The Chinese zodiac, explained | ShaoLan

Translator: Heli Paudel Reviewer: Guhanath Paudel गुहनाथ पौडेल

Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend,

तपाईंलाइ कुनै चाइनिज साथीले कहिल्यै सोधेका छन् -

"What is your zodiac sign?"

"तपाईंको राशी के हो" ?

Don't think they are making small talk.

यो कुनै सानोतिनो गफको प्रश्न होइन ।

If you say, "I'm a Monkey,"

यदि तपाईंले भन्नुभो मेरो राशी "बाँदर" हो

they immediately know

उनीहरुले थाहा पाईहाल्छन्

you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.

तपाई २४, ३६, ४८, ६० मध्ये कुनै वर्षको हुनुभो ।

(Laughter)

-----(हाँसो)-----

Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.

राशी सोध्नु भनेको विनम्र तरीकाले तपाईंको उमेर सोध्नु हो ।

By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated.

आफ्नो राशीको बारेमा थाहा दिएर, तपाईं आफ्नो मूल्याङ्कन गर्ने मौका दिनुहुन्छ ।

Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune,

मूल्याङ्कन गरिने कुराहरु हुन्छन् - तपाईंको भाग्य, दुर्भाग्य,

your personality, career prospects

तपाईको व्यक्तित्व, पेशा,

and how you will do in a given year.

र तपाईंको कुनै निश्चित वर्ष कस्तो हुन्छ।

If you share you and your partner's animal signs,

यदि तपाईंले आफ्नो र आफ्नो जोडाको राशी भन्नुभयो भने ,

they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life.

उनीहरुको दिमागमा तपाईंको व्यक्तिगत जीवनको चित्र बन्नेछ ।

Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.

हुनसक्छ तपाईंलाइ चाइनिज राशी चिन्हमा विश्वास नलाग्ला ।

As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it,

एक चौथाई विश्व यसबाट प्रभावित भएकोले पनि,

you'd be wise to do something about that.

धेरै थोरै त्यसको बारेमा थाहा पाउनु राम्रै होला ।

So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?

बास्तबमा चाइनिज राशी चिन्ह के हो त ?

Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac,

प्रायः पश्चिमाहरु ग्रीक-रोमन राशिमा विश्वास गर्छन् ।

the signs divided into 12 months.

जहाँ, १२ महिनालाई राशिको रुपमा बाँडेको हुन्छ ।

The Chinese zodiac is different.

चाइनिज राशी अलि फरक छ ।

It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals,

यसमा जनावरहरुले प्रतिनिधित्व गर्ने १२ वर्षे चक्र हुन्छ,

starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig,

जुन मुसाबाट सुरु भएर सुँगुरमा पुगेर टुंगिन्छ,

and has no association with constellations.

र यसमा ग्रहहरुको स्थानको कुनै अर्थ छैन ।

For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit.

उदाहरणको लागि , यदि तपाईंको जन्म १९७५ मा भएको हो भने, तपाईंको राशी खरायो हो ।

Can you see your zodiac sign there?

त्यहाँ आफ्नो राशी देख्न सक्नुहुन्छ ?

Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework

चाइनिज पुर्खाहरुले जटिल सैद्धान्तिक ढाँचाको निर्माण गरे,

based on yin and yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals.

जुन यीन र यांग, ५ तत्वहरु, १२ राशीका जनावरको आधारमा छ ।

Over thousands of years,

बिगतका हजारौं बर्ष देखि,

this popular culture has affected people's major decisions,

यो संस्कृतिले मानव निर्णय प्रक्रियामा ठुलो भूमिका खेलेको छ ।

such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other.

जस्तो: नामकरण, विवाह, जन्म र एक अर्का प्रतिको व्यवहार

And some of the implications are quite amazing.

कतिपय लगाव साह्रै अचम्मको पनि छ ।

The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others.

चाइनिजहरु विश्वास गर्छन् कि कुनै एक जनावर भन्दा अर्को राम्रो हुन्छ ।

So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies,

त्यसैले बच्चा जन्माउन कुनै निश्चित बर्ष छान्छन्,

because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals

किन कि, उनीहरुलाई विश्वास छ, जनावरहरुको सही संयोगले

can give prosperity to families.

परिवारको समृद्धिमा वृद्धि गर्छ ।

We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations.

हामी रोमान्टिक सम्बन्ध बनाउनु अघि समेत राशी हेर्छौं ।

I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.

मेरो राशी सुँगुर हो; रोमान्सको लागि उत्तम मेरो राशी हो - बाघ, बाख्रा र खरायो ।

Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.

चाइनिजहरु बिश्वास गर्छन् कि केही जनावरहरु प्राकृतिकरुप मैं शत्रू हुन्छन् ।

As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake.

सुँगुर हुनाले मैंले सधैं सर्पसंग सतर्क हुनुपर्छ ।

Raise your hand if you are a Snake.

सर्प राशी हुनेहरु हात उठाउनुस् त !

Let's have a chat later.

अहिले पछि भेटेर कुरा गरौंला ।

(Laughter)

-----(हाँसो)-----

We believe some animals are luckier than the others,

कुनै एउटा भन्दा अर्को जनावर भाग्यशाली हुने कुरामा हाम्रो विश्वास छ,

such as the Dragon.

जस्तै: ड्रागन ।

Unlike the Western tradition,

पश्चिमेली परम्पराभन्दा फरक,

the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth.

चाइनिज ड्रागनलाइ शक्ति, सामर्थ्य र सम्पन्नताको प्रतीकको रुपमा हेरिन्छ ।

It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby.

हरेक व्यक्तिको ड्रागन राशीको बच्चाको सपना हुन्छ ।

Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.

