THE CHINESE CALENDAR
The
mystique of the Chinese calendar has always been fascinating and,
despite the uncertainty surrounding it, it has managed to generate a
lot of interest in persons not of Chinese descent.
In recent
years, there has been a significant increase in the Chinese
population in Jamaica. As a result, we have become more exposed to
various aspects of Chinese culture and have even become participants
in some of the festivities. Many persons look forward to the Chinese
New Year celebrations annually, not only for the festivities but also
to try to get a better understanding of this unique aspect of the
Chinese culture. These events usually stimulate much discussion.
The
Chinese calendar predates the International calendar (The Gregorian
calendar) and is believed to have been invented by Emperor Huangdi in
2637 B.C.E. Even though the Gregorian calendar is the standard used
in China, the Chinese calendar is still used to set dates for
traditional festivities and other important events such as weddings.
The
Chinese calendar was formulated around the movement and positioning
of the Sun, Moon and Stars. New Moons factor quite significantly in
this system as they determine the start of a new month or year. Days
are measured from midnight to midnight and 29 or 30 of these are
equivalent to one month. A calendar year usually comprises 12 months,
however, a leap year has 13 months.
Chinese
years are given names for easier recollection. Most persons are
familiar with the system of associating an animal with a year on the
Chinese calendar, however, there is much more to it than that. The
name given to a year in Chinese culture has both a Celestial
component (stem) as well as an Earthly one (branch).
The earthly branches are those which are given animal
representations. There are ten possible stems and twelve earthly
branches which combine to give sixty combinations of names. Therefore
the name of any given year is repeated every sixty years.
Celestial Stems |
Earthly Branches |
jia |
zi (rat) |
yi |
chou (ox) |
bing |
yin (tiger) |
ding |
mao (hare) |
wu |
chen (dragon) |
ji |
si (snake) |
geng |
wu (horse) |
xin |
wei (sheep) |
ren |
shen (monkey) |
gui |
you (fowl) |
|
xu (dog) |
|
hai (pig) |
So, the
year 2006 is the year of bingxu which translates to the year
of the dog. This suggests that 2005 was the year of yiyou, the
year of the fowl and next year 2007 will be dinghai, the year
of the pig. Legend has it that the idea of naming the years as
animals came from Lord Buddha, who it was said, summoned all the
animals to come to him before he departed from earth. However, only
twelve animals came to bid him farewell and so he rewarded them by
naming a year after each one in the order in which they arrived,
beginning with the rat through to the pig.
Chinese
believe that the personalities of the animals influence the
personalities of the persons born in that year. Additionally, the
time of birth is also quite significant to the culture as this is
what is believed to determine one’s destiny. Such value is
placed on one’s time of birth so much so that in ancient times,
Asian women were known to take medicines that would either induce or
delay labour so that their children would be born on a day that would
improve their chances of having good fate.
The
personalities suggested by the animals are as follows:
ANIMALS |
YEARS |
PERSONALITIES |
Rat |
Jan. 24, 1936 – Feb.
10, 1937
Feb. 10, 1948 – Jan. 28,
1949
Jan. 28, 1960 – Feb. 14,
1961
Feb. 15, 1972 – Feb. 2,
1973
Feb. 2, 1984 – Feb. 19,
1985
Feb.
19, 1996 – Feb. 6, 1997 |
Creative, adaptable,
ostentatious, sociable |
Ox |
Feb. 11, 1937 – Jan. 30,
1938
Jan. 29, 1949 – Feb. 16,
1950
Feb. 15, 1961 – Feb. 4,
1962
Feb. 3, 1973 – Jan. 22,
1974
Feb. 20, 1985 – Feb. 8,
1986
Feb.
7, 1997 – Jan. 27, 1998 |
Methodical, sensible,
reliable, conservative |
Tiger |
Jan. 31, 1938 – Feb. 18,
1939
Feb. 17, 1950 – Feb. 5,
1951
Feb. 5, 1962 – Jan. 24,
1963
Jan. 23, 1974 – Feb. 10,
1975
Feb. 9, 1986 – Jan. 28,
1987
Jan.
28, 1998 – Feb. 15, 1999 |
Competitive, leaders,
aggressive |
Rabbit |
Feb. 19, 1939 – Feb. 7,
1940
Feb. 6, 1951 – Jan. 26,
1952
Jan. 25, 1963 – Feb. 12,
1964
Feb. 11, 1975 – Jan. 30,
1976
Jan. 29, 1987 – Feb. 16,
1988
Feb.
