The

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

(, sometimes also translated Sheep or Ram) is the eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...

related to the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

. This zodiacal sign is oftenWen Huang
"Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?"
''Chicago Tribune,'' January 31, 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2015. referred to as the "Ram" or "Sheep" sign, since the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

word ''yáng'' is more accurately translated as

Caprinae The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine. Prominent members include sheep and g ...

, a

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

that includes both goats and sheep, but contrasts with other animal

types such as

Bovinae Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this group are class ...

Antilopinae Antilopinae is a subfamily of even-toed ungulates in the family Bovidae. The members of tribe Antilopini are often referred to as true antelopes, and include the gazelles, blackbucks, springboks, gerenuks, dibatags, and Central Asian gazelles. ...

, and other taxonomic considerations which may be encountered in the case of the larger family of

Bovidae in Chinese mythology Bovidae in Chinese mythology include various myths and legends about a group of biologically distinct animals which form important motifs within Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the animals modernly classified as Bovidae, referring to ...

, which also includes the

Ox (zodiac) The Ox ( 牛) is the second of the 12-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and also appears in related calendar systems. The Chinese term translated here as '' ox'' is ...

. The Year of the Goat is associated with the 8th

Earthly Branch The Earthly Branches (also called the Terrestrial Branches or the 12-cycle) are a system of twelve ordered symbols used throughout East Asia. They are indigenous to China, and are themselves Chinese characters, corresponding to words with no co ...

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

, 未 (''wèi'').

Goat or Sheep

The

word ''yáng'' refers to both goats and sheep, whereas the terms ''shānyáng'' () and ''miányáng'' () refer exclusively to goats and sheep, respectively.Celebrating The Lunar New Year
, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, Dec. 20 2001; in earlier for
here
. Retrieved 15 Feb. 2015. In English, the sign (originally based on a horned animal) may be called either. The interpretation of goat or sheep depends on

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. In

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

, the sign is ''mùi'', which is unambiguously goat.'Year of the Sheep' or 'Year of the Goat'?
CJV Lang. Retrieved 8 February 2015. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, on the other hand, the sign is ''hitsuji,'' sheep; while in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Erica Pearson
Lunar New Year celebrations to welcome year of 'any ruminant horned animal'
''New York Daily News,'' February 7, 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015. and

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, the sign is ram or sheep. Within

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, there may be a regional distinction with the

zodiacal The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac bel ...

'' yáng'' more likely to be thought of as a goat in the south, while tending to be thought of as a sheep in the north.

Characteristics

The

commonly regard sheep as an auspicious animal, and the year of the sheep, therefore, heralds a year of promise and prosperity. " Yáng" (羊) is a component of another

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

"xiang" ( 祥), which means auspiciousness, and the two were interchangeable in ancient Chinese, according to one source.Fran Wang
"Big Yang Theory: Chinese year of the sheep or the goat?"
''AFP, Asia One News,'' Feb 16, 2015. Retrieved 19 Feb. 2015. It is also a part of the character "shan" ( 善), which counts kindness and benevolence as among its meanings. Individuals born in this

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

year have been supposed to share certain characteristics with other individuals also born in years of the same animal sign. Similarly, years sharing the same animal sign have been supposed to share certain characteristics, repeating over their 12/60 year cycle. The shared characteristics in this case are traits attributed to goats. Due to the

lunisolar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months ...

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

of the

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

system, the

year does not align with the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

: new years are determined by a system which results in each new year beginning on a

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

sometime between late January to mid-to-late February. Goat aspects can also enter by other chronomantic factors or measures, such as hourly. In

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theor ...

, Goats are described as peace-loving, kind, and popular. With the addition of the

Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

element Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of o ...

, the Goat characteristic is thought to love peace and to be helpful and trusting, but yet also to be clinging and resistant to change.Hale, p. 244

Years and the Five Elements

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

Basic astrology elements

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chinese astrological signs Animals in Chinese mythology Vietnamese astrological signs Mythological caprids