ज्याक मा'का आमा-बुवा पक्कै गौरवान्वित हुनुपर्छ ।

And they are not the only ones.

तर केवल उनीहरुमात्रै होइन ।

In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,

सन् २०१२, ड्रागन राशिको वर्ष,

the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

चाइना, हंगकंग र ताइवानको जन्मदरमा

increased by five percent.

५% ले वृद्धि भएको थियो ।

That means another one million more babies.

त्यसको अर्थ अर्को १० लाख बच्चाको जन्म

With a traditional preference to baby boys,

छोरी भन्दा छोराको प्राथमिकताहुने पुरातन चलन अनुसार,

the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100.

त्यो बर्षको केटा र केटीको अनुपात १२० : १०० भएको थियो ।

When those Dragon boys grow up,

जब यी ड्रागन बच्चाहरु हुर्किने छन्,

they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.

उनीहरुले प्रेम र नोकरीको क्षेत्रमा कठिन भन्दा कठिन प्रतियोगिता गर्नुपर्ने छ ।

According to the BBC and the Chinese government's press release,

BBC र चाइनिज सरकारको प्रेस वक्तव्य अनुसार,

January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections.

सन् २०१५को जनवरीमा शल्य क्रियाको संख्या अत्यन्त बढेको थियो ।

Why?

किन ?

That was the last month for the Year of the Horse.

किनकि त्यो घोडा वर्षको अन्तिम महिना थियो ।

It's not because they like horses so much,

घोडा धेरै मनपर्ने भएर होइन कि,

it's because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.

उनीहरु त्यसभन्दा पछि शुरुहुने अशुभ बाख्रा राशीबाट बच्न चाहन्थे ।

(Laughter)

-----(हाँसो)-----

If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad.

बाख्रा राशी हुनेले दु:खमनाउ नगर्नुहोला ।

Those are Goat babies.

उनीहरु बाख्रा राशी भए पनि

They don't look like losers to me.

मभन्दा धेरै सफल छन् ।

(Laughter)

-----(हाँसो)-----

Tiger is another undesirable animal,

बाघ अर्को अनिच्छित जनावर हो,

due to its volatile temperament.

उनीहरुको अस्थिर स्वभावको कारणले ।

Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate

यी वर्षहरुमा चाइनिज जनसंख्या वृद्धि उल्लेखनीय

during those years.

रुपमा ओरालो लाग्छ ।

Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse,

कसैले यो राशीलाई उल्टोबाट हेर्नु आवश्यक छ।

as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition.

किन कि, बाघ र बाख्रा राशीहुनेहरुले अत्यन्त कम प्रतियोगिता गरे पुग्छ ।

Maybe they are the lucky ones.

न उनै पो भाग्यशाली हुन् कि !

I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world,

फोब्स पत्रिकाको विश्वका सर्वाधिक धनी ३०० मान्छेहरु सूची हेर्दा,

and it's interesting to see

रमाइलो प्रसंग छ यहाँ,

the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger,

सबैभन्दा बढी अनिच्छित बाघ र बाख्रा राशीहुनेहरु

are at the top of the chart,

तालिकामा सबैभन्दा माथि छन्,

even higher than the Dragon.

ड्रागन हुने भन्दा पनि माथि !

So maybe we should consider,

त्यसैले हामीले विचार गर्नुपर्छ,

maybe it's much better to have less competition.

थोरैमा प्रतियोगिता हुनु नै राम्रो हो कि !

One last but interesting point:

अन्तिम तर रोचक प्रसंग:

many Chinese people make their investment decisions

धेरै चाइनिजहरु लगानीको निर्णय,

based on the zodiac sign index.

आफ्नो राशी सूचकांकको आधारमा गर्छन् ।

Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign

राशी चिन्हमाथिको विश्वास

has been over thousands of years,

हजारौं बर्ष पुरानो भएपनि,

the trend of using it in making major decisions

मूख्य निर्णय लिने बेलामा यसको प्रयोगको चलन

did not really happen until the past few decades.

विगतका केही सताब्दिदेखि मात्रै भएको देखिन्छ ।

Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought,

हाम्रा पुर्खाहरु गरिवी, सुक्खा, अनिकाल,

famine, riot, disease and civil war.

रोग र गृहयुद्धसंग संघर्ष गर्दैमा बिते ।

And finally, Chinese people have the time, wealth and technology

अहिले आएर चाइनिज जनसंख्यासंग समय, सम्पत्ति र प्रविधि छ,

to create an ideal life they've always wanted.

र आफुले चाहेजस्तो जीवन जिउन सक्षम छन् ।

The collective decision made by 1.3 billion people

१.३ अरब जनसंख्याले गरेको सामूहिक निर्णयले

has caused the fluctuation in economics and demand on everything,

अस्थिर अर्थनीति र सबैकुराको मागमा असर गर्यो-

from health care and education to property and consumer goods.

स्वास्थ्य सेवा, शिक्षा देखि लिएर सम्पत्ति र उपभोग्य सामग्री सम्म

As China plays such an important role in the global economy and geopolitics,

जसरी चाइनाले अन्तरराष्ट्रिय अर्थनीति र सम्बन्धमा ठुलो भूमिका खेल्छ,

the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions

राशी एवं अन्य पुरातनमा आधारित चिनियाँ निर्णयले

end up impacting everyone around the world.

विश्वभरीकै मानिसहरुलाई असर गर्दछ ।

Are there any Monkeys here?

बाँदर राशी हुने कोही छ ?

2016 is the Year of the Monkey.

२०१६ बाँदर राशिको बर्ष हो

Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.

बाँदरहरु चलाख, जिज्ञासु, सृजनशील र उपद्रवी हुन्छन्

Thank you.

---- धन्यवाद -----

(Applause)

---- ताली -----