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Chinese New Year 2014 - Year of the Horse

Chinese New Year 2014 - Year of the Horse

The date for the Chinese New Year in 2014 is January 31st.

• The Chinese Calendar 2014
• Astrology About The Horse
• Stories For the Chinese New Year 2014
• Chinese Horse Folk Tales
• Chinese New Year Jokes

The Chinese Calendar 2014

Unlike western calendars, the Chinese calendar has names that are repeated every 60 years.  Within the 'Stem-Branch' system is shorter cycle of 12 years denoted by animals:

2014 is the year of the Horse.  It is the jiăwŭ (甲午) year (Wooden Horse). Ji is the first of the ten celestial stems and ăwŭ (Horse) is the seventh of the twelve terrestrial branches and thus 1/7 marks the year of the Horse.

   Rat    Ox    Tiger Rabbit  Dragon Snake Horse Sheep Monkey Rooster Dog  Pig
2008 2009  2010  2011  2012  2013   2014  2015   2016    2017   2018 2007

Calculating 'When is the Chinese New Year in 2014'

The fact that the date of Chinese New Year varies within about a month is a clue that it's linked to the new moon.  A rough, and almost infallible guide is that the Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice.  The winter solstice always falls on December 22nd, the next new moon is on January 1st 2014, and the second new moon is on January 31st 2014.

Will and Guy admit that the precise rules for determining 'When is the Chinese New Year', are far more complex.  For example, one problem with any lunar calendar system is that some years there are 13 new moons.  The Chinese deal with this by slotting in an extra intercalary month.

The Chinese New Year Calendar - With Its Associated 12 Animals

The lunar Chinese New Year (CNY) calendar below shows which of 12 animals you are!  Naturally the animal depends on the year in which you were born.  Note: if you were born in January or February you need to check if your birthday was before or after the date of that Chinese New Year. (If it was before this day your animal is the one shown for the previous year).

60 Year Cycle of the Chinese New Year Calendar

Unlike western calendars, the Chinese calendar has names that are repeated every 60 years.  Within the 'Stem-Branch' system is shorter 'Celestial' cycle of 12 years denoted by animals.  Furthermore, the Chinese believe that people born in a particular year take on the characteristics of the animal associated with that year.

   Rat    Ox   Tiger  Rabbit Dragon Snake Horse Sheep Monkey Rooster  Dog   Pig
2008 2009  2010  2011  2012   2013  2014   2015   2016     2017   2018 2007

Another dimension of the Chinese zodiac is the 5 'Terrestrial' elements of metal, water, wood, fire and earth.

If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

Start date for the Chinese New Year Calendar 2011 and other years

The lunar Chinese New Years dates are:
2011 - Feb 3;  2012 - Jan 23;  2013 - Feb 10;  2014 - Jan 31;  2015 - Feb 19

See more on the Chinese New Year

Is It a Dragon?  No, 2014 is the Year of the Horse

Astrology About The Horse

Those Born in the Year of the Horse

Will and Guy have learned that the noblest of the signs, some might say, is that of the horse. Horses are popular, quick-witted, charming, cheerful, and talented.

People born in the Year of the Horse are popular. They are cheerful, skilful with money, and perceptive, although they sometimes talk too much.

They are wise, talented, good with their hands, and sometimes have a weakness for members of the opposite sex.

They are impatient and hot-blooded about everything except their daily work. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are very independent and rarely listen to advice.
They are most compatible with Tigers, Dogs, and Sheep.

Astrologically, the horse is placed directly opposite the rat. The rat is the creator and the horse is the "consumer."

Therefore a horse year may be marked by an increase in business and commercial activity, particularly those involved with non-essentials like luxury cars, high fashion, alcoholic beverages, athletics, and anything "male" oriented.

Unfortunately, it is often a year of waste. A household should be careful to make sure they don't overspend their budgets during a horse year.

Chinese Horse Folk Tales

As in most Chinese Stories there is a moral hidden within them; these examples are no exception to that rule.

An Old Man's Wisdom - A Blessing in Disguise

Once upon a time in Chinese myths, there was a wise old man who lived in the steppes. He owned many horses. One evening, after a long day of working in the fields, he came home to discover that one of his horses, a mare, had run off. His family and his neighbours searched the surrounding area. When they finally gave up, they sent him their condolences, 'We are sorry that this unfortunate incident happened to you.'

