The Pig ( 豬) or sometimes translated as the Boar is the twelfth of the 12-year cycle of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s which appear in

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...

, in relation to the Chinese calendar and system of

horology Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clo ...

, and paralleling the system of ten

Heavenly Stems The ten Heavenly Stems or Celestial Stems () are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, c. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family mem ...

and twelve

Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

. Although the term "

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

" (etymologically referring to a " ircle oflittle animals") is used in the phrase "Chinese zodiac", there is a major difference between the Chinese usage and

Western astrology Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. Western astrology is historically based on Ptolemy's ''Tetrabiblos'' (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian tra ...

: the zodiacal animals (including the zodiacal Pig) do not relate to the zodiac as the area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic agains ...

, the apparent path of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and visible

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

s across the celestial sphere's constellations, over the course of the year. In

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the ...

, "zodiacal" animals refer to fixed cycles of twelve animals. The same cycle of twelve is used for cycles of years and cycles of hours. In the case of years, the cycle of twelve corresponds to the twelve-year cycle of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

. In the case of the hours, the twelve hours represent twelve double-hours for each period of night and day. In the continuous

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

of sixty years, every twelfth year corresponds to ''hai'', 亥 (the twelfth of the twelve

); this re-recurring twelfth year is commonly called the Year of the Pig ( 豬年). There are five types of Pigs, named after the Chinese elements. In order, they are:

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

Wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

, and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. These correspond to the

. Thus, there are five pig years in every sexagenary cycle. For example, in the year 2019, the Earthly Branch is the twelfth, ''hài'', and the Heavenly Stem is the sixth, ''jǐ''

己 Radical 49 or radical oneself () meaning " oneself" is one of the 31 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals total) composed of three strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 20 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. is also ...

. The Chinese New Year in 2019 is February fifth: this corresponds with the beginning of both the sexegenary year of ''jǐ'' ''hài'' and also the zodiac year of the Earth Pig. In the Japanese zodiac and the Tibetan zodiac, the Pig is referred to as the

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

. In the Dai zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

. In the Gurung zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

. The Malay zodiac replaces the Pig with the

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...

Pig in the Chinese zodiac legend

According to the myths, the Pig was the last to arrive when the Jade Emperor called for the great meeting. Other sources said that

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

called for a great meeting when he was about to leave the

. The Pig arrived last.

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

has it that just as the emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal was heard from a little Pig. The term "lazy Pig" is due here as the Pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast then fell asleep. After the nap, the Pig continued the race, and was named thereafter the 12th and last animal of the

cycle. Other sources say that given his very stout form, he was just too slow a swimmer, and thus he could not do anything against the other animals, or conversely that he was so fast he went up the wrong side of the river first.

Years and the Five Elements

Korea-Gyeongju-Bulguksa-Gilt bronze pig sculpture-01

The Pig and the Elements

The

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

element of the Pig is

. Thus, it is commonly associated with emotions and intuitions. Yet, given that along with the elements (called the

Celestial stem The ten Heavenly Stems or Celestial Stems () are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, c. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family mem ...

), the animal

(called the Earthly stem) also follows a cycle, each of the elements affect the characteristic of the same Earthly stem (''see''

Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

). However, the Pig is

yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

, and thus only the negative aspects of the elements can be attached to them, thus only 5 kinds of Pigs are found in the

. They are the following: : 乙亥 (yǐhài) – The

Pig : 丁亥 (dīnghài) – The

Pig :

亥 (jǐhài) – The

Pig :

辛 Radical 160 or radical bitter () meaning " bitter" is one of the 20 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 7 strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 36 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. In the ancie ...

亥 (xīnhài) – The

Pig : 癸亥 (guǐhài) – The

Pig

The Years of the Pig

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Pig", while bearing the following elemental sign:

Hour of the Pig

Similarly to the usage of the traditional

Japanese clock A is a mechanical clock that has been made to tell traditional Japanese time, a system in which daytime and nighttime are always divided into six periods whose lengths consequently change with the season. Mechanical clocks were introduced into ...

, each hour of a day-night period was divided into 12 double-hours, each of which corresponding with one of the twelve signs of the

, with similar symbolic motif and astrological significance. The first of the twelve double hours (the Hour of the Rat) encompasses midnight, at the middle of the double hour, corresponding with 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., with midnight being the midpoint of the first double-hour. The animals in the hourly sequence are the same and in the same order as in the yearly sequence. The Pig is the last in the sequence, with the Hour of the Pig corresponding to the double-hour 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., also known as the hour ''hai'' (亥). Given that the traditional Chinese day-night cycle was composed of 12 hours, each sign is given to the different signs of the

. The Pig is assigned to govern the time between 21:00 hrs to 22:59 hrs. According to

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, this is the time when the Pig is doing what it does best (sleeping and enjoying the sweet life). In terms of

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, the hours in which people were born (technically termed as the

Ascendant The ascendant (Asc, Asc or As) is the astrological sign on the eastern horizon when the person was born. According to certain astrological theories, celestial phenomena reflect or influence human activity on the principle of " as above, so bel ...

) are the second most important

facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut ...

of their

. Thus, this alters greatly the characteristics. Even if people were born in any year governed by another animal (for example, anyone born on 20 December 2000, i.e. year of the Dragon) will display strong characteristics of the Pig. Thus, they may be fierce and strong like the Dragon, but at the same time emotional and intuitive like the Pig.

Basic astrology elements

Cultural notes

Some

Chinese Muslims Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most nume ...

will say that they were born in the year of the ''hai'', 亥 (twelfth and final year of the zodiac) to avoid saying the "Pig". This is because pigs are

haram ''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...

(forbidden to eat) in Islam and therefore Muslims consider pigs unclean. Increasing numbers of countries and regions now issue lunar new year stamps. For the 2019 Year of the Pig, the USC U.S.-China Institute collected stamps from 56 jurisdictions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chinese astrological signs Vietnamese astrological signs Mythological pigs