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{{short description|Sign of the Chinese zodiac}}
{{redirect|Year of the Rat|other uses|Year of the rat (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-pc1}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{infobox Chinese
|pic=Rat (Chinese characters).svg
|piccap="Rat" in [[regular script|regular]] Chinese characters
|picupright=0.3
|c=鼠
|p=shǔ
|w=shu<sup>3</sup>
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|sh|u|3}}
|h=chhú
|j=syu2
|y=syú
|ci={{IPAc-yue|s|yu|2}}
|poj=chhú 
|oc-bs=&ast;{{IPA|l̥aʔ}}
}}

[[File:OMBRE CHINOISE RAT.jpg|thumb|Zodiac rat, showing the ''shǔ'' (鼠) character for rat/mouse]]
[[File:Mount Hôrai-ji Buddhist Temple - Stone monument with a carving of a mouse.jpg|thumb|Stone monument with a carving of a mouse, at Mount Hôrai-ji Buddhist Temple, [[Aichi Prefecture]], [[Japan]], showing the ''zǐ'' (子) character designating the first of the twelve [[Earthly Branches]]]]

The '''Rat''' or '''Mouse''' ('''[[wiktionary:鼠|鼠]]''') is the first of the repeating 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the [[Chinese zodiac]], constituting part of the [[Chinese calendar]] system (with similar systems in use elsewhere). The '''Year of the Rat''' in standard Chinese is {{zh|t=鼠年|s=鼠年|p=shǔnián}}. The rat is associated with the first branch of the [[Earthly Branches|Earthly Branch]] [[symbol]] [[wiktionary:子|子]] (''zǐ''), which starts a repeating cycle of twelve years. The Chinese word ''shǔ'' ([[wiktionary:鼠|鼠]]) refers to various small rodents ([[Muroidea]]), such as [[rat]]s and [[mouse|mice]]. The term "[[wiktionary:zodiac|zodiac]]" ultimately derives from an [[Ancient Greek]] term referring to a "circle of little animals". There are also a yearly month of the rat and a daily hour of the rat ([[Traditional Chinese timekeeping#Dual hour: Shí|Chinese double hour]], midnight, 11:00&nbsp;p.m. to 1:00&nbsp;a.m.). Years of the rat are cyclically differentiated by correlation to the [[Heavenly Stems]] cycle, resulting in a repeating cycle of five years of the rat (over a sixty-year period), each rat year also being associated with one of the Chinese [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|wu xing]], also known as the "five elements", or "phases": the "Five Phases" being [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] ({{linktext|lang=zh|火}} ''huǒ''), [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] ({{linktext|lang=zh|水}} ''shuǐ''), [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] ({{linktext|lang=zh|木}} ''mù''), [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] ({{linktext|lang=zh|金}} ''jīn''), and [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] ({{linktext|lang=zh|土}} ''tǔ'').

==First Year of the Rat==
[[File:鼠-oracle.svg|thumb|30px|The ancient [[Oracle bone script|shell end bone]] style Chinese character ''shǔ'' (鼠), for rat/mouse]]

In Chinese tradition, the first year was the equivalent of 2637 BCE (although others give other dates). The Prime Minister of the first emperor, [[Yellow Emperor|Huangdi]] (also known as the Yellow Emperor), is said in this year to have worked out the [[Sexagenary cycle|sixty-year]] zodiacal cycle. Part of this achievement was the discovery and incorporation of the [[Metonic cycle|nineteen-year]] so-called Metonic cycle which correlates lunar and solar dates, as part of the system (using leap months).<ref>[[Martin Palmer|Palmer, Martin]], editor, ''et al'', (1986). ''[[Tung Shing|T'ung Shu]]: The Ancient Chinese Almanac''. Boston: Shambala, {{ISBN|0-394-74221-4}}, 29-30.</ref>

==Years and the Five Elements==
[[File:Sexagenary cycle years spirals.svg|thumb|Sexagenary cycle years]]
{{more|Sexagenary cycle}}

