蛋 | dàn

In Mandarin Chinese, 蛋 (Pinyin: dàn 🔊) is a noun for “egg” and, by extention, for any egg-shaped object, such as testicle.

Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:

A great many prehistoric tombs in Russia and Sweden have revealed clay eggs which had been left there as emblems of immortality. In the language of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the determinative sign of the egg represents potentiality, the seed of generation, the mystery of life. This meaning persisted among the alchemists, who added explicitly the idea that it was the container for matter and for thought. In this way was the transition effected from the concept of the egg to the Egg of the World, a cosmic symbol which can be found in most symbolic traditions — Indian, Druidic, etc. The vault of space came to be known as an Egg, and this Egg consisted of seven enfolding layers — betokening the seven heavens or spheres of the Greeks. The Chinese believe that the first man had sprung from an egg dropped by Tien from heaven to float upon the primordial waters. The Easter egg is an emblem of immortality which conveys the essence of these beliefs. The golden egg from which Brahma burst forth is equivalent to the Pythagorean circle with a central point (or hole). But it was in Egypt that this symbol most frequently appeared. Egyptian naturalism — the natural curiosity of the Egyptians about the phenomena of life — must have been stimulated by the realization that a secret animal-growth comes about inside the closed shell, whence they derived the idea, by analogy, that hidden things (the occult, or what appears to be non-existent) may actively exist. In the Egyptian Ritual, the universe is termed the ‘egg conceived in the hour of the Great One of the dual force’. The god Ra is displayed resplendent in his egg. An illustration on a papyrus, in the Œdipus Ægyptiacus of Kircher, shows the image of an egg floating above a mummy, signifying hope of life hereafter. The winged globe and the beetle pushing its ball along have similar implications.

Wiktionary says that 蛋 is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 延 (yán 🔊, abbreviated to 疋) and semantic 虫. By now you got used to the fact that the radical 虫 can be found in the name of almost every creature that is neither a bird nor a barnyard animal, so why not an egg then. Still, given its cosmological importance, one may wonder why the Chinese did not use a more egg-like symbol for it, say ⬭ or ⬯.

Compounds of 蛋 include

• 鸡 + 蛋 = 鸡蛋 (jīdàn 🔊): chicken egg
• 下 + 蛋 = 下蛋 (xiàdàn): to lay eggs
• 蛋 + 黄 = 蛋黄 (dànhuáng): egg yolk
• 蛋 + 白 = 蛋白 (dànbái): egg white
• 白 + 蛋白 = 白蛋白 (báidànbái): albumin

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鸟 | niǎo

In Mandarin Chinese, 鸟 (Pinyin: niǎo 🔊) is a noun for “bird”. You may remember seeing this character as a part of 鸡, “chicken”.

Wiktionary says that this word was

originally pronounced with a /t-/ initial <...> In many dialects, it changed to a /n-/ initial to avoid homophony with the vulgar word 屌 (diǎo, “penis”), which may ultimately have developed from the sense “bird”. Birds/fowl are characteristically associated with Chinese slangs for genitalia...

鸟 is a simplified form of the traditional character 鳥 which, according to Lawrence J. Howell’s Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters, “is a depiction of a bird with a long, curved and rising tail”. Historical forms of this character show great diversity, depicting birds in a variety of positions and orientations, but most of them look to the left.

Compounds of 鸟 include

• 水 + 鸟 = 水鸟 (shuǐniǎo): waterfowl
• 白 + 鸟 = 白鸟 (báiniǎo): swan
• 小 + 鸟 = 小鸟 (xiǎoniǎo): small bird; chick
• 蜂 “bee” + 鸟 = 蜂鸟 (fēngniǎo): hummingbird
• 啄 “peck” + 木 + 鸟 = 啄木鸟 (zhuómùniǎo): woodpecker

In Japanese, 鳥 is pronounced tori (🔊). Naturally, birds inhabit many a haiku.

