Sign of the Chinese zodiac
The
Pig
(
?
) or sometimes translated as the
Boar
is the twelfth of the 12-year cycle of
animals
which appear in
Chinese zodiac
, in relation to the
Chinese calendar
and system of
horology
, and paralleling the system of ten
Heavenly Stems
and twelve
Earthly Branches
. Although the term "
zodiac
" (etymologically referring to a "[circle of] little animals") is used in the phrase "Chinese zodiac", there is a major difference between the Chinese usage and
Western astrology
: the zodiacal animals (including the zodiacal
Pig
) do not relate to the zodiac as the area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in
celestial latitude
) of the
ecliptic
, the
apparent path
of the
Sun
, the
Moon
, and visible
planets
across the
celestial sphere
's
constellations
, over the course of the year.
[
clarification needed
]
In
Chinese astrology
, "zodiacal" animals refer to fixed cycles of twelve animals. The same cycle of twelve is used for cycles of years and cycles of hours. In the case of years, the cycle of twelve corresponds to the twelve-year cycle of
Jupiter
. In the case of the hours, the twelve hours represent twelve double-hours for each period of night and day. In the continuous
sexagenary cycle
of sixty years, every twelfth year corresponds to
hai
,
亥
(the twelfth of the twelve
Earthly Branches
); this re-recurring twelfth year is commonly called the
Year of the Pig
(
?年
).
There are five types of Pigs, named after the
Chinese elements
. In order, they are:
Metal
,
Water
,
Wood
,
Fire
, and
Earth
. These correspond to the
Heavenly Stems
. Thus, there are five pig years in every sexagenary cycle. For example, in the year 2019, the Earthly Branch is the twelfth,
hai
, and the Heavenly Stem is the sixth,
j?
己
. The
Chinese New Year
in 2019 is February fifth: this corresponds with the beginning of both the sexegenary year of
j?
hai
and also the zodiac year of the Earth Pig.
In the
Japanese zodiac
[1]
and the
Tibetan zodiac
,
[2]
the Pig is referred to as the
boar
. In the
Dai zodiac
, the Pig is replaced by the
elephant
.
[3]
In the
Gurung zodiac
, the Pig is replaced by the
deer
.
[4]
The Malay zodiac replaces the Pig with the
tortoise
.
[5]
Pig in the Chinese zodiac legend
[
edit
]
According to the
myths
, the Pig was the last to arrive when the
Jade Emperor
called for the great meeting. Other sources said that
Buddha
called for a great meeting when he was about to leave the
Earth
. The Pig arrived last.
Yet another
legend
has it that The Emperor organized a race to ascertain the order of the animals in the Zodiac. The pig not having arrived long after all of the other animals, he was about to call it a day when an oink and squeal were heard. The term "lazy pig" comes from this incident; the Pig had become hungry during the race, stopped for a feast, and then promptly fell asleep. The pig finally completed the race, however, and was accordingly named the 12th and last animal of the
zodiac
cycle.
[6]
Other sources say that given his very stout form, he was just too slow a swimmer, and thus he could not do anything against the other animals (or conversely that he was so fast he went up the wrong side of the river first).
[
citation needed
]
Years and the Five Elements
[
edit
]
The Pig and the Elements
[
edit
]
The
natural
element of the Pig is
Water
. Thus, it is commonly associated with emotions and intuitions. Yet, given that along with the elements (called the
Celestial stem
), the animal
zodiac
(called the
Earthly stem
) also follows a cycle, each of the elements affect the
characteristic
of the same
Earthly stem
(
see
Sexagenary cycle
).
However, the Pig is
yin
, and thus only the negative aspects of the elements can be attached to them, thus only 5 kinds of Pigs are found in the
zodiac
. They are the following:
- 乙
亥
(y?hai) ? The
Wood
Pig
- 丁
亥
(d?nghai) ? The
Fire
Pig
- 己
亥
(j?hai) ? The
Earth
Pig
- 辛
亥
(x?nhai) ? The
Metal
Pig
- 癸
亥
(gu?hai) ? The
Water
Pig
The Years of the Pig
[
edit
]
People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Pig", while bearing the following elemental sign:
Start date
|
End date
|
Heavenly Branch
|
4 February 1935
|
23 January 1936
|
Wood
Pig
|
22 January 1947
|
9 February 1948
|
Fire
Pig
|
8 February 1959
|
27 January 1960
|
Earth
Pig
|
27 January 1971
|
14 February 1972
|
Metal
Pig
|
13 February 1983
|
1 February 1984
|
Water
Pig
|
31 January 1995
|
18 February 1996
|
Wood
Pig
|
18 February 2007
|
6 February 2008
|
Fire
Pig
|
5 February 2019
|
24 January 2020
|
Earth
Pig
|
23 January 2031
|
10 February 2032
|
Metal
Pig
|
10 February 2043
|
29 January 2044
|
Water
Pig
|
28 January 2055
|
14 February 2056
|
Wood
Pig
|
14 February 2067
|
2 February 2068
|
Fire
Pig
|
2 February 2079
|
21 January 2080
|
Earth
Pig
|
18 February 2091
|
6 February 2092
|
Metal
Pig
|
4 February 2103
|
28 January 2104
|
Water
Pig
|
Hour of the Pig
[
edit
]
Similarly to the usage of the traditional
Japanese clock
, each day-night period was divided into 12 double-hours, each of which corresponding with one of the twelve signs of the
Chinese zodiac
, with similar symbolic motif and astrological significance. The first of the twelve double hours (the Hour of the Rat) encompasses midnight, at the middle of the double hour, corresponding with 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., with midnight being the midpoint of the first double-hour. The animals in the hourly sequence are the same and in the same order as in the yearly sequence. The Pig is the last in the sequence, with the Hour of the Pig corresponding to the double-hour 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., also known as the hour
hai
(亥).
[7]
Given that the traditional Chinese day-night cycle was composed of 12 hours, each sign is given to the different signs of the
zodiac
. The Pig is assigned to govern the time between 21:00 hrs to 22:59 hrs. According to
tradition
, this is the time when the Pig is doing what it does best (sleeping and enjoying the sweet life).
In terms of
astrology
, the hours in which people were born (technically termed as the
Ascendant
) are the second most important
facet
of their
astrology
. Thus, this alters greatly the
characteristics
. Even if people were born in any year governed by another animal (for example, anyone born on 20 December 2000, i.e. year of the
Dragon
) will display strong characteristics of the Pig. Thus, they may be fierce and strong like the
Dragon
, but at the same time emotional and intuitive like the Pig.
Basic astrology elements
[
edit
]
Cultural notes
[
edit
]
Some
Chinese Muslims
will say that they were born in the year of the
hai
,
亥
(twelfth and final year of the zodiac) to avoid saying the "Pig".
[8]
This is because pigs are
haram
(forbidden to eat) in Islam and therefore Muslims consider pigs unclean.
Increasing numbers of countries and regions now issue lunar new year stamps. For the 2019 Year of the Pig, the USC U.S.-China Institute collected stamps from 56 jurisdictions.
[9]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Chinese Zodiac members
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Other Zodiac members
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Japanese
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Filipino
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Vietnamese
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Cham
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Malay
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Khmer
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Thai
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Tai Lue
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Gurung
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Bulgar
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Tibetan
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Old Mongol
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Kazakh and Kyrgyz
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Turkic peoples
(
Volga Bulgars
,
Kazars
, etc.)
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Persian
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