Sexagenary cycle facts for kids

The Sexagenary Cycle chart

The sexagenary cycle (六十花甲 liùshí huājiǎ), also called the "stems-and-branches" (干支 gānzhī), is an old Chinese calendar system. It uses a list of sixty special terms to name days or years. Think of it like a unique way to count time in a repeating pattern.

History of the Cycle

The Chinese have used this system for a very long time to keep track of dates. It's one of their oldest ways to organize time.

Ancient records show that people were using the sexagenary cycle to count years as far back as the 3rd century B.C. That's over 2,300 years ago!

This repeating cycle of 60 terms became very important in many East Asian countries. These include China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam.

How the Cycle Works

Each term in the sexagenary cycle is made from two different Chinese characters. It's like combining two lists to make 60 unique names for a period of time.

• One character comes from a list called "heavenly stems" (天干 tiāngān). These are linked to five natural elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
• The other character comes from a list called "earthly branches" (地支 dìzhī). These are often linked to the twelve animal signs. These animals include the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
• When you combine these two lists, you get a total of 60 different names. Each name stands for a specific year or day in the cycle.

Heavenly Stems Explained

There are ten "heavenly stems." Each stem is connected to one of the five elements and also to either yin or yang. Yin and yang are ancient Chinese ideas about opposite but connected forces.

Earthly Branches Explained

There are twelve "earthly branches." Each branch is linked to one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. They also represent specific hours of the day.

Related pages

• Chinese Zodiac

Images for kids

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  Statues of Tai Sui deities responsible for individual years of the sexagenary cycle

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  Bone inscribed with a table of the sexagenary cycle, dated to the early 11th century BC

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  24 cardinal directions

See also

In Spanish: Ciclo sexagenario para niños