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In traditional China, dating methods were cyclical means something that is repeated time after time according to apattern.A popular folk method which reflected this cyclical method of recording years are the Twelve Animal Signs.Every year is assigned an animal name or "sign" according to a repeating cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Therefore, every twelve years the same animal name or "sign" would reappear.
A cultural sidelight of the animal signs in Chinese folklore is that horoscopes have developed around the animal signs. For example, a Chinese horoscope may predict that a person born in the year of Horse would be, "cheerful, popular, and loves to comliment others".
The animal signs also serve a useful social function for finding out people ages. Instead of asking directly how old a person is, people ofen ask what is his or her animal sign. This would place that persons age within a cycle of 12 years, and with a bit of common sense, we can deduce the exact age. More ofen, people ask for animal signs not to compute a person exact numerical age, but to simply who is older among friends and acquaintance.
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Strokes Order Rule