(The picture source: www.photophoto.cn）
Here is the second part of the popular ”十二生肖 (shí’èrshēngxiào): Chinese Zodiac” series that you all have been patiently waiting for. If your animal wasn’t included in the last installment, you are sure to find it below. In the last zodiac article, we discovered all 12 of the animals while going into detail about 6 of them. If you or someone you know likes to explore other’s characteristics or find who your zodiac is most compatible with, read on.
“马 (Mǎ) Horse” is associated with nice personalities such as warm-hearted and easygoing so people of this zodiac usually have a lot of friends. Independence and endurance make them more powerful and they do not easily give up when in difficulties but their love of spending money seems to be the biggest problem. They have the most in common with rabbit, sheep, and tiger.
(Why Does Chinese Idiom “马马虎虎 Horse and Tiger” Mean So-So Or Moderate?)
“羊 (Yáng) Goat” is also called sheep and is tender, polite, devoted, and clever. People of this zodiac have a special sensitivity to art and beauty and a special fondness for quiet living. Their negative attributes include being indecisive, timid, vain, pessimistic, and moody. Sheep could create a harmonious relationship with horse, rabbit or pig.
“猴 (Hóu) Monkey” is energetic, adaptable, intelligent and resourceful and for people of this zodiac, their gentleness and honesty bring them everlasting relationships. Although they were born with desirable talents, they still have several flaws such as a reckless temper and a tendency to judge others. Usually, ox and rabbit share common thoughts and feelings about life.
“鸡 (Jī) Rooster” has many excellent characteristics such as being honest, bright, outgoing, and ambitious and people of this zodiac are said to be pretty or handsome and prefer to dress up in daily life. Although they don’t rely on others, roosters are selfish, impatient, and narrow-minded. The connection between ox or snake can become closest.
“狗 (Gǒu) Dog” is generally sincere, loyal and decisive according to the Chinese zodiac. People of this zodiac are not afraid of difficulties in daily life, which make their relationships with people harmonious. On the other hand, they are sensitive, conservative, stubborn, and emotional. Rabbits and dogs are the perfect matches.
(Single in China, It’s a Dog’s Life?)
“猪 (Zhū) Pig” is considerate, responsible, independent and optimistic. And people of this zodiac show tolerance of other people’s mistakes which help them gain harmonious interpersonal relationships. However, sometimes they are naive and will behave lazily and short-tempered. Tiger, rabbit, and sheep have common goals and similar values as a pig and can make for a good match.
The Zodiacs are also representatives of Chinese twelve branches. Along with the development of history, it has gradually merged into a folk belief, which is manifested in marriage, life, annual luck, etc. Each zodiac animal has a mythical story and forms a conceptual philosophy of folk culture, such as marriage, temple prayers, “本命年 (běnmìngnián) the birth year or recurrent year in 12-year-cycled.” In modern times, more people regard Chinese zodiac as the mascot of Spring Festival and become the symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.
本命年 (Běnmìngnián): one’s birth correlates with one of twelve animals representing the years in which people are born
十二生肖 (Shí’èrshēngxiào): Chinese Zodiac
Examples:
Gǒu nián shì wǒ de běnmìngnián.
1. 狗年是我的本命年。
The year of the dog is my birth year.
Zài zhōngguó, shí’èrshēngxiào dàibiǎo zhe shí èr zhǒng dòngwù.
2. 在中国，十二生肖代表着十二种动物。
In China, the zodiac represents twelve animals.
1. Read the dialogue and choose the best answer to fill in the blank.
Lì Lì: Nǐ shǔ shénme ______?
丽丽: 你 属 什么 ______?
Xiǎo Hóng: Wǒ shǔ zhū, nǐ ne?
小红: 我属猪，你呢？
Lì Lì: Wǒ bǐ nǐ dà, wǒ shǔ gǒu.
丽丽: 我比你大, 我属狗。
A. 生肖 (Shēngxiào)
B. 星座 (Xīngzuò)
C. 动物 (Dòngwù)
Julia Liu teaches Chinese with eChineseLearning. She has been successfully teaching
for 5 years and loves reading and practices her passion for drawing in her free time.
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