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Sexagenary cycle facts for kids

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Sexagenary cycle

The sexagenary cycle (六十花甲 liùshí huājiǎ), also known as the "stems-and-branches" or "trunks-and-branches" (干支 gānzhī), is a traditional Chinese calendar system. It is a list of sixty terms which are used for identifying days or years.

History

The oldest Chinese system for recording and organizing time uses repeated periods of 60 days.

Ancient records show that the sexagenary cycle was used to count years in the 3rd century B.C.

The repeating series of 60 terms has been an important part of historical calendar systems in East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Vietnam.

Overview

Each term in the sexagenary cycle is made up of two Chinese characters:

  • One character is taken from a list of "heavenly stems" or "trunks" (天干 tiāngān), including wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
  • The other character is taken from a list of "earthly branches" (地支 dìzhī) or animal signs, including Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
  • The combinations make up a total of 60 different names for a period of time.

Heavenly stems

No. Heavenly
Stem
Chinese
name
Japanese
name
Korean
name
Vietnamese
name
Yin yang Wu xing
Mandarin
(Pinyin)
Cantonese
(Jyutping)
Onyomi Kunyomi with
corresponding kanji
Romanized Hangul
1 jiǎ gaap3 kō (こう) kinoe (木の兄) gap giáp yang wood
2 jyut3 otsu (おつ) kinoto (木の弟) eul ất yin
3 bǐng bing2 hei (へい) hinoe (火の兄) byeong bính yang fire
4 dīng ding1 tei (てい) hinoto (火の弟) jeong đinh yin
5 mou6 bo () tsuchinoe (土の兄) mu mậu yang earth
6 gei2 ki () tsuchinoto (土の弟) gi kỷ yin
7 gēng gang1 kō (こう) kanoe (金の兄) gyeong canh yang metal
8 xīn san1 shin (しん) kanoto (金の弟) shin tân yin
9 rén jam4 jin (じん) mizunoe (水の兄) im nhâm yang water
10 guǐ gwai3 ki () mizunoto (水の弟) gye quý yin

Earthly branches

No. Earthly
Branch
Chinese
name
Japanese
name
Korean
name
Vietnamese
name
Vietnamese
zodiac
Chinese
zodiac
Corresponding
hours
Mandarin
(pinyin)
Cantonese
(Jyutping)
Onyomi Kunyomi Romanized Hangul
1 zi2 shi ne ja Rat (chuột) Rat () 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
2 chǒu cau2 chū ushi chuk sửu Water Buffalo (trâu) Cow () 1 to 3 a.m.
3 yín jan4 in tora in dần Tiger (hổ/cọp) Tiger () 3 to 5 a.m.
4 mǎo maau5 u myo mẹo/mão Cat (mèo) Rabbit () 5 to 7 a.m.
5 chén san4 shin tatsu jin thìn Dragon (thuồng luồng) Dragon () 7 to 9 a.m.
6 zi6 shi mi sa tỵ Snake (rắn) Snake () 9 to 11 a.m.
7 ng5 go uma o ngọ Horse (ngựa) Horse () 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
8 wèi mei6 mi or bi hitsuji mi mùi Goat (dê) Goat () 1 to 3 p.m.
9 shēn san1 shin saru shin thân Monkey (khỉ) Monkey () 3 to 5 p.m.
10 yǒu jau5 tori yu dậu Chicken (gà) Chicken () 5 to 7 p.m.
11 seot1 jutsu inu sul tuất Dog (chó) Dog () 7 to 9 p.m.
12 hài hoi6 gai i hae hợi Pig (lợn/heo) Pig () 9 to 11 p.m.

Conversion tables

Tables show specific years in the context of a repeating sexagenary cycle.

1804–1923

1924–2043

Related pages

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ciclo sexagenario para niños

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Sexagenary cycle Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.