鳥一羽 道づれにして 枯野かな 千那 Tori ichiwa michizure ni shite kareno kana A solitary bird For my companion Upon the withered moor. Senna

水鳥ゃ かたちに影の 腹合せ 眞原 Mizutori ya katachi ni kage no haraawase The breast Of the water-fowl Meets its reflection. Mahara

小鳥來る 音うれしさよ 板びさし 蕪村 Kotori kuru oto ureshisa yo itabisashi The sounds of small birds On the pent-roof, — What a pleasure! Buson (All haiku translated by R.H. Blyth)

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牠 | tā

In traditional Mandarin Chinese, 牠 (Pinyin: tā 🔊) is a third-person singular pronoun for animals. So it’s a different “it” from 它 “it”.

牠, just like 他 and 她, is a phono-semantic compound, in this case of semantic 牜, a radical form of 牛 “ox”, “cow” etc., and phonetic 也.

牠 is not found in simplified Chinese. Instead, the same 它 is used for all non-human objects, animate or not.

More photos related to animals, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

龟 | guī

In Mandarin Chinese, 龟 (Pinyin: guī 🔊) means “turtle” or “tortoise”.

The turtle did not make it to the Chinese zodiac. However, it appears in similar Asian zodiac systems:

The Cham zodiac uses the same animals and order as the Chinese zodiac, but replaces the Monkey with the turtle (known locally as kra). Similarly the Malay zodiac is identical to the Chinese but replaces two of the animals with the turtle (kura-kura) and mousedeer (kancil). One of the replaced animals is always the Rabbit, the other being either the Pig or Monkey.

龟 is a simplified form of the traditional character 龜 which is a pictogram of a tortoise.

Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:

The turtle has a variety of meanings, all of which are organically related. In the Far East its significance is cosmic in implication. As Chochod has observed: ‘The primordial turtle has a shell that is rounded on the top to represent heaven, and square underneath to represent the earth’. To the Negroes of Nigeria it suggests the female sex organ and it is in fact taken as an emblem of lubricity. In alchemy it was symbolic of the ‘massa confusa’. These disparate senses have, nevertheless, one thing in common: in every case, the turtle is a symbol of material existence and not of any aspect of transcendence, for even where it is a combination of square and circle it alludes to the forms of the manifest world and not to the creative forces, nor to the Origin, still less to the irradiating Centre. In view of its slowness, it might be said to symbolize natural evolution as opposed to spiritual evolution which is rapid or discontinuous to a degree. The turtle is also an emblem of longevity. An engraving in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili depicts a woman holding a pair of outspread wings in one hand and a turtle in the other. The counterbalancing of one with the other would suggest that the turtle is the inversion of the wings; that is, that since the wings signify elevation of the spirit, the turtle would denote the fixed element of alchemy although only in its negative aspect. In short, then, it would stand for turgidity, involution, obscurity, slowness, stagnation and highly concentrated materialism, etc. Perhaps this is the explanation of the turtles in Moreau’s painting of Orpheus with their disquieting negativeness.

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猫 | māo

In Mandarin Chinese, 猫 (Pinyin: māo 🔊) is a word for “cat” (Felis catus).

The Cat, as we know, was pushed into the water by the Rat so it missed the banquet with the Jade Emperor. Moreover, the folk story tells that

The cat eventually drowned, and did not make it in the zodiac. It is said that this is the reason cats always hunt Rats.

However, the Cat is the fourth animal in the Vietnamese zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit. One possible explanation is that Vietnamese, who adopted the zodiac from China, confused the pronunciation of the corresponding earthly branch 卯 (mǎo) with that of 猫 (māo).

猫 is a simplified form of the traditional character 貓 which is a phono-semantic compound of semantic 豸 “beast with long vertebral column” and phonetic 苗 (miáo). In apparent contradiction to Baldrick’s definition of dog, “not a cat”, 豸 got simplified precisely to 犬, “dog”, making the whole thing “a dog that says ‘miáo’”. Thus the Cat joined the Pig, 猪, and the Monkey, 猴 — but not the Tiger, 虎 — as another “kind of dog”.

More photos related to cats and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

Adventures of sumo wrestler cat @ My leçons de French.

