Genius Hour Project
Chinese Zodiac
How had the Chinese zodiac affected the Chinese culture?
It has been known that some companies will consider the person's Chinese zodiac symbol before hiring them. They most favored Chinese symbol is the dragon. Since the dragon is popular with the people, there has been a 5-7% spike of births during the dragon year. The Chinese zodiac used to have an influence in the compatibility of a couple. It isn’t the same case now among the teenagers but it had been common among parents to deny or accept a relationship based on their Chinese zodiac symbol. Depending on your sign, you could determine whether you were going to have a lucky or unlucky year. You could try to gain back some of that luck by visiting a temple and donating.
How does the Chinese zodiac affect the feelings of the people?
The Chinese people aren’t really affected by the Chinese zodiac at all. For example, in birth rates, parents don’t really worry about what year their child is being born in. With the strict one child law in China, parents thought it impractical to time the date of the child’s birth to be born in a specific year. However there is still reports that in China, during the year of the Sheep, is a bad year for births. Even though there is a stigma with people born under the year of the Sheep, there is the idea of the people born in the year of the Sheep are “meek and destined for slaughter rather than success,". But in other non-Chinese societies with similar astrology as China, such as South Korea, different signs can carry different implications. Such as the year of the Horse. It is considered a good year for males but a bad year for females. There have been evidence that in the year of the Horse, parents have purposely written on the birth certificate that the time of birth was early than it actually was. In some cases, parents will try to shoot for “lucky” signs and avoid “unlucky” signs even if they don’t believe in the zodiac because of the population that does believe in astrology. This is such the case in Taiwan. So, the Chinese are not very affected by the zodiac and even though there are still people who will believe in that part of their culture, many don’t anymore. In result of that, the Chinese people are not very affected by that emotionally as well. The teens nowadays are not very heavily involved in the part of the culture that is the Chinese zodiac. It is not very effective in China but in other countries it is more heavily influenced in their culture and they still are heavily involved with the Chinese zodiac.
Story of the Chinese Zodiac
There are many different stories of the Chinese zodiac but the most common one is the race among the animals. The story goes, the jade emperor decided there should be a way of measuring time. On the day of his birthday, he decided to hold a race across the river for the animals to complete. The first twelve animals to complete the race would have a year named after them. All the animals had lined up at the river bank, but the cat and the rat were worried because they were the worst swimmers. But intelligent as they were, had asked the strong kind ox to carry them across the river and the ox agreed. The cat and rat were excited as they jumped on the ox’s back and were almost at the other side of the bank, when the rat pushed the cat off into the water and jumped onto the land ahead of the ox as it was about to reach first place.Shortly after the tiger came in third, as he had to fight the currents. The rabbit came in fourth since he had not swam at all but hoped on stones until he found a log that took him to the finish line. After the rabbit, the kind dragon had swooped down to claim fifth place. The emperor had asked the dragon what had taken him so long, since he could fly. The dragon replied that he needed to bring rain to animals and human that needed water and then he saw a little rabbit on a log. He had blown a puff of wind to make the log go towards the river bank. Then the jade emperor heard the sound of hooves. As he thought the horse would be the sixth animal, the sneaky snake had come out from the horse’s hooves and it startled the horse long enough for the snake to claim sixth place and the poor horse had to settle for seventh. Next, the monkey, sheep, and rooster. They had gone along the river in a raft the rooster found and had shared it with the other two. The emperor placed the sheep eighth, the monkey ninth and the rooster tenth. The dog was the eleventh animal to finish. He had taken a bath because the water was so clean, he had explained to the emperor. The last animal to finish was the pig. He told the emperor that he had gotten hungry and ate. He then fell asleep. As for the cat that had been pushed into the water by the rat had finally reached the river bank but it was too late by then. He felt very cross with the rat and ever since then they have never been friends again. People say that is why cats chase after mice when they see them. And so the order of the Chinese zodiac are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Animals of the Chinese Zodiac
The Jade Emperor
The Cat
Fun Facts: Personality
Rat
Rats are clever, quick-witted, and very sociable. They are excellent at analyzing social and business situations. They are also known to have good taste, and can sometimes be artists. Rats are very adaptable and will welcome change. Occasionally, they can have a short temper and be overly critical of others.
Ox
Oxen are strong and loyal, making them extremely reliable companions. Oxen are hard workers and will finish a project to completion. Sometimes, they are determined to a fault and can become stubborn. They also tend to be introverted and rely on family and friends for support.
Tiger
Tigers are strong characters who are enthusiastic and ambitious, with an authoritative leadership style that helps them get things done. Tigers are extremely charismatic, even seductive, and they typically exude confidence and bravery.
Rabbit
Dragon
Dragons are the most popular Zodiac animal in Asia. They are very strong, proud, passionate, and independent. They often have an entrepreneurial spirit and will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams. Dragons can overdo it and be arrogant, or tyrannical to others because they are completely focused on themselves.
Snake
Out of all the zodiac animals, snakes are the most intelligent. They are known for wisdom and deep thinking. Snakes love learning and are quick to share knowledge but keep their personal lives and feelings a secret. Snakes typically prefer their own company over that of others and can be loners. They can also tire of people quickly and don’t always keep close friends for a long time.
Horse
Sheep/Goat
The sheep sign is the most feminine of the Zodiac animals. Sheep are usually very sincere and gentle. They are fond of cute things like animals and children, and give them motherly protection. Sheep are not adventurous, but instead prefer to enjoy peaceful activities or relaxing scenery. Sheep are also artistic and empathize well with others. When things don’t go their way, they can be passive-aggressive and moody.
Monkey
Monkeys are very clever. They are often proficient at many different things and are adept at solving problems and adapting to new situations. Monkeys are a bundle of joy and make everyone around them happy. They are also very curious and can have an intense competitive streak. They love to gamble, and sometimes take on too much risk. Monkeys are known to be very flirty and promiscuous as well.
Rooster
Dog
Dogs are loyal, honest, and kind. They are good at getting along with everyone, and enjoy participating in their communities. They also have a sense of justice and are often idealistic. Dogs make very good friends, but sometimes they can be cynical and judgmental of an imperfect world.
Pig
Sources
http://depts.washington.edu/triolive/quest/2007/TTQ07030/culture.html
http://priceonomics.com/how-the-chinese-zodiac-affects-national-birth/
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/ZodiacStory.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw0adpGLIdk
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