Chinese New Year is next Sunday (14th Feb)! It is the year of the Tiger! (在虎! hǔ​ nián!) Happy New Year!! (新年快樂!! xīn nián kuài lè!!)

Chinatown in London will celebrate Chinese New Year on the following Sunday 21st Feb 2010 between 12pm-6pm. There will be dragon dancing, lion dances outside shops and firecrackers to mark the event.

In China the mythical creature Nian (年兽, nián shòu) is a beast that lives underground or in mountains (it also shares the name of a year). Once a year, around the time of spring and new year Nian is said to come out of hiding to devour livestock, crops,and even villagers, especially children. It is thought that loud noises and the colour red scare the Nian, which is where the Lion dance (not to be confused with the dragon dance) and loud firecrackers are thought to stem from.

That is the myth of the creation of Chinese New Year. The truth may be much more prosaic. In the middle of the long winter months, a bang up celebration is a good way to cheer everyone's spirits. Noise and fireworks always make a party go with a bang, and the colour red is the colour of celebration in China.

Here are some phrases that may be useful next weekend:

Hours (时辰 shíchen) within the Four Pillars of Destiny represent the final and most personal pillar. The secret animal is thought to be a person’s truest representation, since this animal is determined by the smallest denomination. It is used by fortune tellers that use the Four Pillars as the pillar representing information about one's kids or late age.

The hours are represented by the helpful 12 Earthly branches (and the same animal mnemonic as years, months and days within the four pillars) which were determined by Chinese scholars who charted the orbit of Jupiter. The Earthly branches also determine the calendar and compass points.

• 23:00–01:00: 子 rat
• 01:00–03:00: 丑 ox
• 03:00–05:00: 寅 tiger
• 05:00–07:00: 卯 rabbit
• 07:00–09:00: 辰 dragon
• 09:00–11:00: 巳 snake
• 11:00–13:00: 午 horse
• 13:00–15:00: 未 ram
• 15:00–17:00: 申 monkey
• 17:00–19:00: 酉 rooster
• 19:00–21:00: 戌 dog
• 21:00–23:00: 亥 pig

What is your secret animal? And what does it mean to you?

The day is the third of the Four Pillars of Destiny and in Chinese fortune telling represents information about the person him/herself, his/her adult and married life.

The sexagenry cycle was used in China since the second millennium BC (Shang Dynasty), as a means of naming days (just as western cultures use the days in the week). This use of the cycle for days is attested throughout the Zhou dynasty. More recently this is not as popular but is still used in Almanacs and calendars.

The 1st day of a new year in the sexagenary cycle should be the Lichun (節氣 lìchūn). The Lichun is the 1st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 330°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315°.

In the lunisolar calendar, New Year's Day might be before or after Lichun. A year without Lichun is called 無春年 wú chūn nián (no spring year). 無春年 is also known as 寡婦年 guǎfu nián (widow year) in northern China or 盲年 máng nián (blind year) in southern China. Marriage is believed to be unlucky in a year without Lichun.

I have found it hard to find the corresponding elements and animals of the days themselves, however you can use the calculator to find out your day on my post about the Four Pillars...

Four Pillars Year & Sexagenary Cycle
六十花甲 liùshí huājiǎ or
干支gānzhī

Within the Four Pillars (Ba Zi) Years are the largest element. They are the most generic and least personal in fortune telling. The years are based off of the Ten Heavenly Stems (十天干 shí tiāngān) and Twelve Earthly Branches (十二地支 shí'èr dìzhī).

There are 5 'Elements', 五行 wǔ​xíng​ in Chinese Astrology,

* Wood 木 mù
* Fire 火 huǒ
* Earth 土 tǔ
* Metal 金 jīn
* Water 水 shuǐ

These 5 elements combine with yin and yang to make the Ten Heavenly stems 天干 tiāngān.

The 12 earthly branches were devised from the orbit of Jupiter (the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours.)

The more commonly known animals of the zodiac provide a mnemonic for remembering them. The animals of the zodiac in addition to the Ten Heavenly Stems give us 60 years with each animal and each element pairing up only once in the sexagenary cycle.

To explain how this cycle works, lets give both stems and branches by their numbers. We denote 1 by (1,1) or (甲,子), 2 by (2,2) or (乙,丑) and so on up to (10,10) or (癸,酉). But now we have run out of stems, so we denote 11 by (1, 11) or (甲,戌) and 12 by (2, 12) or (乙,亥). Now we have run out of branches, too, so 13 becomes (3, 1) or (丙,子). We continue in this way through 6 cycles of stems and 5 cycles of branches up to 60, which is (10, 12) or (癸,亥). The next number is then (1,1) or (甲,子), which starts a new sexagenary cycle.

Within the Four Pillars, the year is the pillar representing information about the person's ancestry or early age.

You can download the table below by clicking the image and saving the pdf. It provides the full sexagenary cycles between 1924-2044 with the associated elements and zodiac animals.

Four Pillars of Destiny

Even today, when people talk about Chinese Astrology, it is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs of the zodiac. Many western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month (called inner animals) and hours of the day (called secret animals).

Four Pillars of Destiny is a Chinese term that comprises of four elements of a person’s destiny or fate. The four components are taken from the moment of birth. They are the year, month, day, and time (hour). Each of these elements are important in Chinese astrology, the zodiac and fortune telling.

