1921 | 1933 | 1945 | 1957 | 1969 | 1981 | 1993 | 2005 | 2017 | 2029 |
| Dog | 1922 | 1934 | 1946 | 1958 | 1970 | 1982 | 1994 | 2006 | 2018 | 2030 |
| Pig | 1923 | 1935 | 1947 | 1959 | 1971 | 1983 | 1995 | 2007 | 2019 | 2031 |