辰 | chén

In Mandarin Chinese, 辰 (Pinyin: chén 🔊) is the fifth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Dragon (龙) of the Chinese zodiac; the third month; the hour of the Dragon (7 am to 9 am, “the time when Dragons are hovering in the sky to give rain”); and the direction 120° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Earth, 土. Note that the character 龙 refers to any common-or-garden dragon while 辰 refers only to the zodiac dragon.

Uncle Hanzi says that 辰 is a pictogram of “an Egyptian type hoe, or hoe type plow”. According to Wikipedia,

It has been proposed by one academic researcher that the Earthly Branch character may have been associated with scorpions; it may have symbolized the star Antares.

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龙 | lóng

In Mandarin Chinese, 龙 (Pinyin: lóng 🔊) means “dragon”. Figuratively, it can mean “emperor”, “king”, “sovereign”, “chief”, “hero” and so on; and, by extension, “dragon-shaped object” and even “long object”. To me, this latter meaning offers a mnemonic for the pronunciation of 龙 (lóng).

The Dragon is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 辰. According to Wikipedia,

The Chinese dragon has very different connotations to European dragon — in European cultures, the dragon is a firebreathing creature with aggressive connotations, whereas the Chinese dragon is a spiritual and cultural symbol that represents prosperity and good luck, as well as a rain deity that fosters harmony.

龙 is a simplified (beyond any recognition) form of the traditional character 龍,

originally a serpent with prominent whiskered mouth and eyes. Current form developed in large seal script, with serpent’s body on right (tail at upper right, legs on right), whiskered/fanged mouth at lower left, and eyes/crown at upper left. Left side was subsequently simplified and abstracted, with some influence of 立 and ⺼/月

while Uncle Hanzi says that it is “probably originally a cobra. Meaning dragon”.

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巳 | sì

In Mandarin Chinese, 巳 (Pinyin: sì 🔊) is the sixth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Snake (蛇) of the Chinese zodiac; the fourth month; the hour of the Snake (9 am to 11 am, “the time when Snakes are leaving their caves”); and the direction 150° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Fire, 火. Note that the character 蛇 refers to any (real or otherwise) snake while 巳 refers only to the zodiac animal.

To me, the character 巳 looks more like a snake (cobra?) than 蛇, the actual character for “snake”. However, according to Uncle Hanzi, it is a “pictograph of a swaddled baby”.

More photos related to snakes, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

蛇 | shé

In Mandarin Chinese, 蛇 (Pinyin: shé 🔊) means “snake”. The Snake is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 巳.

According to Wiktionary, 蛇 is a phono-semantic compound of “semantic” 虫 (“the character originally represented a type of venomous snake ... 虫 eventually came to represent worms and insects as well”) and “phonetic” 它 (now pronounced tā, so you’d never guess). 它 also originally meant “snake”, so 蛇 is like “snake snake”.

More photos related to snakes, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

虫 | chóng

In Mandarin Chinese, 虫 (Pinyin: chóng) is a word for “insect”, “bug”, “worm”, or, in Old Chinese, an animal in general. A compound of 大 and 虫, 大虫 (dàchóng), means “large insect”, but also has another, “literary or dialectal, euphemistic” meaning: “tiger”. (Good thing they eventually came up with less ambiguous 虎.)

According to Wiktionary,

The character originally represented a type of venomous snake, while the derivative 蟲 represented worms and insects (or insect-like things). 虫 eventually came to represent worms and insects as well, and the character 虺 was created to represent the original meaning.

To me, 虫 on its own looks like a pictogram of a flying (from left to right) insect, and nothing like a snake. It is considered to be a ”simplified” form of the traditional character 蟲, however, it seems more logical to consider 蟲 a “complicated” form of 虫. After all, 蟲 is just a pile of three 虫s. Another meaning of 蟲, “plague of insects”, makes perfect sense then.

虫 is also a radical that is found in many other hanzi. We saw it before as a part of 風, the traditional form of 风 (fēng). This is because “Ancient Chinese thought insects appear with wind”.

