Introduction
The Spring Festival or Chinese New Year is on Feb. 16. Please read
the article I wrote last year for more information about Chinese New Year.
As you know, this is the
Year of the Rabbit or the 4697th Year based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Chinese name twelve animals representing 12 years in a cycle. It is noted that
the twelve animals are closely associated with the Earthly Branches, Yin/Yang, and the Five
Elements. This is summarized in the following table.
|
Animal
|
Branch
|
Yin/Yang
|
Hours
|
Element
|
|
Rat
|
1. Zi
|
Yin
|
11pm - 1am
|
Water
|
|
Ox
|
2. Chou
|
Yin
|
1am - 3am
|
Earth
|
|
Tiger
|
3. Yin
|
Yang
|
3am - 5am
|
Wood
|
|
Hare
|
4. Mao
|
Yin
|
5am - 7am
|
Wood
|
|
Dragon
|
5. Chen
|
Yang
|
7am - 9am
|
Metal
|
|
Snake
|
6. Si
|
Yang
|
9am - 11am
|
Fire
|
|
Horse
|
7. Wu
|
Yang
|
11am - 1pm
|
Fire
|
|
Sheep
|
8. Wei
|
Yang
|
1pm - 3pm
|
Earth
|
|
Monkey
|
9. Shen
|
Yin
|
3pm - 5pm
|
Metal
|
|
Cock
|
10. You
|
Yang
|
5pm - 7pm
|
Metal
|
|
Dog
|
11. Xu
|
Yin
|
7pm - 9pm
|
Earth
|
|
Boar
|
12. Hai
|
Yin
|
9pm - 11pm
|
Water
|
For an example, the Zi hour (11pm - 1am), is the Rat hour since the Rat is usually associated with the Yin element,
such as darkness, stillness, and deceit. This is the opposite with the Wu hour (11am - 1pm)
when the Yang reaches its highest point, so the horse is associated with the Wu as he is fast, robust,
and swift.
The cycle of the twelve animals may be used to tell the personalities and fortunes of a person born in a particular
year and hour based on the table above. This practice has a long history and there are still many Chinese
using it. The characteristics of the animals are summarized in
the table here.
For more information, check out the following links:
About Chinese New Year
New Year Greeting Cards
Chinese New Year Calendar
Chinese New Year Posts
Zodiac and Predictions
Chinese New Year Food and Recipes
Chinese New Year Stamps
Other Info about Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year Index
To learn everything here about Chinese New Year.
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