The Chinese zodiac, explained | ShaoLan

Translator: Alan Watson Reviewer: Elvis Wei

Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend,

各位有無試過畀你嘅中國朋友問

"What is your zodiac sign?"

「你係乜嘢生肖？」

Don't think they are making small talk.

唔好以為佢哋同你傾閒計

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

如果你話：「我係屬𤠣。」

they immediately know

佢哋即刻知道

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

你嘅年齡一定係 24、36、48 或者 60 歲

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

問人屬乜嘢生肖係問人年齡嘅禮貌方法

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

你講咗自己嘅生肖，人哋就會幫你算命

Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune,

佢哋算下你會行好運定係唔好運

your personality, career prospects

你嘅性格、事業前程

and how you will do in a given year.

同你會喺某一年點樣過

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

如果你將自己同伴侶嘅生肖話畀人聽

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

佢哋嘅腦海就有咗你私生活嘅畫面

Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.

或者你唔信中國生肖運程

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

但佢影響全世界嘅四分一人口

you'd be wise to do something about that.

你最好認識下佢比較好

So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?

到底乜嘢係中國生肖呢？

Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac,

多數西方人都會諗起希臘羅馬嘅星座

the signs divided into 12 months.

佢哋將星座分為十二個月

The Chinese zodiac is different.

中國嘅十二生肖就唔同

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

佢係用動物命名，每十二年一個循環

starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig,

排頭位嘅係老鼠，最尾嘅係豬

and has no association with constellations.

呢啲運程同星座無關

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

例如你係 1975 年出世，咁你屬兔

Can you see your zodiac sign there?

你見唔見嗰度有屬於你嘅生肖？

Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework

我哋嘅祖先根據陰陽五行同十二生肖

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

做咗一個好複雜嘅理論架構

Over thousands of years,

經過幾千年以嚟

this popular culture has affected people's major decisions,

呢啲通俗文化已經影響人民做重大決定

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

譬如改名、結婚、生仔同人際關係

And some of the implications are quite amazing.

有時會出現啲出人意表嘅結果

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

中國人相信有啲生肖比其他生肖匹配

So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies,

於是夫婦會揀特定嘅年份生仔

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

因為佢哋相信大家生肖配合

can give prosperity to families.

群策群力可以為家族帶來繁榮

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

我哋搵伴侶都要睇下生肖運程

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

我屬豬，咁同老虎、羊仲有兔都會好夾

Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.

中國人相信有啲動物天生相沖

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

我屬豬, 所以要小心屬蛇嘅朋友

Raise your hand if you are a Snake.

在座邊個係屬蛇嘅，唔該舉舉手

Let's have a chat later.

我哋遲啲傾吓

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We believe some animals are luckier than the others,

我哋相信有啲動物比其他動物好運

such as the Dragon.

譬如龍

Unlike the Western tradition,

唔似西方嘅傳統習慣

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

中國嘅龍象徵權力同財富

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

所以每個人都夢想生個龍仔龍女

Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.

馬雲嘅父母一定為佢覺得驕傲

And they are not the only ones.

佢哋唔會係唯一孤獨嘅父母

In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,

2012 年係龍年

the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

中國、香港同台灣嘅出生率

increased by five percent.

增加咗 5%

That means another one million more babies.

即係代表比平時多咗一百萬有多嘅嬰兒

With a traditional preference to baby boys,

由於中國傳統偏愛男嬰

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

男仔同女仔喺呢一年係 120 :100

When those Dragon boys grow up,

當呢啲龍仔大個之後

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

喺戀愛同搵工都會競爭得好犀利

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

根據 BBC 同中國政府嘅新聞發布

January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections.

2015 年 1 月係剖腹生產手術嘅高峰

Why?

點解？

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

因為呢個係馬年嘅最後一個月

It's not because they like horses so much,

佢哋唔係特別鍾意馬年

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

而係唔想生個唔好運嘅羊仔

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

如果你屬羊，唔好唔開心

Those are Goat babies.

呢啲人都係羊仔羊女

They don't look like losers to me.

佢哋睇嚟都唔似輸家

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Tiger is another undesirable animal,

老虎係另一隻唔受歡迎嘅動物

due to its volatile temperament.

因為老虎性格變幻無常

Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate

好多中國地區喺呢啲生肖年份

during those years.

都見到出生率急劇下降

Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse,

或者我哋應該反過嚟睇

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

呢啲虎年同羊年嘅嬰兒面對少啲競爭

Maybe they are the lucky ones.

可能佢哋係幸運兒

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

我喺福布斯查過世界頭三百個有錢人

and it's interesting to see

發現一件有趣嘅嘢

the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger,

就係大家最唔想做嘅老虎 同羊呢兩個生肖

are at the top of the chart,

竟然名列榜首

even higher than the Dragon.

甚至高過龍

So maybe we should consider,

咁樣我哋或者要諗下

maybe it's much better to have less competition.

面對少啲競爭可能仲好

One last but interesting point:

最後一點但係喺最有趣嘅一點

many Chinese people make their investment decisions

好多中國人根據生肖運程

based on the zodiac sign index.

嚟做投資決定

Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign

雖然人民信賴生肖嘅傳統

has been over thousands of years,

已經超過幾千年

the trend of using it in making major decisions

但係人民利用生肖做重大嘅決定

did not really happen until the past few decades.

直到呢幾十年，呢種熱潮先真正出現

Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought,

以前我哋嘅祖先為咗生計奔波

famine, riot, disease and civil war.

要抵受貧窮飢荒 乾旱、疾病同內戰暴亂

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

最後中國人多咗時間，財富同科技

to create an ideal life they've always wanted.

去創造自己一直希望嘅理想生活

The collective decision made by 1.3 billion people

十三億人集體做嘅決定

has caused the fluctuation in economics and demand on everything,

已經令到經濟波動，佢哋每樣嘢都需要

from health care and education to property and consumer goods.

由醫療服務，教育到房屋同消費品

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

中國喺世界經濟同地緣政治都好重要

the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions

佢哋根據生肖同其他中國傳統做決定

end up impacting everyone around the world.

最後會影響到全世界每一個人

Are there any Monkeys here?

呢度有無猴年出世嘅人

2016 is the Year of the Monkey.

2016 係猴年

Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.

猴子生性聰明、好奇、多計同頑皮

Thank you.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）