Note 111 — XV. MISS YING-NING; OR, THE LAUGHING GIRL.
Herbert Allen Giles translation
The Chinese years are distinguished by the names of twelve animals—namely, rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog, and boar. To the common question, “What is your honourable age?” the reply is frequently, “I was born under the ——;” and the hearer by a short mental calculation can tell at once how old the speaker is, granting, of course, the impossibility of making an error of so much as twelve years. return to text