The Chinese word yáng refers to both goats and sheep,[5] whereas the terms shānyáng (山羊) and miányáng (绵羊; 綿羊) refer exclusively to goats and sheep, respectively.[6][7] In English, the sign (originally based on a horned animal) may be called either. The interpretation of goat or sheep depends on culture.[1] In Vietnamese, the sign is mùi, which is unambiguously goat.[8] In Japan, on the other hand, the sign is hitsuji, sheep;[8] while in Korea[9] and Mongolia, the sign is ram or sheep. Within China, there may be a regional distinction with the zodiacalyáng more likely to be thought of as a goat in the south, while tending to be thought of as a sheep in the north.[10]
Characteristics
The Chinese commonly regard sheep as an auspicious animal, and the year of the sheep, therefore, heralds a year of promise and prosperity.[6] "Yáng" (羊) is a component of another writtenChinese character "xiang" (祥), which means auspiciousness, and the two were interchangeable in ancient Chinese, according to one source.[11] It is also a part of the character "shan" (善), which counts kindness and benevolence as among its meanings.
Individuals born in this zodiac year have been supposed to share certain characteristics with other individuals also born in years of the same animal sign. Similarly, years sharing the same animal sign have been supposed to share certain characteristics, repeating over their 12/60 year cycle. The shared characteristics in this case are traits attributed to goats.
In Chinese astrology, Goats are described as peace-loving, kind, and popular.[14] With the addition of the Woodelement, the Goat characteristic is thought to love peace and to be helpful and trusting, but yet also to be clinging and resistant to change.[15]
^Theodora Lau and Laura Lau, Chapter 8: "The Sheep: The Eighth Sign of the Lunar Cycle", The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp. 193–220, Harper Collins, 1979 (paperback edition December 2010) ISBN978-0061990915
^A Lunar New Year With a Name That's a Matter of Opinion, Chris Buckley, New York Times, Feb. 18, 2015: "The reason is that the word for the eighth animal in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle of creatures, yang in Mandarin, does not make the distinction found in English between goats and sheep and other members of the Caprinae subfamily. Without further qualifiers, yang might mean any such hoofed animal that eats grass and bleats."
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