More photos related to insects and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

寅 | yín

In Mandarin Chinese, 寅 (Pinyin: yín 🔊) is the third of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Tiger (虎) of the Chinese zodiac; the first month; the hour of the Tiger (3 am to 5 am, “the time when Tigers hunt their prey more and show their ferocity”); and the direction 60° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Wood, 木. Note that the character 虎 refers to an actual tiger while 寅 refers to the zodiac animal.

In classical Chinese, 寅 also means “respect”. Sure, tigers have to be respected. As for origin of the character, Uncle Hanzi mentions “hands straightening an arrow”.

More photos related to tigers, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

虎 | hǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 虎 (Pinyin: hǔ) means “tiger”. The Tiger is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 寅.

According to Wiktionary,

虍 represents the tiger’s head. The torso has disappeared and the legs and the tail have transformed into 人 in the small seal script and later 儿 in the clerical script.

As is the case with 犬, many historical forms of 虎 look more like an animal standing on its tail.

More photos related to tigers, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

申 | shēn

In Mandarin Chinese, 申 (Pinyin: shēn 🔊) has many meanings. As a verb, it can mean “to announce”, “to express”, “to explain”, “to state”, “to request”, “to report”, “to extend”, “to stretch”... As a noun, 申 is the ninth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Monkey (猪) of the Chinese zodiac; the seventh month; the hour of the Monkey (3 pm to 5 pm, “the time when Monkeys are lively”); and the direction 240° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Metal, 金. 申 is also one of the alternative names of Shanghai.

Note that the character 猪 refers to any actual monkey or ape while 申 refers to the zodiac animal. 申 is derived from a pictogram for bolt of lightning, as can be seen in some historical forms of the character. However, it is unclear how lightning is connected to any of the modern meanings.

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猴 | hóu

But enough with barnyard animals, let’s move into more exotic territory. In Mandarin Chinese, 猴 (Pinyin: hóu) means “monkey” or “ape”. The Monkey is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 申.

In her Chinese Calligraphy Sourcebook, Yat-Ming Cathy Ho writes about 猴:

This intelligent character is agile in its movements. The right part of the character has a man on its left with bows and arrows at the bottom of the tree, ready to shoot. The left side often appears in characters relating to animals.

I’m sure that you too have noticed similarity between 猴 and characters for dog (狗) and pig (猪). That’s right, all of them have the radical 犭 (“dog”) on the left! 猪 is a phono-semantic compound of 犭 and phonetic 侯 (hóu).

According to Wikipedia, Chinese polymath Li Shizhen (1518—1593) distinguished eleven varieties of monkeys:

A small one with a short tail is called Hou ([猴] monkey). If it looks like a monkey but has a prominent moustache, then it is called Ju [狙]. If it looks like a monkey but is bigger, then it is Jue [貜]. A monkey that is big, with red eyes and a long tail, is called Yu [禺]. A monkey that is small but has a long tail and an upright nose is called You [狖]. A monkey that is similar to You but is bigger is called Guoran [果然]. A monkey that is similar to You but smaller is called Mengsong [蒙頌]. A monkey that is similar to You but jumps a lot is called Canhu [獑猢]. A monkey that has long arms is called Yuan ([猿] ape). A monkey that is similar to Yuan but has a golden tail is called Rong [狨]. A monkey that is similar to Yuan but bigger, and can eat apes and monkeys, is called Du [獨].

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亥 | hài

In Mandarin Chinese, 亥 (Pinyin: hài 🔊) is the twelfth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Pig (猪) of the Chinese zodiac; the tenth month; the hour of the Pig (9 pm to 11 pm, “the time when Pigs are sleeping sweetly”); and the direction 330° (where 0°/360° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Water, 水.

Note that the character 猪 refers to an actual pig (i.e. any animal of the genus Sus) while 亥 refers to the zodiac animal.

More photos related to pigs, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

猪 | zhū

In Mandarin Chinese, 猪 (Pinyin: zhū 🔊) means “pig”, “hog” or “boar”. It is also used figuratively, that is, as an insult. The Pig is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 亥.

