The Chinese Time-Reckoning System by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
Funeral Customs
Humans
Tomb Sweeping Day |
The Chinese time-reckoning system by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches is a way of countering the years in ancient China. In the system, the ten stems include Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui. The twelve branches include Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai. The calendar is calculated by combining the, ten stems and, the 12 branches. The first term is formed by adding the first stem to the first branch, then the second stem to the second branch, and so on. The combined names are like Jiazi and Yichou etc. Combining the series form a greater cycle of 60 terms that repeats again and again. This year-counting system is still used in the Chinese lunar calendar today. |
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Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs
Details
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- The Selection & Arrangement of the 12 Zodiac Animals
- The selection and arrangement of the 12 zodiac animals are said to be based on the active time of each animal during a day...
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- Benming Year
- One of the most important parts of the Chinese belief of the 12 zodiac animals is the concept of "benming year"...
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- The Mouse Marrying Off His Daughter
- In ancient China, there was a custom to celebrate the day of the mouse marrying off his daughter...
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- Ox-Bonded Relatives
- In the social customs of the Han people, there is a custom of "making ox-bonded relatives" popular ...
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- Hanging up Tiger Buns
- In China's Shaanxi area, there's a popular marriage custom called "hanging up tiger buns"...
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- The Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine in a Mortar
- Legend has it that there were three immortals that turned themselves into three poor old men asking a fox, monkey and rabbit for food...
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- The Festival of Dragon Raising Its Head
- The second day of the second lunar month is the Festival of Dragon Raising Its Head...
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- The Snake-Related Taboos
- It is warm and humid in Minnan of Fujian Province, which is a heaven for all species of snakes...
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- The Mongolian Horse Festival
- In Inner Mongolia of China, there's a traditional festival that features mare's milk and horseracing...
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- The Sheep-Presenting Custom
- In former times, there was an annual folk custom of sheep presenting among the Han people, popular in southern Hebei...
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- Monkeys Getting the Moon
- One night, a group of monkeys are gamboling beside a well.One of them sees the swaying shadow of the moon in the well and...
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- Letters with Chicken Feathers
- In the past, if a letter needed to be delivered immediately, people would attach a chicken feather to it as a sign of urgency...
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- The Divine Dog Eating the Moon
- In ancient times, when a lunar eclipse occurred, people thought it was caused by the evil god on the moon-the divine dog...
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- The Fat Pig Pushing the Door Open
- Of the twelve zodiac animals, the pig comes last, but it is a symbol of good fortune...
Other Topics
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- Ice Lanterns
- An ice lantern is a wintertime work of art widely created in north China...
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- Festival Markets...
- In the Song Dynasty, the commodity economy enjoyed booming development and therefore the material...
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- Folk Customs of...
- Densely distributed bridges in the "water country".
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- Temple Fair
- Temple fair was originally a showing activity entertaining the people by the Buddhism and Taoism...
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- Lantern Festival
- Lantern Festival, also called Shangyuan Festival, is celebrated on January 15 of Chinese lunar...
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- Spring Festival
- The first day of the first lunar month is regarded as the New Year of the Chinese - the Spring...
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