geraldc Posted February 18, 2018 at 12:40 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 12:40 AM So my nephew was born on Thursday night, so we thought he'd be a chicken (Chinese zodiac), as he was born before Chinese new year. However it turns out that the Chinese zodiac is solar not lunar, and the start date for the zodiac year is always the spring vernal equinox, which is 4th Feb every year. So my nephew's a dog. My wife and brother have been having a massive argument about this, and having done the reading, I'm not looking forward to telling my wife that she's wrong when she wakes up tomorrow. For my entire life I thought the Chinese zodiac followed the lunar year, I had no idea the Chinese zodiac year always started on 4 Feb. It's shaken me to the core! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
歐博思 Posted February 18, 2018 at 04:34 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 04:34 AM Like the location of your favorite 'illegal' food stand, a lot of stuff in Chinese astrology can be pretty vague and fleeting. Fun fact: days of the week have an animal too. Thursday? Rat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted February 18, 2018 at 07:06 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 07:06 AM 12-day week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
歐博思 Posted February 18, 2018 at 11:35 PM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 11:35 PM That would make for a fantastic weekend indeed! Multiple animals per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofmann Posted February 18, 2018 at 11:56 PM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 11:56 PM Weeks (旬) were usually 10 days long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted February 19, 2018 at 07:12 AM Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 at 07:12 AM @Hofmann : like the French revolutionary week, how interesting. @歐博思 : I'm not sure I trust this particular Wikipedia paragraph... @geraldc : how do the month animals work with the solar year? Do Chinese people care about the month animals at all ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
歐博思 Posted February 19, 2018 at 10:31 PM Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 at 10:31 PM 15 hours ago, edelweis said: I'm not sure I trust this particular Wikipedia paragraph... How about Baidu-pedia then? This one talks about 6 different ancient calendars, among them the one to which OP is referring not being very widespread "干支纪月法未普遍实行，主要为星相家推算八字用". 干支记月 isn't widespread like the method your wife is talking about, 干支纪年. My initial impression was that while you should respect your brother-in-law too, ultimately you're only married to one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted February 20, 2018 at 09:38 AM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 09:38 AM On 18/02/2018 at 1:40 AM, geraldc said: I'm not looking forward to telling my wife that she's wrong when she wakes up tomorrow. To be honest, given what is at stake at either side of the argument (nephew is the wrong animal vs argument with wife), you might want to just back your wife up on this. That said: interesting, I had no idea either! I was born in October, so it's not relevant to me anyway, but still: interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:02 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:02 PM 4 hours ago, Lu said: nephew is the wrong animal Probably the best solution is just to make sure he wears red underwear 2 years in a row. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:05 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:05 PM 1 minute ago, imron said: Probably the best solution is just to make sure he wears red underwear 2 years in a row. That would certainly be what I would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:33 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:33 PM Maybe he can be a docken or a chog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZC Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:17 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:17 PM 40 minutes ago, imron said: chog There must exist a more disgusting sound than this, but I cannot think of it. also if it is truly a major deal, I bet there are people you can pay to do all the astrology and stuff for you (none of them will tell you your nephew is a chog though...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:19 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:19 PM On 18/02/2018 at 12:40 AM, geraldc said: So my nephew was born on Thursday night, so we thought he'd be a chicken (Chinese zodiac), as he was born before Chinese new year. However it turns out that the Chinese zodiac is solar not lunar, and the start date for the zodiac year is always the spring vernal equinox, which is 4th Feb every year. So my nephew's a dog. My wife and brother have been having a massive argument about this, and having done the reading, I'm not looking forward to telling my wife that she's wrong when she wakes up tomorrow. They must take these things seriously! So what's better, a chicken or a dog? Apparently I'm an ox , but I have as faith in Chinese zodiac signs as astrology. It is surprising that many Chinese still firmly hold beliefs in these things. Astrology in the West isn't seen in high regard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZC Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:23 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:23 PM 3 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said: So what's better, a chicken or a dog? Probably chicken? In my experience if you say someone is a dog it’s quite a bit nastier than saying they are a chicken... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:27 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:27 PM I would have thought a rat or a snake are the worst ones but maybe to Chinese it has different connotations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:47 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 03:47 PM At least everyone is in agreement that Dragons are the best, and the most awesome of all the Chinese zodiac animals ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZC Posted February 20, 2018 at 04:42 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 04:42 PM In my opinion coolness/desirableness in order: 1:Dragon 2:Tiger 3:Horse 4:Monkey 5:Bunny 6:Ox 7:Goat 8:Chicken 9:Rat 10:Dog 11:Snake 12:Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted February 20, 2018 at 05:00 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 05:00 PM 1 hour ago, imron said: Dragons are the best Dragons are delusional. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 20, 2018 at 05:04 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 05:04 PM Someone's jealous they're not a Dragon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted February 20, 2018 at 07:37 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 07:37 PM 2 hours ago, imron said: Someone's jealous they're not a Dragon So utterly delusional 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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