January 31, 2014

January 31, 2014

4712Chinese New Year

中國新年The Year of the Horse

Chinese New Year 4712

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


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

Chinese New Year 4712The 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.

Chinese New Year 4712All 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

Chinese New Year 4712his 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.


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

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


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.

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.”


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 11th year was named after

him.

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


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.

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.


1. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, on which date of our Western calendar does the Chinese New Year's Day of Year 4712 fall?

1) January 27, 1990

2) January 31, 2014

3) February 12, 2002

4) February 10, 2013

The year of the Horse


2. Approximately how many years is the Chinese lunar calendar older than ours, the Western calendar?

1) 698 years

2) 1,698 years

3) 2,698 years

4) 3,698 years


3. How may years are there in a zodiac cycle in the Chinese lunar calendar?

1) 9 years

2) 12 years

3) 18 years

4) 24 years


4. What was each of the Chinese lunar calendar year named for?

1) A tree

2) A stone

3) A plant

4) An animal


5. Why was the Emperor very pleased and named the goat the 8th Chinese Zodiac animal, the monkey the 9th and the rooster the 10th?

1)Because the animals worked together and shared a raft.

2)Because the animals swam together across the river.

3)Because the animals competed with one another.

4)Because the animals flew across the river.


6. Long ago in China, who decided that there should be a way to measure time?

1) The Huang Emperor in Ancient China.

2) The Yao Emperor in Ancient China.

3) The Jade Emperor of the Heaven.

4) The Shun Emperor in Ancient China.


7. What competition was held to name the Chinese Zodiac years?

1) A singing competition.

2) A swimming competition.

3) A dance competition.

4) A talent competition.


8. What did the rat do to win the 1st place of the race?

1) The rat leapt on the stones in the river and finished first.

2) The rat got on a floating log and finished first.

3) The rat swam across and finished first.

4) 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.


9. Why didn’t the dragon win the 1st place in the race, as he can fly as well as swim?

1) Because he was tired, so he took a nap.

2) Because he was hungry and stopped to eat.

3) Because the water in the river was so clean that he had to have a bath on the way.

4) 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.


10.According to Chinese folklore, every person would have what kind of personality traits?

1) Personality traits that are the same as their father.

2) Personality traits that are the same as their animal birth sign.

3) Personality traits that are the same as their mother.

4) Personality traits that are the same as their grandparents.

Chinese New Year 4712Chinese Zodiac (1984-2019)

Rat Ox TigerHare/Rabbit

Dragon Snake HorseRam/Sheep

Monkey Rooster DogBoar/Pig

子鼠丑牛寅虎卯兔辰龙巳蛇午马未羊申猴酉鸡戌狗亥猪4682-1-1 4683-1-1 4684-1-1 4685-1-1 4686-1-1 4687-1-1 4688-1-1 4689-1-1 4690-1-1 4691-1-1 4692-1-1 4693-1-1

2-2-84 2-20-85 2-9-86 1-29-87 2-17-88 2-6-89 1-27-90 2-15-91 2-4-92 1-23-93 2-10-94 1-31-95

4694-1-1 4695-1-1 4696-1-1 4697-1-1 4698-1-1 4699-1-1 4700-1-1 4701-1-1 4702-1-1 4703-1-1 4704-1-1 4705-1-1

2-19-96 2-7-97 1-28-98 2-16-99 2-5-2000 1-24-01 2-12-02 2-1-03 1-22-04 29-05 1-29-06 2-18-07

4706-1-1 4707-1-1 4708-1-1 4709-1-1 4710-1-1 4711-1-1 4712-1-1 4713-1-1 4714-1-1 4715-1-1 4716-1-1 4717-1-1

Feb 7, 2008

Jan 26, 2009

Feb 14, 2010

Feb 3, 2011

Jan 23, 2012

Feb 10, 2013

Jan 31, 2014

Feb 19, 2015

Feb 9, 2016

Jan 28, 2017

Feb 16, 2018

Feb 5, 2019

Charming, social,

and quick witted,rats are

happy and popular people. Rats are

always on the go

and find safety in numbers.

Patient, deter- mined,

and easy going, you never miss

a beat. The Ox person

succeeds at their

own merits. Hard

working, logical,

and tenacious.

Tigers are romantic, lovable,

magneticand

indepen- dent. The tiger is an optimist. You are brave, kind,

daring and full of

feeling.

Rabbits are

selfless, neat and tidy, and get along well with

their brothers

and sisters. Rabbits lead the good life and are

the most fortunate.

One ofthe most

showy characters

of the zodiac

chart, you are

imaginat- ive, lucky, full of fun,

and energetic. Dragons are the doers of

the world.

Snakes are governed by their innate

wisdom and

intuition. Snake people

think a lot, are fast learners and will never

make the same

mistake.

A horse person loves

freedom. You are

cheerful, talkative,

a hard worker,

and a bit of a show

off.Horses

are head- strong and

quick minded.

You're a strong

believerin what you do,

gentle and loving,

and very talented

in thearts. The sheep is ultras-

ensitive, altruistic,

and sincere.

You are very

smart, have a lot

of wonderful ideas, but are full of mischief. Monkeys

are extremely competet-

ive andwill be good at

everything you do.

You are neat as a pin, have

lots of confidence

, and would like everything

to be perfect. You are brutally honest

and candid.

Roosters are proud animals.

Keeping an eye on

everything, you are alert and

dependable.

Compatible,

compromising, loyal,

and unprejudic

ed.Dogs are

there when you

need them.

Happy, good-

natured, outspoken, but a little

too trusting. Pigs are

the nicest people to know. A pig will remain your

friend for life.

http://www.threetong.com/x/nongli.htm http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html

http://www.threetong.com/x/nongli.htm

http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html


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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jade_Emperor









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January 31, 2014