Chinese Zodiac

The Shēngxiào (Chinese: 生肖), better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme, a systematic plan of future action, that relates each year to animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle. It has wide currency in several East Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.

Identifying this scheme using the term "zodiac" reflects several similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into 12 parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of attributing influence of a person's relationship to the cycle upon their personality and/or events in their life. Nevertheless, there are major differences: the "Chinese" 12-part cycle corresponds to years rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, whereas some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not animals, despite the implication of the Greek etymology of "zodiac". The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations, let alone those spanned by the ecliptic plane.

Read more about Chinese Zodiac:  Signs, Compatibility, Four Pillars, Zodiac Origin Stories, Problems With English Translation, Chinese Zodiac in Other Countries

Famous quotes containing the word zodiac:

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    —D.H. (David Herbert)