China Travel Notes & News

What Animal Are You? Traditionally, the Chinese marked the passing of years in cycles of sixty. This was done with combinations of the so-called ¡°Heavenly Elements¡± and ¡°Earthly Elements.¡± There are ten heavenly elements (jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren and gui) and twelve earthly elements (zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, st, wu, wet, shen, you, xu and hai). The first year in a cycle is therefore jia zi, the second year yi chou, the third year bing yin, and so on. Since there are ten heavenly elements and twelve earthly elements, in a cycle of sixty years each of the ten heavenly elements will be used six times and each of the twelve earthly elements will be used five times; then it will be the year of jia zi again, starting a new cycle. Additionally, the Chinese associated each earthly element with a particular animal. Hence, for the twelve earthly elements there are rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. According to the Chinese calendar, therefore, 2002 was the year of horse, 2003 is the year of ram, and 2004 will be the year of monkey. Check the list below to see what animal you are. Rat: 1804, 1816, 1828, 1840, 1852, 1864, 1876, 1888, 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032 Ox: 1805, 1817, 1829, 1841, 1853, 1865, 1877, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033 Tiger: 1806, 1818, 1830, 1842, 1854, 1866, 1878, 1890, 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034 Hare: 1807, 1819, 1831, 1843, 1855, 1869, 1879, 1891, 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035 Dragon: 1808, 1820, 1832, 1844, 1856, 1868, 1880, 1892, 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036 Serpent: 1809, 1821, 1833, 1845, 1857, 1869, 1881, 1893, 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037 Horse: 1810, 1822, 1834, 1846, 1858, 1870, 1882, 1894, 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038 Ram: 1811, 1823, 1835, 1847, 1859, 1871, 1883, 1895, 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039 Monkey: 1812, 1824, 1836, 1848, 1860, 1872, 1884, 1896, 1908, 1820, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040 Rooster: 1813, 1825, 1837, 1849, 1861, 1873, 1885, 1897, 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1956, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041 Dog: 1814, 1826, 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042 Boar: 1815, 1827, 1839, 1851, 1863, 1875, 1887, 1899, 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043 Back to China Notes and News