The Traditional Living Customs Behind the Chinese Zodiac

As an integral part of traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese Zodiac features distinctive characteristics and has been deeply integrated into people’s daily lives through generations of inheritance, thus spawning numerous life customs related to it. Let’s take a look!

The Chinese Zodiac is a product of the wisdom and culture of the working people in ancient China. It is based on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches chronological system and visualized by twelve animals. To this day, the Chinese Zodiac has accompanied the Chinese people for nearly 3,000 years, during which numerous life customs associated with it have been formed.

Rat: "The Rat is the God of the first Earthly Branch." In Chinese history, there was once a festival known as "The Rat’s Wedding". In old Shanghai, people observed the custom of "avoiding rats falling to the ground"; in Qinghai, locals practiced the custom of "steaming blind rats"; and on the first day of the first lunar month, the Korean Chinese ethnic group has the custom of "burning rat fire".

Ox: In ancient China, the ox was an extremely important farming companion, so the custom of "Whipping the Spring Ox" originated long ago. Folks in Shandong have the custom of "Snatching the Spring Ox", while people in Zhejiang prefer "Welcoming the Spring Ox". In addition, some ethnic minorities have customs of honoring farm oxen, such as "Worshipping the Ox King".

Tiger: In ancient China, people regarded Yin as the Tiger, so they practiced avoiding Yin taboos. In Hunan, the Tujia ethnic group believes that children’s illnesses are caused by the White Tiger, hence the custom of exorcising the White Tiger. Shaanxi also has the parenting custom of giving cloth tigers as blessings.

Rabbit: To prevent babies from being born with cleft lips, the ancient Han people had the custom of abstaining from rabbit meat during pregnancy, along with the parenting custom of gifting rabbit paintings and the custom of hanging rabbit heads to ward off disasters.

Dragon: There are many ancient Chinese customs related to the dragon. For example, dragon lantern dances are performed during the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and other festivals; the "Longtaitou Festival (Dragon Heads-raising Day)" falls on the second day of the second lunar month, and dragon boat races are held during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Snake: Among the Han people, seeing a snake shed its skin is considered extremely inauspicious. In some areas of Qinghai, if a snake is found in the house, it must not be killed, as it is said to bring revenge from the snake.

Horse: In ancient China, there were horse worship customs: worshipping the Horse Ancestor in spring, the First Herdsman in summer, the Horse God in autumn, and the Horse Pestilence God in winter. The Mongolian ethnic group celebrates the "Horse Milk Festival" and "Horse Racing Festival". In Northeast China, the Manchu and Han people have the wedding custom of "stepping on the horse stool", while the Miao ethnic group in Guizhou has the wedding custom of "proposing marriage with a horse sword on the back".

Goat: In ancient times, the Han people had the custom of "sending goats". Between the sixth or seventh lunar month, maternal grandfathers and uncles would send goats to their grandsons and nephews. Ethnic minorities including the Kazakh, Mongolian and Tajik have the equestrian game of "goat snatching". The Xibe ethnic group has the wedding custom of "snatching goat bones".

Monkey: In ancient times, people were very sensitive to horse diseases, so they raised monkeys in stables to prevent horses from getting sick. The Gaoshan ethnic group in Taiwan, China has the custom of "Monkey Sacrifice", and people in Dushan, Guizhou celebrate the "Monkey Festival".

Rooster: Folk people paste pictures of red roosters on walls to pray for protection from fire, and paint white roosters on coffins. The Hani ethnic group in Yunnan has the custom of rooster divination, and there is a wedding custom of "Bo Chicken" in northern Jiangsu.

Dog: In the Chaoshan region, there is a custom of giving children nicknames containing the character "dog". People believe that humble names can make children more vigorous, so children are named "Dog Egg" and so on. In many regions, there is also a custom of feeding dogs the first bowl of rice after the new grain harvest.

Pig: In some areas of Tianjin and Hebei, there is a custom of pasting "Fat Pig Arching the Door" window grilles. In Shanxi and other places, there is a wedding custom of giving pig trotters. The Blang ethnic group in Yunnan has the wedding custom of killing pigs to entertain guests on the wedding day, and the Miao ethnic group has the custom of "killing a pig to worship the gate".