猪 is a simplified form of the traditional character 豬 which is a phono-semantic compound of semantic 豕 (“pig”, “boar”) and phonetic 者 (zhě). By some reason, in the simplified form, the semantic component mutated from 豕 (“pig”) to 犭 (“dog”). 猪肉 / 豬肉 (zhūròu 🔊) means “pork”.

More photos related to pigs, pork, ham, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

卯 | mǎo

In Mandarin Chinese, 卯 (Pinyin: mǎo) is the fourth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Rabbit (兔) of the Chinese zodiac; the second month; the hour of the Rabbit (5 am to 7 am, “the time when the Jade Rabbit is busy pounding herbal medicine on the Moon”); and the direction 90° (i.e. east). Its associated “fixed element” is Wood, 木. Note that the character 兔 refers to any rabbit or hare while 卯 refers to the “zodiac rabbit”.

According to Wiktionary, it is a “door (門) opened to spring”, while Uncle Hanzi says it is “possibly open gates (open eyes) which open at 5 to 7 AM”. To me, it looks like stylised “GP” (makes me think of Jade Rabbit as a general practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine).

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兔 | tù

In Mandarin Chinese, 兔 (Pinyin: tù 🔊) is a word for “rabbit” or “hare”. The Rabbit is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 卯.

In Chinese folklore, 月兔 (yuètù), “moon rabbit”, is a creature that lives on the Moon, 月 (yuè). According to Wikipedia,

it is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang’e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her.

So it should come as no surprise that another, now obsolete, meaning of 兔 is “moon”. 兔 also has a different pronunciation (chān), corresponding to a different (also obsolete) meaning, “planet Mercury”.

兔 evolved from a pictogram of a rabbit-like animal.

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鼠 | shǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 鼠 (Pinyin: shǔ 🔊) is a word for “mouse”, “rat” or other similar rodent.

The Rat is the first of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 子.

An ancient folk story tells that Cat and Rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although they were poor swimmers, they were both quite intelligent. To get to the meeting called by the Jade Emperor, they had to cross a river to reach the meeting place. The Jade Emperor had also decreed that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they arrived to the meeting. Cat and Rat decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of Ox. Ox, being naïve and good-natured, agreed to carry them both across. Midway across the river, Rat pushed Cat into the water. Then as Ox neared the other side of the river, Rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, claiming first place in the competition and the zodiac.

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公 | gōng

In Mandarin Chinese, 公 (Pinyin: gōng 🔊) is an extremely common word with many meanings. As an adjective, it can mean “public”, “communal”, “general”, “international”, “fair” and, when applied to animals, “male”:

• 公 + 牛 = 公牛 (gōngniú 🔊): bull
• 公 + 羊 = 公羊 (gōngyáng 🔊): ram
• 公 + 鸡 = 公鸡 (gōngjī): cockerel, rooster

Could it be that “male” is a “general” kind of animal, as opposed to a female animal which is special?

As a noun, 公 can mean “official business”, “authorities” or “duke”. It is also used as a SI prefix kilo- as in 公斤 (gōngjīn) “kilogram” and 公里 (gōnglǐ) “kilometre”. 公公 (gōnggong) means “father-in-law” (more precisely, husband’s father).

There are several theories of this character’s origin. According to Wiktionary,

The traditional interpretation as given by Han Feizi is that 公 is a compound of 八 [= 背 (“to deviate; opposite”)] and 厶 [original form of 私 (“individual; private”)], i.e. the opposite of “individual”; public. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the top component from 厶.

This is disputed in modern times by Gao Hongjin, who thinks that the 八 on top stands for 分 (“to divide; to distribute”) and the bottom round component of 口 symbolises the general object. 公 thus represents “equally dividing resources so that they are communal”.

Another theory put forth by Zhu Fangpu is that 公 is a pictogram, being the original form of 瓮 (“a wide-mouthed round-bottomed jar”), and later borrowed for the meaning of “public”.

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