The Monkey and the Tiger

In the accompanying Chinese zodiac—always rep­resented with the south at the top — the images of the Monkey and the Tiger indicate their correct position; the other animals are represented by their cyclical signs only. The complete set, known as the 'Twelve Branches of Heaven', consists of 1 Rat (Aries), 2 Cow (Taurus), 3 Tiger (Gemini), 4 Hare (Cancer), 5 Dragon (Leo), 6 Serpent (Virgo), 7 Horse (Libra), 8 Sheep (Scorpio), 9 Monkey (Sagittarius), 10 Cock (Capricorn), 11 Dog (Aquarius) and 12 Pig (Pisces). This series also indicates the 24 hours of a natural day: the Rat 11-1 a.m., the Cow 1-3 a.m., etc.

A second cyclical series (not depicted here) con­sists of the 'Ten Stems of Earth', which represents also the Five Elements and the Five Planets, viz. I chia, II yi (both wood and Jupiter), III ping, IV ting (fire, and Mars), V mou, VI chi (earth and Saturn), VII keng, VIII Ўisiti (metal and Venus), IX Jen, X kuei (water and Mercury). The twelve 'branches', combined with the ten 'stems', form a sexagenary cycle: I-1, II-2, III-j, IV-4, V-5, VI-6, VII-7, VIII-8, IX-9, X-10, I-11, II-12, III-1, IV-2 and so on till X-12. This cycle of sixty double signs is the basis of Chinese chronology. Six cycles indicate the 360 days of a tropical year and the twelve lunar months, and also the years themselves in an ever-repeating series of sixty — 'A cycle of Cathay'! The year 1900 was VII-1, a year of the Rat, and we are living now in the cycle that began in 1924 with the year of the Rat I-1; this particular cycle ends in 1984. The current year, 1965, is II-6, a year of the Serpent, 1966 will be III-7, a year of the Horse.

The octagonal design in the centre of the zodiac is explained in the Postscript.