|
China Information
Chinese Astrology - Chinese Zodiac SymbolsPosted by Dror Poleg, April 20, 2005 8:54 AM
Chinese Astrology: An Introduction Chinese astrology is related to the Chinese calendar, particularly its 12-year cycle of animals (aka Chinese Zodiac), and the fortune-telling aspects according to movement of heavenly bodies across the Chinese constellations in the sky. Origins of Chinese Astrology The ancient Chinese astronomers called the five major planets by the names of the Five Elements. Venus is Metal (gold); Jupiter is Wood; Mercury is Water; Mars is Fire; Saturn is Earth. according to the Chinese astrology , the position of the five planets, the sun, the moon and comets in the sky, and the Chinese zodiac sign at the time a person was born determine the destiny of a person's life. A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one birthday and birth hours is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology. The 12 Chinese Zodiac animal signs are, in order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. There are many legends to explain the beginning of the zodiac. The origin and order of the animals included in the Chinese Zodiac differ. One of the most popular ones tells that the Jade Emperor conducted a race between all the animals to decide which ones will be features in the zodiac. The final “ranking” in this race reflects the natural charachteristics of the animals: persistent (ox), treacherous (the rat, who rode on the ox's head and jumped ahead of him at the end), lazy (the pig), and more. Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac signs are also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China. However, some of the animals differ from the original ones used in the Chinese Zodiac. For example, the Vietnamese zodiac is identical to Chinese zodiac except the fourth animal is the cat not the rabbit, while the Japanese zodiac includes the wild boar instead of the pig. Also, the Japanese use Gregorian calendar, i.e., 1 January, as the beginning of the zodiac sign. |
Partner Links
Jobs in China
Recent Comments
AllSeeingE on
Send a postcard to the future
Peter Andr on
Cats and dogs in the animal cruelty law
hanmeng on
Al Jazeera on potential dog meat ban
singingblu on
2012: a disaster movie not suitable for children
NINGT on
Goons and thugs
Len Chiu on
The body in the lake
Christie on
Pole dancing: for fitness, not about sex
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
![]() Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
Diamond Hill by Feng Chi-shun: Feng's memoir Diamond Hill describes an era of gambling and gangsters, Suzie Wong and squatter villages, fires and food stalls, and the Kowloon Walled City and its white powder. "A time when people were poor, but life was rich," he says. The world that he grew up in no longer exists, but his book - the first ever on the Diamond Hill refugee settlement, in either Chinese or English - offers a candid picture of what life was like for most Hong Kong residents in the 1950s.
William A. Callahan's China: The Pessoptimist Nation: China: The Pessoptimist Nation shows how the heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Through a careful analysis of how Chinese people understand their new place in the world, the book charts how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings in a dynamic that intertwines China's domestic and international politics.
The WTO ruling: a half victory at best: In August 2009, a World Trade Organization panel ruled against China's system of monopoly control over entertainment products. Was this the victory supporters hailed as the dawn of a new day for American and global entertainment companies in the China market?
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ Street hawker cries of Beijing (2006.12): Yang Changhe demonstrates hawker's cries in a video shot by Muzimei. + New Weekly: Do Chinese kids know anything about traditonal Chinese culture? (2004.06): Q: Do you know what China's four great inventions are? Paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder 49.3% know all four, 37.3% get one or more wrong, 13.3% don't know at all (2004.06.12) + Some questions about SARFT's full-stop for Red Question Mark (2007.09): SARFT axes Red Question Mark (红问号). He Dong (何东) responds.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky
or Feedburner |




