An Introduction to Chinese Order History Nathalie Longrée-Guevara, Project Tui Dong Li Director Lisa Nolting, Principal, Stonebrae Elementary School Julin Chen, Project Tui Dong Li Specialist February 8, 2011 Sheila Jordan, Superintendent

Twelve Chinese Animal Signs

The Chinese Zodiac initially originated from the division of time. Nowadays, we divide a day and night into 24 hours while ancient astronomers divide it into 12 shichen 时 辰. The Order History

which is a two-hour period, namely, zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu and hai. 子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、 午、未、申、酉、戌、亥

In astronomical observation, they choose 12 animal signs corresponding to each shichen ( 时 辰 ) according to the living habits and the time of activity of the animals. The Order History

From 11 pm to 1 am of the next day, it is the time of “zi”. It is the time for rats to run around while people fall asleep, so we have zi, rat. “ 子鼠 ” The Order History 1.. “ 子鼠 ”

From 1 am to 3 am, it is the time of “chou”. The ox is used to eating grass at night and farmers often get up in the midnight and feed them, so we have chou, ox. “ 丑牛 ” 。 The Order History 2. 丑牛

From 3 am to 5 am, it is the time of “yin”. Because the tiger often moves about at night and ancient people often hear them roaring at this time, we call it yin, tiger. “ 寅虎 ” 。 The Order History 寅虎

From 5 am to 7am, it is the time of “mao”. The hare goes out of its nest and eats green grass with morning dew on it, so we call it mao, hare. “ 卯兔 ” 。 The Order History 4. 卯兔

From 7 am to 9 am, it is the time of “chen“. It often mists at this time and legend says that dragons like to ride clouds and mist. It's also the time for the sun to rise, so we have chen, dragon. “ 辰龙 ” 。 The Order History 辰龙 11.

It is the time of “si“ from 9 am to 11 am. The mist has vanished and the sun has risen up in the sky. Snakes will go out to find food, so we call it si, snake “ 巳蛇 “ 。. The Order History 12. 巳蛇

It is the time of “wu” from 11 am to 1 pm. Before the wild horse was domesticated in the ancient time, they usually ran around and neighed at this time. That's why we call wu, horse. The Order History 午马 8.

From 1 pm to 3 pm, it is the time of “wei”. In some places, people call this period “sheep on the slope” because it's the right time for herding sheep. That's why we call it wei, sheep. “ 未羊 ” 。 The Order History 9. 未羊

It's the time of “shen” from 3 pm to 5 pm. The sun has moved to the western half of the sky. Monkeys love to screech at this time, so we call it shen, monkey “ 申猴 ” 。. The Order History 7. 申猴

The Order History It's the time of “you” from 5 pm to 7 pm. The sun has set. Roosters go back to their nest, so we call it you, rooster “ 酉鸡 ” 。. 酉鸡 5.

From 7 pm to 9 pm, it's the time of “xu”. After a busy day, people close their gates and go to sleep. Dogs guard the gates and will bark in case of any noise, so we call it xu, dog “ 戌狗 ”. The Order History 戌狗

The Order History It's the time of “hai” from 9 pm to 11 pm. In the still of night, we can hear pigs dig the trough with their snouts, so we call it hai pig “ 亥猪 ” 。. 亥猪 10.

The Chinese Order History In this way, the 12 shichen and animals are matched and sequenced: zi rat, chou ox, yin tiger, mao hare, chen dragon, si snake, wu horse, wei sheep, shen monkey, you rooster, xu dog and hai pig. Later, people use this method of time labeling in counting years. This is why we have the Chinese Zodiac. 子鼠、丑牛、寅虎、卯兔、辰龙、巳蛇、 午马、未羊、申猴、酉鸡、戌狗、亥猪

Thank you! 谢谢！