Ep. 141: The Chinese Zodiac
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode will be an update on the Chinese Zodiac episode. Over the next year or so I will occasionally update some of the very old episodes to augment the material, and also update the format.
The Chinese Zodiac, also known as Shēngxiào is a system that assigns an animal to a recurrent 12-year period. Those animals are a Rat, an Ox, a Tiger, a Rabbit, a Dragon, a Snake, a Horse, a Goat or a Sheep, a Monkey, a Rooster or a Chicken, a Dog, and a Pig or a Boar.
For today’s episode we will refer to a Sheep, Rooster, and a Pig, but just keep in mind a Sheep can also be a Goat, a Rooster can also be a Chicken, and a Pig can also be a Boar.
Each of the 12 animals has reputed attributes and characteristics that are said to relate to people born on these years. In addition to this, each year is also associated with one of the five elements which are, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These elements are not fixed, rather they rotate on a 60-year cycle (12 * 5 = 60). This provides an increased nuance for interpretation from year to year.
Today’s mnemonic will be on the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac in order.
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_Zodiac_carvings_on_ceiling_of_Kushida_Shrine,_Fukuoka.jpg
Wikipedia Summary
The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle.[1] In traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese zodiac is very important and exists as a reflection of Chinese philosophy and culture.[2] Chinese folkways held that one's personality is related to the attributes of their zodiac animal.[3] Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan,[4] South Korea,[5] Vietnam,[5] Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand.[6]
Identifying this scheme using the generic term "zodiac" reflects several superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into twelve parts, each label at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people's personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.[7]
For the starting date of a zodiac year, there are two schools of thought in Chinese astrology: Chinese New Year or the Start of Spring.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_Zodiac_statues.jpg
Mnemonic
The Chinese Zodiac Mnemonic - a Rat riding an Ox TRaDeS a Horse for a Sheep and calls it MR Dog Pig
(Picture Remy the famous French farm rat from Ratatouille riding an Ox to market where he trades a Horse for a Sheep and calls it Mr Dog Pig)
1. Rat
2. Ox
3. Tiger
4. Rabbit
5. Dragon
6. Snake
7. Horse
8. Goat/Sheep
9. Monkey
10. Rooster
11. Dog
12. Pig
Five Fun Facts
1. Each zodiac year has an element. Those five elements are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal (Gold). Wood rules the earth, earth rules the water, water rules the fire, fire rules the metal, and metal rules the wood.
2. Each zodiac just like our astrological calendar has fated personality traits.
• Rat: Quick-witted, smart, charming, and persuasive.
• Ox: Patient, kind, stubborn, and conservative.
• Tiger: Authoritative, emotional, courageous, and intense.
• Rabbit: Popular, compassionate, and sincere.
• Dragon: Energetic, fearless, warm-hearted, and charismatic.
• Snake: Charming, gregarious, introverted, generous, and smart.
• Horse: Energetic, independent, impatient, and enjoys traveling.
• Sheep: Mild-mannered, shy, kind, and peace-loving.
• Monkey: Fun, energetic, and active.
• Rooster: Independent, practical, hard-working, and observant.
• Dog: Patient, diligent, generous, faithful, and kind.
• Pig: Loving, tolerant, honest, and appreciative of luxury.
Now after reading all these personality traits of different signs, I decided to do a bit of research on the Western Zodiac to work out whether or not there is some truth to it, or whether it is just bunkum. So, in the end, after many hours and countless calculations I discovered that it could actually be bad for your health. It works out, that you have a one in twelve chance of getting Cancer!
3. The Goat is the unluckiest zodiac sign and is supposedly destined for bad luck. People born in this year are to be followers rather than leaders. The opposite is true of people born on Dragon years, and Chinese birth rates reflect this belief.
4. In ancient times people used the zodiac sign animals to tell the time. Each sign is represented by two hours. For example, the dog hours were 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the Tiger hours were 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.
5. The zodiac signs are also affected by yin and yang. Odd years are yin and even years are yang. Therefore, the yin signs are Rooster, Rabbit, Pig, Snake, Ox, and Goat. While the yang signs are the Monkey, Tiger, Rat, Horse, Dragon, and Dog.
Yin is associated with darkness, negativity and the moon. While yang is associated with light, positivity and the sun.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_Zodiac_Trine_Compatibility.jpg
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Generally, people believe that the Chinese zodiac year starts with the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar New Year. What two months of the year may this fall on?
Q.2. Why is there no Cat on the Chinese zodiac, considering they are thought to be lucky?
Q.3. Being in your zodiac sign’s year is considered good luck? True or False
Bonus Q. According to legend, who created the Chinese zodiac? Options are Buddha, Confucius, or Socrates
Mnemonic Recap
The Chinese Zodiac Mnemonic - a Rat riding an Ox TRaDeS a Horse for a Sheep and calls it MR Dog Pig
(Picture Remy the famous French farm rat from Ratatouille riding an Ox to market where he trades a Horse for a Sheep and calls it Mr Dog Pig)
1. Rat
2. Ox
3. Tiger
4. Rabbit
5. Dragon
6. Snake
7. Horse
8. Goat/Sheep
9. Monkey
10. Rooster
11. Dog
12. Pig
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. Generally, people believe that the Chinese zodiac year starts with the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar New Year. What two months of the year may this fall on?
A. January or February. In 2024 it falls on February 10th
Q.2. Why is there no Cat on the Chinese zodiac, considering they are thought to be lucky?
A. Chinese zodiac existed before Cats were brought to China from Egypt. A Tiger was already in the Chinese Zodiac, so they decided to leave it as is, as the tiger is from the same Cat family.
Q.3. Being in your zodiac sign’s year is considered good luck? True or False
A. False. It is actually considered to be bad luck because it supposedly offends the god of age.
Bonus Q. According to legend, who created the Chinese zodiac? Options are Buddha, Confucius, or Socrates
A. Buddha. Apparently, he summoned all the animals to a meeting and the first 12 to arrive got their own zodiac sign.
Word of the Week
volte-face
[ volt-fahs, vohlt-; French vawltuh-fas ]
a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy.
Example
She had a volte-face regarding zodiac signs after certain events had unfolded.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/facts.htm
https://www.myku.co/blogs/journal/10-mythical-facts-about-chinese-zodiac
https://www.yourtango.com/2017299474/7-fascinating-facts-about-chinese-zodiac-sign
https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/volte-face-2020-11-13/?param=wotd-email&click=ca77rh?param%3Dwotd-email&click=ca77rh&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Live%20WOTD%20Recurring%202020-11-13&utm_term=WOTD
https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/mythology-folklore/chinese-zodiac
https://www.funtrivia.com/submitquiz.cfm
https://upjoke.com/chinese-zodiac-jokes