The term Four Pillars of Destiny come from the Chinese:

Giving gifts is an important part of Chinese tradition. This custom ranges from a house-warming gift to rites of passage, important events and festivals. Giving and receiving gifts plays a big part in maintaining guanxi, or good relations, and this principle applies to personal as well as business relationships.

The Chinese believe that a gift is in the thought, rather than the expense or extravagance of a gift. This way of thinking came about because the receiver will feel a big debt of gratitude if a gift is too much. There is almost a game to play when it comes to gift giving. If you are the giver, it is important that you present the gift with both hands and to downplay the value of what you are giving. If you are receiving the gift, you should act as if you think you do not deserve a present and politely refuse a few times, before accepting the gift. Remember that to refuse a gift is the height of rudeness because it shows that you are overlooking the gift-giver's sincere gesture. However to take the gift immediately is a sign of a person’s greed.

This also serves as a second lesson; never take a Chinese person's 'No, thank you' literally, if they still refuse after twice, it may be worth asking a third time. Good manners and respect for one another characterizes the Chinese practice of giving and receiving presents. The rules of the game also say that presents are not to be opened right away. This is to show that it is not the present, but the gesture that matters. This also helps avoid awkward situations in case the gift does not really please the receiver.

Qixi Festival (七夕節 qī xī jié) literally "The Night of Sevens" is also known as Magpie Festival or in more modern times Chinese Valentine's Day. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Chinese calendar, which this year happens to fall today.

On the Chinese Valentine's Day, people in love like to go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and the possible marriage in China. People still single will do the same thing to ask their luck of love in the Matchmaker temple.

The Chinese Valentine's Day is also called The Daughter's Festival. Long ago, Chinese girls always wanted to train themselves having a good handcrafting skill like the Weaving Maid. The skill is essential for their future family. Young girls traditionally demonstrate their domestic arts, especially melon carving, on this day and make wishes for a good husband.

According to Chinese legend the love story is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven (织女 zhī nǚ) and an orphaned cowherd (牛郎 niú láng). They were separated by the Emperor. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. The beloved couple, a cowherder and a weaver, are allowed to meet only once a year in heaven on this day.

In true Chinese style where superstition of numbers is incredibly strong; In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, a large-scale festival will be held at the Huaqing Pool. Residents have been invited to contribute love stories, with 77 pieces, representing the seventh day of the seventh month, being read aloud. 77 couples will participate in a collective wedding ceremony, Tang Dynasty style.

Qixi Fesitval (七夕 qī xī "The Night of Sevens") sometimes called Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar
and thus its name. The traditions of the Qixi Festival day follow this legend:

On the night sky of the late summer days the stars Altair and Vega are high in the night sky and the Chinese tell the following love story, of which there are many variations:

A young cowherd named Niu Lang (牛郎, "the cowherd", the star Altair) happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen next. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhi Nü (織女, "the weaver girl", the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niu Lang sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niu Lang a good husband, and they are very happy together. But the Goddess of Heaven (in some versions Zhi Nü's mother) finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. (In another version, the Goddess forced the weaver fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds in the sky because she could not do her job while married to the mortal.) Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way separating Altair and Vega).

Zhi Nü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niu Lang watches her from afar and takes care of the two kids (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae).

But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (鵲橋, "the bridge of magpies", Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.

Picture Source: AsiaThings

This is a quick guide through the minefield that can be using chopsticks. This is a beginers guide to learning the do's and don'ts of Chinese chopstick etiquette. There are many types of Chopsticks which range from disposable wooden ones at Chinese take-aways and restaurants, Re-usable Bamboo Chopsticks right through to the higher standard, though harder to use Porcelain Chopsticks. You could also buy an entire chopstick set to get you started. The choice is yours, however the etiquette is fairly standard.

“Chopsticks are one of the reasons the Chinese never invented custard” Spike Milligan

11: Do not dig under food to get the best pieces. It is also considered bad manners to change the food you have selected after you have touched the food.

12: It is bad manners to spear food with the points of the chopsticks as if they were a fork.

13: It is bad manners to pull the dishes towards you using the chopsticks. Always pick the dishes up or move them by hand.

14: Do not lick, suck or nibble the ends of chopsticks.

15: Do not reach across another person with your chopsticks.

16: Do not eat food directly from the central plate; transfer it to your bowl first.

17: Do not eat with a broken or mismatched pair of chopsticks. If one chopstick does break or cannot be eaten with, take a new pair, not just one to replace it. The Chinese are very superstitious and like things in pairs.

18: Also do not use chopsticks as drumsticks, similar to the rule above, Chinese believe all good things come in twos. Therefore, by separating chopsticks between hands you are disturbing the peace.

19: Do not use chopsticks as hair accessories. The hair accessories are completely different from chopsticks meant for eating. You would look silly with an ornamental fork stuck in your hair...

20: Do not duel with chopsticks; again, they are for eating, and not fighting.


So you best get practising with your chopsticks and your newly learnt etiquette rules. Best of Luck and most of all enjoy your new chopstick eating experience.

Photo Sources:
FlickR:AidanMorgan
Flickr:Hsing
JustHungry