The Year of the Dragon: The Story Behind the Chinese Zodiac

What’s your sign? In Western astrology, it’s a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac (生肖), it’s your shuxiang, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year. 

 

“The story, myth and legend of the 12 animals of the Chinese New Year calendar originates from an ancient Chinese poem telling the story of 12 mythical animals which descended from the heavens to help people celebrate the coming of spring and a new crop. In the poem we hear about how the animals came down to earth every two hours with their combined journey representing a whole 24 hour day and in turn a symbol of one’s lifetime. The animals appeared in a certain order starting with the Rat and ending with the Pig.

The Chinese New Year animals change annually on a twelve year cycle but there are also five different types of each animal represented by the five elementary elements from Chinese culture – earth, wood, fire, water and metal. 2024 marks the year of the Wood Dragon!”

 

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-myth-behind-the-chinese-zodiac-megan-campisi-and-pen-pen-chen

 

Rat

1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020

Ox 

1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021

Tiger

1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022

Rabbit

1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023

Dragon

1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024

Snake

1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013

Horse

1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014

Sheep/Goat

1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015

Monkey

1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016

Chicken/Rooster

1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017

Dog

1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018

Pig

1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019