The old man of the steppes remarked calmly, 'The loss of my mare is not necessarily a bad thing. All will be shown for its true worth in time.'

The next morning, the old man of the steppes looked up in the horizon and saw two horses coming towards his house. The first horse was his mare that had run off, and the other was a stallion following the mare. Even from a distance, he could see that this stallion was a war horse of great stature and worth. He quickly inquired at the county office whether anyone had reported the loss of their stallion.

The county magistrate advised him to keep the horse until someone had reported it missing. That evening, the old man's family and his neighbours celebrated the return of his mare as well as his newly acquired stallion. At the celebration, he was called upon to make a speech. The old man of the steppes stood up and remarked calmly, 'The acquisition of this stallion is not necessarily a good thing. All will be shown for its true worth in time.'

Chinese myths say that a week later, the old man's son took the stallion out for a ride. Not being skilled in manoeuvring a great war horse, the boy suffered a terrible fall. As a result, his leg was broken. The old man's family and his neighbours crowded around the boy and commented, 'This is an awful thing that has happened. This stallion has brought bad luck to the family.'

The old man of the steppes stood by the boy and remarked calmly, 'This accident is not necessarily a bad thing. All will be shown for its true worth in time.'

Sometime later, the kingdom was involved in a cruel and unjust war with a neighbouring kingdom. All the young men of the kingdom were called upon to enlist in the army. The old man's neighbours lamented as all their sons were called off to fight in the war. It was impossible to escape the draft as the enlisting officers moved from county to county and house to house in search of all the young men. Inevitably, they finally came upon the old man's house.

Seeing the stallion in the yard, they remarked to themselves, 'This must be the home of a great warrior. But why has this coward not gone off to war? We must seize him at once.'

When they searched the house, they found only the old man of the steppes, his wife and their crippled son.

The enlisting officers then remarked, 'This young man would have been a fine soldier if it were not for his broken leg. We cannot take him with us.' And thus, their son was exempted from fighting in the war.

The old man's neighbours, observing with amazement the declared, 'What wisdom this old man has, that he can foresee both good and bad incidences for what they are truly worth.'

More Stories For the Chinese New Year 2014

Buying a Good Horse

There was an Emperor who was willing to pay a thousand pieces of gold for a horse that could run a thousand mile without stopping. For three years he tried in vain to find such a steed.

Then Chenglei offered, 'Let me look for a horse My Lord.'

The Emperor agreed to this.

After three months Chenglei came back, having spent five hundred pieces of gold on a horse's skull.

The Emperor became enraged. 'I want a live horse.' he roared. 'What use is a dead horse to me? Why spend five hundred pieces of gold on nothing?'

Chenglei replied philosophically, 'If you will spend five hundred pieces of gold on a dead horse, won't you give much more for a live one? When people hear of this, they will know you are really willing to pay for a good horse, and will quickly send you their best.

Sure enough, in less than a year the Emperor succeeded in buying three excellent horses.

Chinese Horse Sausage

A 213 metre long and weighing some 1,256-kilogram horse casing sausage is dried in Yining of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Photos - Xinhua

A Kazak horse meat butcher made the sausage with casings from 30 horses and thigh meat from another eight 5-year-old horses.

Did You Know? Horse Trivia and China

• The record for most runners in a horse race is 228 set in Bayanwula, Xiwuzhumuqinqi, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China on 25th July 2005.
• The White Horse Temple [Baima Si] in Luoyang, Henan Province, was the first Buddhist temple in China, established by Emperor Mingdi in the year 68 AD. The historic, leafy site features several ancient buildings.
• The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the First China. The figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province.
• Xian Cavalryman of the Terracotta Army.
• Four bronze horses with chariot. Representing part of the Emperor's army

Dates for Chinese Valentine's Day

'When is the Chinese Valentine's Day in 2014?', is sure to be a mean question in pub quizzes.  So prepared, know the date, and remember the rule, 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.

• Year 2014 - 3rd August

Chinese Phrases

搞笑清洁笑话 in Chinese roughly translates into clean funny jokes.

