Zodiac Horse

There is a long tradition of the Horse in Chinese mythology. Certain characteristics of the Horse nature are supposed to be typical of or to be associated with either a year of the Horse and its events, or in regard to the personality of someone born in such a year. Horse aspects can also enter by other chronomantic factors or measures, such as hourly. The year of the horse is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 午.

Horse
"Horse" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	馬
Simplified Chinese	马
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin mǎ Wade–Giles ma3 IPA [mà] Hakka Romanization mâ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization máah Jyutping maa5 IPA [maː˩˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ bé Old Chinese Baxter (1992) *mraʔ Baxter–Sagart (2014) *mˤraʔ

The lunar calendar paved the sequence of the Chinese zodiac animals. This calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C. Myths say that Emperor Huangdi, the first Chinese emperor, in 2637 B.C. invented the Chinese lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon. In a folklore story that explains the origins of the cycle, the animals hold a race to determine their order. The custom of pairing an animal with a year in a 12-year cycle can be traced back to at least the Han dynasty (201 BC – 220 AD), and there are many legends and folktales surrounding the 12 zodiac animals, which are often depicted in East Asian art and design. A group of Chinese figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection shows the zodiac animals with human bodies but animal heads. This way of portraying them became popular in the Tang dynasty (8th century).

 

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Horse", while also bearing the following elemental sign:

• Burmese zodiac
• Chinese astrology
• Chinese New Year
• Horse
• Horse worship
• Horses in Chinese culture
• Fire Horse