Dragon (zodiac)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Chinese
The dragon (Template:Zh) is the fifth of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dragon is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 辰 (pinyin: chén).
It has been proposed that the Earthly Branch character may have been associated with scorpions; it may have symbolized the star Antares.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the Buddhist calendar used in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, the dragon is replaced by the nāga.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Gurung zodiac, the dragon is replaced by the eagle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Old Turkic calendar it is replaced by a fish or crocodile. Early Persian translations of the medieval period change the dragon to a sea serpent, although in current timesTemplate:When it is generally referred to as whale.<ref>Rasulid Hexaglot. P. B. Golden, ed., The King's Dictionary: The Rasūlid Hexaglot – Fourteenth Century Vocabularies in Arabic, Persian, Turkic, Greek, Armenian and Mongol, tr. T. Halasi- Kun, P. B. Golden, L. Ligeti, and E. Schütz, HO VIII/4, Leiden, 2000.</ref><ref>Jan Gyllenbok, Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures, Volume 1, 2018, p. 244.</ref>
During China's Cultural Revolution, there was an attempt to replace the dragon with the giant panda; however, the movement was short lived.<ref>R&S, December 30, 2005, 十三番目の干支はパンダだった!?, Excite News, Excite</ref><ref>Oriental Daily News, February 3, 2021, 子どもの出産時期にまで影響する中国の干支 かつては「パンダ年」も, Agence France-Presse</ref>
Years and the five elements
People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the Year of the Dragon, while bearing the following elemental sign:
| Start date | End date | Heavenly branch |
|---|---|---|
| 23 January 1928 | 9 February 1929 | Earth dragon |
| 8 February 1940 | 26 January 1941 | Metal dragon |
| 27 January 1952 | 13 February 1953 | Water dragon |
| 13 February 1964 | 1 February 1965 | Wood dragon |
| 31 January 1976 | 17 February 1977 | Fire dragon |
| 17 February 1988 | 5 February 1989 | Earth dragon |
| 5 February 2000 | 28 January 2001 | Metal dragon |
| 23 January 2012 | 9 February 2013 | Water dragon |
| 10 February 2024 | 28 January 2025 | Wood dragon |
| 28 January 2036 | 14 February 2037 | Fire dragon |
| 14 February 2048 | 1 February 2049 | Earth dragon |
| 2 February 2060 | 20 January 2061 | Metal dragon |
| 19 February 2072 | 6 February 2073 | Water dragon |
| 6 February 2084 | 25 January 2085 | Wood dragon |
| 25 January 2096 | 11 February 2097 | Fire dragon |
There are typically marked spikes in the birth rates of countries that use the Chinese zodiac or places with substantial Chinese populations during the Year of the Dragon, because these births are considered to be lucky and have desirable characteristics that supposedly lead to better life outcomes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The relatively recent phenomenon of planning a child's birth in a Year of the Dragon has led to hospital capacity issues and even an uptick in infant mortality rates toward the end of these years due to strained neonatal resources.Template:Citation needed
Compatibility
| Sign | Best match or balance (first trine group) | Match | Non-match or rival (opposite sign) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon | Rooster, Rat | Monkey, Ox, Pig, Horse | Dog, Goat |
Cycle (trine group): Dragon needs Monkey, Monkey needs Rat, Rat needs Dragon; It is opposed to or rivals the Dog.
Basic astrology elements
| Earthly Branches | chen |
| Five elements | earth |
| Yin yang | yang |
| Lunar month | April 6 to May 6 |
| Lucky numbers | 1, 6, and 7; avoid 2, 8, and 9 |
| Lucky flowers | hyacinths |
| Lucky colors | yellow, green, blue; avoid red |
| Season | spring |
| Lucky/Associated Countries: | China, United Kingdom, Argentina, Italy, Denmark, Iraq |