Earthly Branches
Encyclopedia
The Earthly Branches provide one Chinese
system for reckoning time
.
This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter
. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of Suìxīng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with Shètí (η Boötis) and sometimes called Sheti.
In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonic
s for the system), directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. When a Branch is used for a double hour, the listed periods are meant. When used for an exact time of a day, it is the center of the period. For instance, 午 (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm. (The jie qi system provided single hours and 15-degree arcs in time and space.)
Chinese seasons are based on observations of the sun and stars. Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the first new moon
after the winter solstice.
The Earthly Branches are today used with the Heavenly Stems in the current version of the "traditional calendar
" and in Taoism
. The Ganzhi (Stem-Branch) combination is a fairly new way to mark time; in the Shang era it was the ten Heavenly Stems
that provided the names of the days of the week. The Branches are as old as the Stems (and according to recent archaeology
may actually be older), but the Stems were tied to the ritual calendars of Chinese kings. They were not part of the calendrical systems of the majority of Chinese.
Some cultures assign different animals: Vietnam
replaces the ox, rabbit, and sheep with the water buffalo, cat, and goat respectively; Japan
replaces the pig with the wild boar; Tibet
replaces the rat, ox, rabbit and rooster with the mouse, bull, hare and bird respectively. In the traditional Kazakh version of the 12-year animal cycle , the dragon is substituted by a snail
, and the tiger appears as a leopard .
Even though Chinese has words for the four cardinal direction
s - (běi, north), (dōng, east), (nán, south), and (xī, west) - Chinese mariners
and astronomer
s/astrologers preferred using the twelve directions of the Earthly Branches, which is somewhat similar to the modern-day practice of English-speaking pilots using o'clock for directions. Since twelve points were not enough for sailing, twelve midpoints were added. Instead of combining two adjacent direction names, they assigned new names as follows:
Following is a table of the 24 directions:
Advanced mariners such as Zhèng Hé
used 48-point compasses. An additional midpoint was called by a combination of its two closest basic directions, such as (bǐngwǔ) for the direction of 172.5°, the midpoint between (bǐng), 165°, and (wǔ), 180°.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
system for reckoning time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
.
This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of Suìxīng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with Shètí (η Boötis) and sometimes called Sheti.
In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
s for the system), directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. When a Branch is used for a double hour, the listed periods are meant. When used for an exact time of a day, it is the center of the period. For instance, 午 (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm. (The jie qi system provided single hours and 15-degree arcs in time and space.)
Chinese seasons are based on observations of the sun and stars. Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the first new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...
after the winter solstice.
The Earthly Branches are today used with the Heavenly Stems in the current version of the "traditional calendar
Chinese calendar
The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...
" and in Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
. The Ganzhi (Stem-Branch) combination is a fairly new way to mark time; in the Shang era it was the ten Heavenly Stems
Heavenly Stems
The ten Celestial or Heavenly Stems are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, ca. 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 members, who were offered sacrifices on the corresponding day...
that provided the names of the days of the week. The Branches are as old as the Stems (and according to recent archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
may actually be older), but the Stems were tied to the ritual calendars of Chinese kings. They were not part of the calendrical systems of the majority of Chinese.
| Earthly Branch |
Mandarin name |
Japanese name | Korean name |
Vietnamese name |
Chinese zodiac |
Direction | Season | Lunar Month | Double Hour | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On | Kun | ||||||||||
| 1 | 子 | zǐ | し(shi) | ね(ne) | 자 (ja) | tý (Tí) | Rat Rat (zodiac) The Rat is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子... |
0° (north) | winter | Month 11 | 11pm to 1am (midnight) |
| 2 | 丑 | chǒu | ちゅう(chū) | うし(ushi) | 축 (chuk) | sửu | Ox Ox (zodiac) The Ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the earthly branch character 丑... |
30° | Month 12 | 1am to 3am | |
| 3 | 寅 | yín | いん(in) | とら(tora) | 인 (in) | dần | Tiger Tiger (zodiac) The Tiger , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the earthly branch symbol 寅.- Years and the Five Elements :... |
60° | spring | Month 1 | 3am to 5am |
