January 31, 2014

1. 4712 Chinese New Year 中國新年 January 31, 2014 The Year of the Horse

2. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is about 4712 – 2014 = ? years Older than ours • It never begins on January 1st • Nor does it begin on the same date each year • Any time between January 21st and February 18th • Depending on the date of the New Moon in Aquarius

3. Each year is named for an animal 12-year cycle • The Chinese say that the animal ruling the year you were born will influence your life • According to Chinese folklore, every person has personality traits that are the same as their animal birth sign • Several legends about how the animals were chosen • This is one of them

4. The Jade Emperor is the name of the Emperor of Heaven. Long ago, in China, The Jade Emperor decided that there should be a way of measuring time. On his birthday he told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first 12 animals across the fast flowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them.

5. All the animals lined up along the river bank. The rat and the cat, who were good friends, were worried because they were poor swimmers. Being clever they asked the strong ox if he would carry them across the river. “Of course” said the kind ox. “Just climb on my back and I will take you across.” The rat and the cat quickly jumped up and were very excited when the ox soon took the lead in the race. They had almost reached the other bank when the rat pushed the cat into the river leaving him to struggle in the water. Then just before the ox was about to win the race the rat leapt on

6. his head and on to the bank to finish 1st. “Well done,” said the Jade Emperor to the proud rat. “The first year of the Zodiac will be named after you.” The poor ox had been tricked into 2nd place and the 2nd year of the zodiac was named after him. Shortly after, the exhausted tiger clawed his way to the river bank to claim third place. Swimming across the river had been an enormous struggle for him against the strong currents.The Emperor was so delighted with his efforts that he named the 3rd year after him.

7. Next to arrive was the rabbit, who hadn’t swum across at all. He hopped across on some stepping stones and then found a floating log which carried him to the shore. “I shall be very happy to call the 4th year after you,” the surprised Jade Emperor explained. Just then a kind dragon swooped down to take fifth place. “Why didn’t you win the race, as you can fly as well as swim?” the Jade Emperor asked. “I was held up because some people and animals needed water to drink. I needed to make some rain,” the dragon explained. “Then when I was nearly here I saw

8. a poor little rabbit on a log in the water and I blew a puff of wind so that the log would float to the river bank.” “Well that was very kind of you and now you are here you will have the 5th year of the zodiac named after you.” The next thing the Jade Emperor heard was the sound of the horse’s hooves. Just as he was thinking the horse would be the next animal to arrive, a sneaky snake wriggled out from around one of the horse’s hooves. The horse was so surprised that he jumped backwards giving the snake a chance to take the 6th place in the race. The poor horse had to be satisfied with the 7th place.

9. Not long afterwards a raft arrived carrying the goat, the monkey and the rooster. They explained to the Emperor how they had shared the raft that the rooster had found. The goat and monkey had cleared weeds and pushed the raft to the shore. The Emperor was very pleased that the animals had worked together. He named the goat the 8th zodiac animal, the monkey the 9th and the rooster the 10th. The next animal to finish was the dog. “Why are you so late when you are one of the best swimmers?” asked the Jade Emperor. “The water in the river was so clean that I had to have a bath on the way, explained the dog. The 11thyear was named after him.

10. Now there was one place left in the zodiac and the Emperor wondered when the last winner would come. He nearly gave up when he heard a grunt from the boar. “You took a long time to cross the river,” said the Emperor to the boar. “I was hungry and stopped to eat. After the meal I felt so tired that I fell asleep.” The last year was named after the boar. As for the cat who had been pushed into the water by the rat, he finally crawled out of the water but was too late to have a year named after him. He felt very cross with the rat and since then cats have never been friends with rats. From that day to this, the Chinese zodiac has followed this cycle of years named after these twelve animals.

11. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, on which date of our Western calendar does the Chinese New Year's Day of Year 4712 fall? • January 27, 1990 • January 31, 2014 • February 12, 2002 • February 10, 2013 The year of the Horse

12. Approximately how many years is the Chinese lunar calendar older than ours, the Western calendar? • 698 years • 1,698 years • 2,698 years • 3,698 years

13. How may years are there in a zodiac cycle in the Chinese lunar calendar? • 9 years • 12 years • 18 years • 24 years

14. What was each of the Chinese lunar calendar year named for? • A tree • A stone • A plant • An animal

15. Why was the Emperor very pleased and named the goat the 8th Chinese Zodiac animal, the monkey the 9th and the rooster the 10th? • Because the animals worked together and shared a raft. • Because the animals swam together across the river. • Because the animals competed with one another. • Because the animals flew across the river.

16. Long ago in China, who decided that there should be a way to measure time? • The Huang Emperor in Ancient China. • The Yao Emperor in Ancient China. • The Jade Emperor of the Heaven. • The Shun Emperor in Ancient China.

17. What competition was held to name the Chinese Zodiac years? • A singing competition. • A swimming competition. • A dance competition. • A talent competition.

18. What did the rat do to win the 1st place of the race? • The rat leapt on the stones in the river and finished first. • The rat got on a floating log and finished first. • The rat swam across and finished first. • The rat pushed the cat into the river leaving him to struggle in the water, and leapt on the ox’s head and on to the bank to finish first.

19. Why didn’t the dragon win the 1st place in the race, as he can fly as well as swim? • Because he was tired, so he took a nap. • Because he was hungry and stopped to eat. • Because the water in the river was so clean that he had to have a bath on the way. • Because he needed to make some rain so people and animals had water to drink.  Then when he was near the other bank, he saw a poor little rabbit on a log in the water and he blew a puff of wind so that the log would float to the river bank.

20. According to Chinese folklore, every person would have what kind of personality traits? • Personality traits that are the same as their father. • Personality traits that are the same as their animal birth sign. • Personality traits that are the same as their mother. • Personality traits that are the same as their grandparents.

22. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jade_Emperor http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/ZodiacStory.aspx http://www.threetong.com/x/nongli.html http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html