16, 1999 – Feb. 4, 2000 |
Submissive, good
judge of character, introverted |
Dragon |
Feb. 8, 1940 – Jan. 26,
1941
Jan. 27, 1952 – Feb. 13,
1953
Feb. 13, 1964 – Feb. 1,
1965
Jan. 31, 1976 – Feb. 17,
1977
Feb. 17, 1988 – Feb. 5,
1989
Feb.
5, 2000 – Jan. 23, 2001 |
Extroverted, trendy,
imaginative |
Snake |
Jan. 27, 1941 – Feb. 14,
1942
Feb. 14, 1953 – Feb. 2,
1954
Feb. 2, 1965 – Jan. 20,
1966
Feb, 18, 1977 – Feb. 6,
1978
Feb. 6, 1989 – Jan. 26,
1990
Jan.
24, 2001 – Feb. 11, 2002 |
Powerful, stylish |
Horse |
Jan. 30, 1930 – Feb. 16,
1931
Feb. 15, 1942 – Feb. 4,
1943
Feb. 3, 1954 – Jan. 23,
1955
Jan. 21, 1966 – Feb. 8,
1967
Feb. 7, 1978 – Jan. 27,
1979
Jan. 27, 1990 – Feb. 14,
1991
Feb.
12, 2002 – Jan. 31, 2003 |
Sociable,
competitive, conversationalists |
Sheep |
Feb. 17, 1931 – Feb. 5,
1932
Feb. 5, 1943 – Jan. 24,
1944
Jan. 24, 1955 – Feb. 11,
1956
Feb. 9, 1967 – Jan. 29,
1968
Jan. 28, 1979 – Feb. 15,
1980
Feb. 15, 1991 – Feb. 3,
1992
Feb.
1, 2003 – Jan. 21, 2004 |
Affectionate,
selfless, artistic |
Monkey |
Feb. 6, 1932 – Jan. 25,
1933
Jan. 25, 1944 – Feb. 12,
1945
Feb. 12, 1956 – Jan. 30,
1957
Jan. 30, 1968 – Feb. 16,
1969
Feb. 16, 1980 – Feb. 4,
1981
Feb. 4, 1992 – Jan. 22,
1993
Jan.
22, 2004 – Feb. 8, 2005 |
Clever, inventive,
mischievous, curious |
Rooster |
Jan. 26, 1933 – Feb. 13,
1934
Feb. 13, 1945 – Feb. 1,
1946
Jan. 31, 1957 – Feb. 17,
1958
Feb. 17, 1969 – Feb. 5,
1970
Feb. 5, 1981 – Jan. 24,
1982
Jan. 23, 1993 – Feb. 9,
1994
Feb.
9, 2005 – Jan. 28, 2006 |
Cocky, aggressive |
Dog |
Feb. 14, 1934 – Feb. 3,
1935
Feb. 2, 1946 – Jan. 21,
1947
Feb. 18, 1958 – Feb. 7,
1959
Feb. 6, 1970 – Jan. 26,
1971
Jan. 25, 1982 – Feb. 12,
1983
Feb. 10, 1994 – Jan. 30,
1995
Jan.
29, 2006 – Feb. 17, 2007 |
Honest, humourous,
loyal, diligent, sociable |
Pig |
Feb. 4, 1935 – Jan. 23,
1936
Jan. 22, 1947 – Feb. 9,
1948
Feb. 8, 1959 – Jan. 27,
1960
Jan. 27, 1971 – Feb. 14,
1972
Feb. 13, 1983 – Feb. 1,
1984
Jan. 31, 1995 – Feb. 18,
1996
Feb.
18, 2007 – Feb. 6, 2008 |
Ambitious, caring,
industrious |
Does your
personality match the year in which you were born? Care for a little
Chinese fortune?
The
Year of the Dog will bring happiness and dissent. Harmony will be
brought to home life, patriotism to one’s country and
unwavering fealty to whatever cause you wish to support.
References
1. Welcome the Year of the Dog, A Special Gleaner Supplement –
The Sunday Gleaner, January 29, 2006
2. www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/calendar.htm
3. www. Charon.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html |