| 4 | 卯 | mǎo | ぼう(bō) | う(u) | 묘 (myo) | mão (mẹo) | Rabbit Rabbit (zodiac) The Chinese Year of the Rabbit is actually the Chinese Year of the Hare, as China has seven native species of hares and no native species of rabbits. The Chinese applied their word for hare to the first rabbits to be taken to China, and the word is now erroneously back-translated into English as... |
90° (east) | Month 2 | 5am to 7am | |
| 5 | 辰 | chén | しん(shin) | たつ(tatsu) | 진 (jin) | thìn | Dragon Dragon (zodiac) The Dragon , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and the only animal that is legendary... |
120° | Month 3 | 7am to 9 am | |
| 6 | 巳 | sì | し(shi) | み(mi) | 사 (sa) | tỵ | Snake Snake (zodiac) The Snake is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Snake is associated with the earthly branch symbol 巳.-Years and the Five Elements:... |
150° | summer | Month 4 | 9am to 11am |
| 7 | 午 | wǔ | ご(go) | うま(uma) | 오 (o) | ngọ | Horse Horse (zodiac) The Horse is the seventh of the 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Horse is associated with the earthly branch symbol 午.- Years and the Five Elements :... |
180° (south) | Month 5 | 11am to 1pm (noon) | |
| 8 | 未 | wèi | び(bi) | ひつじ(hitsuji) | 미 (mi) | mùi | Goat | 210° | Month 6 | 1pm to 3pm | |
| 9 | 申 | shēn | しん(shin) | さる(saru) | 신 (sin) | thân | Monkey Monkey (zodiac) The Monkey is the ninth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Monkey is associated with the earthly branch symbol 申.-Years and the five elements:... |
240° | autumn | Month 7 | 3pm to 5pm |
| 10 | 酉 | yǒu | ゆう(yū) | とり(tori) | 유 (yu) | dậu | Rooster Rooster (zodiac) The Rooster is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the earthly branch character 酉.- Years and associated Five Elements :... |
270° (west) | Month 8 | 5pm to 7pm | |
| 11 | 戌 | xū | じゅつ(jutsu) | いぬ(inu) | 술 (sul) | tuất | Dog Dog (zodiac) The Dog is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the earthly branch symbol 戌... |
300° | Month 9 | 7pm to 9pm | |
| 12 | 亥 | hài | がい(gai) | い(i) | 해 (hae) | hợi | Pig Pig (zodiac) The Pig , is the last of the 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Pig is associated with the earthly branch Hai .In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility... |
330° | winter | Month 10 | 9pm to 11pm |
Some cultures assign different animals: Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
replaces the ox, rabbit, and sheep with the water buffalo, cat, and goat respectively; Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
replaces the pig with the wild boar; Tibet
Tibetan calendar
The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.The Tibetan New Year...
replaces the rat, ox, rabbit and rooster with the mouse, bull, hare and bird respectively. In the traditional Kazakh version of the 12-year animal cycle , the dragon is substituted by a snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, and the tiger appears as a leopard .
Directions
Cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the direction of rotation and west being directly opposite. Intermediate...
s - (běi, north), (dōng, east), (nán, south), and (xī, west) - Chinese mariners
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
and astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
s/astrologers preferred using the twelve directions of the Earthly Branches, which is somewhat similar to the modern-day practice of English-speaking pilots using o'clock for directions. Since twelve points were not enough for sailing, twelve midpoints were added. Instead of combining two adjacent direction names, they assigned new names as follows:
- For the four diagonal directions, appropriate trigram names of I ChingI ChingThe I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...
were used. - For the rest, the Heavenly Stems were used. According to the Five ElementsFive elementsFive elements may refer to: In philosophy: *Five elements *Mahabhuta*Pancha Tattva *Five elements In science:*Boron, element 5*Group 5 element*Period 5 element-See also:...
theory, east is assigned to wood, and the Stems of wood are (jiǎ) and (yǐ). Thus they were assigned clockwise to the two adjacent points of the east.
Following is a table of the 24 directions:
| Character | Mandarin name | Japanese name | Direction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 子 | zǐ | ne | 0° (north) |
| 2 | 癸 | guǐ | mizunoto | 15° |
| 3 | 丑 | chǒu | ushi | 30° |
| 4 | 艮 | gèn | ushitora | 45° (northeast) |
| 5 | 寅 | yín | tora | 60° |
| 6 | 甲 | jiǎ | kinoe | 75° |
| 7 | 卯 | mǎo | u | 90° (east) |
| 8 | 乙 | yǐ | kinoto | 105° |
| 9 | 辰 | chén | tatsu | 120° |
| 10 | 巽 | xùn | tatsumi | 135° (southeast) |
| 11 | 巳 | sì | mi | 150° |
| 12 | 丙 | bǐng | hinoe | 165° |
| 13 | 午 | wǔ | uma | 180° (south) |
| 14 | 丁 | dīng | hinoto | 195° |
| 15 | 未 | wèi | hitsuji | 210° |
| 16 | 坤 | kūn | hitsujisaru | 225° (southwest) |
| 17 | 申 | shēn | saru | 240° |
| 18 | 庚 | gēng | kanoe | 255° |
| 19 | 酉 | yǒu | tori | 270° (west) |
| 20 | 辛 | xīn | kanoto | 285° |
| 21 | 戌 | xū | inu | 300° |
| 22 | 乾 | qián | inui | 315° (northwest) |
| 23 | 亥 | hài | i | 330° |
| 24 | 壬 | rén | mizunoe | 345° |
Advanced mariners such as Zhèng Hé
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
used 48-point compasses. An additional midpoint was called by a combination of its two closest basic directions, such as (bǐngwǔ) for the direction of 172.5°, the midpoint between (bǐng), 165°, and (wǔ), 180°.
See also
- Sexagesimal cycle (干支)
- Sheng Xiao
- Celestial stem
- Chinese calendarChinese calendarThe Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...
- (A study of the cardinal directions chart)