How was the Chinese zodiac calendar created?

Answer 1

The 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each other. The first is the cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely the Five Elements (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in their ip Yin and Yang forms.

The second is the cycle of the twelve Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shēngxiāo) or Earthly Branches . They are in order as follows: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (ram or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and boar. In Vietnam the rabbit is replaced by the cat.

This combination creates the 60-year cycle due to the least amount of years (least common multiple) it would take to get from Yang Wood Rat to its next iteration, which always starts with Yang Wood Rat and ends with Yin Water Boar. Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can also only occur in either Yin or Yang: the dragon is always yang, the snake is always yin, etc. The current cycle began in 1984 (as shown in "Table of the sixty year calendar" below).

When trying to traverse the lunisolar calendar, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. The cycle proceeds as follows:

* If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.

* If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.

* If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.

* If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.

* If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.

* If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.

* If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.

* If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.

* If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.

* If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

However, since the (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, the switch-over date is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, a person who was born in late January or early February may have the sign of the previous year. For example, if a person was born in January 1970, his or her element would still be Yin Earth, not Yang Metal. Similarly, although 1990 was called the year of the horse, anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990, was in fact born in the Year of the Snake (the sign of the previous year), because the 1990 Year of the Horse did not begin until January 27, 1990. For this reason, many online sign calculators (and Chinese restaurant place mats) may give a person the wrong sign if he/she was born in late January or early February.

The start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many other customs.

from: wikipedia

Answer 2

The Chinese zodiac calendar is based on a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal sign. The zodiac calendar was created based on a legend that says the order of the animals in the zodiac was determined by a race. The rat emerged as the winner, and the order of the other animals was based on the order they finished the race.