干净免费笑话,故事图片、视频剪辑 means clean free jokes, stories pictures and video-clips.

Will and Guy's Amusing and Funny Chinese Fishing Story

Wang Chien-Ming, (王建 in Mandarin), having settled down to fish at the edge of the river in Guangdong province, soon realized that he had forgotten to bring any bait.

Slightly annoyed with himself, Wang noticed a little snake passing by who had caught a worm.  Knowing it was the year of the snake, Wang grabbed the snake and robbed him of his worm.  Then later, feeling sorry for the little snake with no lunch, he snatched him up again and poured a little beer down his throat.  Then he continued happily with his fishing.

An hour or so later Wang felt a tug at his trouser leg. Looking down, he saw the same snake with three more worms in his mouth..................

Chinese New Year Jokes, Proverbs and Stories

Chinese Proverbs

• Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cathouse.
• War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left.
• A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
• He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
• Chinese 'Cracked Pot' parable

How To Speak Chinese Funny

• I thought you were on a diet................Wai Yu Mun Ching?
• This is a tow-away zone......................No Pah King
• Our meeting is scheduled for next week......Wai Yu Kum Nao?
• Staying out of sight............................Lei Ying Lo
• See more funny Chinese speak

20 Number 6

It was Chinese New Year.  Bill and Jackson had just staggered back home from a hard night's drinking when they noticed that a menu from the new restaurant next door had come through the letter box.  On a whim they decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a take-away.  Jackson, was just off out of the door to fetch their meal when Bill turned to him and said, 'Please get me 20 number 6 while you're at the take-away.

Jackson returned with their chicken Chou Mein, sweet and sour pork and 20 portions of egg fried rice.  Bill said, 'Where's me fags'. Jackson said, 'What cigarettes, you asked for 20 number 6 and that's what you've got, enough egg fried rice to feed a Chinese Junk from Shanghai to Hong Kong'.

Bill said, 'When I was last in England Embassy No 6 was a packet of fags.'

It's a Dog's Life

Meanwhile, Bill and Jackson's wives decided to dine out a new Chinese Restaurant.  Jackson's wife Julie was inseparable from her Pekingese dog called 'Pepe'.  So they took Pepe along with them to the restaurant.   Whenever they went to their usual restaurant the manager's wife looked after Pepe while they ate, and they thought it would be no different this new restaurant.

Julie and her friend Rachel, gave Pepe to the owner and went to their seats.  They ordered their meal, had a few drinks and eventually their meal arrived.  They were mortified when it turned out to be their beloved Pepe surrounded by Chop Suey.

As the owner explained the next day to Bill and Jackson, they thought that Julie and Rachel wanted the chef to cook the dog, not look after it while the women dined.

One-liners

• How did an embarrassed panda get mistaken for a newspaper?  They are both black and white, and red all over!
• What's purple, 10,000 km long and 12m high?
  The grape wall of China.

Traditional Chinese Sense of Humour

Prime Minister Chang was happy enough to write, but he didn't put in a lot of care into his brush strokes. Everybody sneered at his bad handwriting, and the Prime Minister himself really didn't care.

One day Chang thought of a beautiful sentence and at once wielded his writing brush to write it down, indeed, there were dragons flying and snakes dancing all over the paper. Then he ordered his secretary to write it out neatly.

When beginning to copy, his secretary stared tongue-tied and did not know where to start. The young man had to take the manuscript back to the Prime Minister.

'Prime Minister Chang, I can't read your handwriting, please tell me what words they are.'

The Prime Minister read his cursive hand a long time, and did not know what Chinese characters they were, either. He then turned to blame his secretary. 'Why didn't you come earlier to ask me? I myself have forgotten the words which I've written.'

Footnote:
Please write to Will and Guy if you have any interesting stories about the Chinese New Year 2014.

See More About the Chinese New Year Calendar, also Jokes and Funny Stories:

• Chinese New Year 2011   • Chinese Day October 1st   • Chinese New Year jokes   • What New Year

• Chinese New Year 2012   • Interesting Chinese facts   • Chinese traditional foods   • Chinese food

♥ Chinese Valentine's Day   • Chinese Moon Festival Zhongqiujie   • Chinese New Year Lantern Festival

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