The Earthly Branches (Chinese: 地支; pinyin: dìzhī; or Chinese: 十二支; pinyin: shíèrzhī; literally "twelve branches") provide one Chinese system for reckoning time. Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell(ing) and yin means sound(s)). This article describes the most common variant called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell(ing) and yin means sound(s)). This article describes the most common variant called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... A pocket watch, a common timekeeping device. ...

This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of Suixing (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with Sheti (ɳ Böotes) and sometimes called Sheti. Adjective Jovian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ...

In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonics for the system), directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. When a Branch is used for the exact time of a day, the listed hours are used. When used for a period, it means a period from one hour before to one hour after. For instance, 午 (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm. (The jie qi system provided single hours and 15-degree arcs in time and space.) A mnemonic (pronounced in American English, in British English) is a memory aid. ... In measurement, Chinese units (市制 Pinyin: Shìzhì, city standard) are the units used in Imperial China, and are still used. ...

Chinese seasons are based on observations of the sun and stars, not the weather. Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the first new moon after the winter solstice. This article is about divisions of a year. ... Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena that can occur in the atmosphere of a planet. ... The lunar phase depends on the Moons position in orbit around Earth. ... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the northern hemisphere winter solstice Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the southern hemisphere winter solstice In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is...

The Earthly Branches are today used with the Heavenly Stems in the current version of the "traditional calendar" and in Taoism. The Ganzhi (Stem-Branch) combination is a fairly new way to mark time; in the Shang era it was the ten Heavenly Stems that provided the names of the days of the week. The Branches are as old as the Stems (and according to recent archaeology may actually be older), but the Stems were tied to the ritual calendars of Chinese kings. They were not part of the calendrical systems of the majority of Chinese. The ten heavenly stems (Chinese: 天干; pinyin: ) or ten stems (Chinese: 十干; pinyin: ) are an ancient Chinese cyclic numeral system. ... The Chinese calendar (Traditional Chinese: 農曆; Simplified Chinese: 农历; pinyin: nónglì) is a lunisolar calendar incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. ... Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for: (a) a philosophical school based on the texts the Dao De Jing (ascribed to Laozi) and the Zhuangzi. ... The ten heavenly stems (Chinese: 天干; pinyin: ) or ten stems (Chinese: 十干; pinyin: ) are an ancient Chinese cyclic numeral system. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Some cultures assign different animals: the second animal is the water buffalo in Vietnam, the fourth is the cat in Vietnam and Thailand, and the twelfth is the wild boar in Japan. The Rat/Mouse is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the northern hemisphere winter solstice Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the southern hemisphere winter solstice In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is... The Ox ( 牛 ) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Tiger ( 虎 ) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Rabbit is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of equinox The vernal equinox (or spring equinox) marks the beginning of astronomical spring. ... A Chinese dragon The Dragon is one of the 12-year cycles of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Snake is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Horse is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... Illumination of Earth by the sun on the northern hemisphere summer solstice The summer solstice is an astronomical term regarding the position of the sun in relation to the celestial equator. ... The Sheep ( 羊 ) (also known as Goat) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Monkey is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Rooster is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of equinox The autumnal equinox (or fall equinox) marks the beginning of astronomical autumn. ... The Dog is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... The Pig ( 豬 ) or boar is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. ... Binomial name Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792) The Water Buffalo is a very large ungulate and a member of the wild oxen family. ... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus (Linnaeus, 1758) The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. ... Binomial name Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 The Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) is the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig. ...

Directions

The 24 cardinal directions.

Even though Chinese has words for the four cardinal directions - 北 (běi, north), 東 (dōng, east), 南 (nán, south), and 西 (xī, west) - Chinese mariners and astronomers preferred using the twelve directions of the Earthly Branches, which is somewhat similar to the modern-day practice of English-speaking pilots using o'clock for directions. Since twelve points were not enough for sailing, twelve midpoints were added. Instead of combining two adjacent direction names, they assigned new names as follows: Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Earthly Branches ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Earthly Branches ... A compass rose showing the cardinal directions In geography, the four cardinal directions are north, east, south and west. ... A sailor is a member of the crew of a ship or boat. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ...

• For the four diagonal directions, appropriate trigram names of I Ching were used.
• For the rest, the Heavenly Stems were used. According to the Five Elements theory, east is assigned to wood, and the Stems of wood are 甲 (jiǎ) and 乙 (yǐ). Thus they were assigned clockwise to the two adjacent points of the east.

Following is a table of the 24 directions: Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) | Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (æ°´) Hinduism The Panchamahabhuta (five great elements) Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth) Ap/Jala (Water) Agni/Tejas (Fire) Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind) Akasha (Aether) The five elements usually refer to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water in East Asian philosophy. ...

Advanced mariners such as Zhèng Hé used 48-point compasses. An additional midpoint was called by a combination of its two closest basic directions, such as 丙午 (bǐngwǔ) for the direction of 172.5°, the midpoint between 丙 (bǐng), 165°, and 午 (wǔ), 180°. Zheng He wearing formal official dress Zheng He (Traditional Chinese: é„­å’Œ; Simplified Chinese: 郑和; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng Ho; Birth name: 馬三寶 / 马三宝; pinyin: MÇŽ SānbÇŽo; Arabic name: Hajji Mahmud) (1371–1433), is the most well-known Chinese mariner and explorer and fleet Admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to...

See also

• Sexagesimal cycle (干支)
• Chinese calendar

The sexagesimal cycle in China is composed of two series that paired with one another. ... The Chinese calendar (Traditional Chinese: 農曆; Simplified Chinese: 农历; pinyin: nónglì) is a lunisolar calendar incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. ...

External links

• Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches - Hong Kong Observatory