Ancient Wisdom: The Chinese Zodiac Calendar - A Immeasurable Treasure

The Chinese calendar, like the horoscope with which it is interrelated, is an important component of ancient Chinese traditional culture.

The Chinese have every reason to be proud of these immeasurable treasures, which have been used by everyone from simple peasants to emperors over the centuries and millennia. Although modern science is often quick to label them as myths and fables, the Chinese calendar is based on rational scientific theory.

There are three types of calendar systems: solar, lunar, and solar-lunar. According to The Epoch Times, the solar calendar refers to the Earth's rotation around the Sun for one year. The lunar calendar represents the lunar cycle - one month. The lunar year is shorter than the solar year by about 11 days.

The ancient Chinese calendar is a solar-lunar calendar. Months were identified according to the moon cycle - new moon to new moon, and years were determined according to the solar calendar. To match the months to the solar year, about every third year a leap or 13th month was added. The Chinese usually call their ancient calendar "lunar" or "agricultural".

The Chinese calendar is said to have been composed in the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1765 AD), based on observations of celestial bodies, planets and celestial meridians, the ecliptic, etc.

Picture Credit: Jane Ku / Epoch Times

The Chinese Zodiac Calendar - The 12 Animals

The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar were chosen, according to legend, by the gods to represent the 12 cyclically repeating years. The 12 animals are as follows: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

The 12 animals, which represent the years in China, also served as a reminder to the ancient Chinese about the importance of good planning of time and life.

At the same time, knowledge about the 12 animals was closely linked to beliefs about the relationship between man and the universe.

The Celestial Link

An important aspect of the Chinese calendar is the 60-year cycle. It consists of a combination of 10 Tian-Gan (Heavenly Stems) with the 12 Di-Zhi (Earthly Branches). The heavenly stems are the five basic elements - wood, fire, earth, metal, and water - combined with the two basic principles of Chinese philosophy - Yin and Yang. The earthly branches are the signs of the zodiac.

According to ancient Chinese theology, the five elements - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth - are what the whole Universe is built of. Their properties and interaction define the characteristics of all things and phenomena. All matter tends to be in harmony with nature and the five elements condition the balance between all materials and energies.

How Does The This Work?

To understand how a cycle works, we associate the stems and branches according to their numbers.

Take the first heavenly stem and the first earthly branch - (1,1). This is the first calendar year of 60 years. Then comes the year (2,2), and so on up to (10,10). At this point, the 10 Heavenly Stems reach the end, so we take it from the beginning: the combination will be (1,11), and the next year - (2,12). This time the branches end and we'll start with the first branch, at the same time continuing the numbering of the stems - (3,1). And so 60 years pass, during which time we go through 6 cycles of heavenly stems and 5 cycles of earthly branches. The 61st year will again be (1,1), starting a new 60-year cycle.

The Chinese calendar, combining the scientific and moral aspects, is a special page in the culture of this wonderful country.

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