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Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend,
你有沒有被中國朋友問過
"What is your zodiac sign?"
“你的生肖是什么？”
Don't think they are making small talk.
不要以為他們只是寒暄
If you say, "I'm a Monkey,"
如果你說：“我屬猴”
they immediately know you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
他們馬上就可以知道你多大年紀。
Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
問生肖是問年齡的禮貌方式
By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated.
知道了你的生肖，還可以對你進行評估。
Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune,
可以預測你幸運與否
your personality, career prospects and how you will do in a given year.
你的性格，職業前景，接下來一年的運勢走向。
If you share you and your partner's animal signs,
如果你分享了你和愛人的生肖
they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life.
甚至可以想象你的私人生活。
Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.
也許你不相信中國的生肖，
As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it,
但是鑒于全球四分之一的人受它的影響
you'd be wise to do something about that.
你最好還是知道一些相關的知識。
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?
到底什么是中國的生肖呢？
Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac, the signs divided into 12 months.
大多數西方人聽說過希臘羅馬12星座，這些星座把一年分成12個月。
The Chinese zodiac is different.
中國生肖不同。
It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals,
中國生肖是以動物命名的，一個12年的循環
starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig,
以鼠開始，以豬結尾。
and has no association with constellations.
它們與星座沒有任何聯系。
For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit.
比如你出生在1975年，你就屬兔。
Can you see your zodiac sign there?
大家可以看到自己的生肖么？
Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework
中國的老祖先建立了一套非常復雜的理論框架。
based on inner yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals.
以陰陽，五行和12生肖為基礎
Over thousands of years, this popular culture has affected people's major decisions,
千百年來，這種流行文化影響著人們的大部分決定
such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other.
比如起名，婚介，生產，甚至對彼此的態度。
And some of the implications are quite amazing.
其中一些涵義令人稱奇。
The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others.
中國人相信某些生肖與其它生肖比較好相處。
So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies,
所以夫婦選擇特定的年份生孩子
because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families.
因為他們相信特定的生肖組合會讓家族更加繁榮
We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations.
甚至談戀愛的時候也會參考生肖。
I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.
我屬豬，我最好的戀愛對象是屬虎，羊和兔的人。
Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.
中國人相信有些生肖天生相克。
As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake.
對于屬豬的人來說，我要小心屬蛇的人。
Raise your hand if you are a Snake.
各位屬蛇的人請舉手。
Let's have a chat later.
我一會有話跟你們說。
We believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon.
我們相信有些生肖更加好運，比如生肖龍。
Unlike the Western tradition, the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth.
不同于西方傳統，中國龍是權力，力量和財富的象征。
It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby.
每個人都希望有一個龍寶寶。
Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.
馬云的父母就非常自豪。
And they are not the only ones.
這種現象非常普遍。
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,
2012年是龍年，
the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased by five percent.
中國香港和臺灣的嬰兒出生率提高了5%。
That means another one million more babies.
比正常多出了一百萬新生兒。
With a traditional preference to baby boys,
加之生男孩的傾向明顯，
the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100.
那年的男女比例為120:100。
When those Dragon boys grow up,
當屬龍的男孩長大，
they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.
他們會面臨更加激烈的婚姻和職場挑戰。