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Rat", while bearing the following [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|elemental]] sign:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pinyin.info/chinese_new_year/|title=Chinese New Year|access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourchineseastrology.com/zodiac/rat.htm|title=Chinese Zodiac - Rat|access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref> The following is a [[chart]] of the dates of the [[Gregorian calendar]].
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Start date !! End date !! Heavenly branch
|-
| 11 February 1804 || 30 January 1805 || [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] Rat
|-
| 23 January 1816 || 16 January 1817 || [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] Rat
|-
| 14 February 1828 || 3 January 1829 || [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] Rat
|-
| 2 February 1840 || 22 January 1841 || [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] Rat
|-
| 20 February 1852 || 3 February 1853 || [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] Rat
|-
| 8 February 1864 || 26 January 1865 || [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] Rat
|-
| 26 January 1876 || 12 February 1877 || [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] Rat
|-
| 12 February 1888 || 30 January 1889 || [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] Rat
|-
| 31 January 1900 || 18 February 1901 || [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] Rat
|- 
| 18 February 1912 || 5 February 1913 || [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] Rat
|-
| 5 February 1924 || 23 January 1925 || [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] Rat
|-
| 24 January 1936 || 10 February 1937 || [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] Rat
|-
| 10 February 1948 || 28 January 1949 || [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] Rat
|-
| 28 January 1960 || 14 February 1961 || [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] Rat
|-
| 15 February 1972 || 2 February 1973 || [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] Rat
|-
| 2 February 1984 || 19 February 1985 || [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] Rat
|-
| 19 February 1996 || 6 February 1997 || [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] Rat
|-
| 7 February 2008 || 25 January 2009 || [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] Rat
|-
| 25 January 2020 || 11 February 2021 || [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] Rat
|-
| 11 February 2032 || 30 January 2033 || [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] Rat
|-
| 30 January 2044 || 16 February 2045 || [[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]] Rat
|- 
| 15 February 2056 || 3 February 2057 || [[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]] Rat
|-
| 3 February 2068 || 22 January 2069 || [[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]] Rat
|-
| 22 January 2080 || 8 February 2081 || [[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]] Rat
|-
| 7 February 2092 || 26 January 2093 || [[Water (wuxing)|Water]] Rat
|}

==Lunar Mansion==
{{more|Twenty-Eight Mansions}}

In traditional [[Chinese astrology]] as well as traditional [[Chinese astronomy]] the sky was mapped into various [[Asterism (astronomy)|asterism]]s or what are sometimes referred to as [[Chinese constellations]]. This is actually more similar to the zodiac of [[Western astrology]] than is the 12-animal cycle. The stars along the plane of the ecliptic were divided into groups known as the [[Twenty-Eight Mansions]]. Because the moon during its monthly cycle could be observed to appear to move from one mansion (or "camp") into the next each night in turn, they are also known as Lunar Mansions. Traditionally, these mansions were divided into four groups of seven each, and associated with one of [[Four Symbols|four spiritual entities]]. The rat is generally associated with the celestial region of the [[Black Tortoise|Mystical Warrior]], or [[Xuanwu (god)|Xuánwǔ]] ((玄武)), and specifically with the mansion [[Emptiness (Chinese constellation)|Xū (虛)]], which in turn is associated with the direction North and the darkest part of the winter season, in the northern hemisphere.<ref>Wu, Zhonxian and Karin Wu (2014, 2016). ''Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches:TianGan DiZhi''. London and Philadelphia: Singing Dragon, {{ISBN|978-1-84819-208-9}}, 25-28 and 98</ref> (Xū (虛) is more-or-less equivalent to [[Beta Aquarii]], also known as Sadalsuud).

==Hour of the Rat==
{{more|Traditional Chinese timekeeping}}

In old Chinese tradition, the hours of a day-night period were divided into 12 [[Traditional Chinese timekeeping|double-hours]], each corresponding to one of the twelve signs of the [[Chinese astrology|Chinese zodiac]], with similar symbolic motif and astrological significance. The first of the twelve double hours encompasses midnight, at the middle of the double hour, corresponding with 11:00&nbsp;p.m. to 1:00&nbsp;a.m., with midnight being the midpoint of the first double-hour, which is the Hour of the Rat, or the hour ''zǐ'' ({{linktext|lang=zh|子}}).<ref>[[Martin Palmer|Palmer, Martin]], editor, ''et al'', (1986). ''[[Tung Shing|T'ung Shu]]: The Ancient Chinese Almanac''. Boston: Shambala. {{ISBN|0-394-74221-4}}, pp. 34-35</ref>

==Popular culture==
[[File:2016 Singapur, Gardens by the Bay, Wewnątrz Kwiatowej Kopuły (53).jpg|thumb|A sign in [[Gardens by the Bay]], [[Singapore]], 2016]]

In popular culture, the zodiacal idea of year of the rat is associated with various beliefs about prognostications for the upcoming year, lucky numbers, lucky colors, auspicious romantic connections, similarities between persons born in those years, correlations between [[Chinese astrology]] and [[Astrology|Western astrology]] and the like. Traditional Chinese astrology and horoscope has paid much more attention to the [[Heavenly Stems]] and [[Earthly Branches]] than to the zoology or symbolism of the 12 animals; rather the reference to the animals was more of a way of [[horology]], keeping track of time. Nevertheless, modern times have shown an increased interest in the zodiacal animals, with a great deal of popular interest, in various places of the world. In any case, the rat has long been associated with keen and quick intelligence.<ref>[[Martin Palmer|Palmer, Martin]], editor, ''et al'', (1986). ''[[Tung Shing|T'ung Shu]]: The Ancient Chinese Almanac''. Boston: Shambala, {{ISBN|0-394-74221-4}}, 35</ref>

==Basic astrology elements==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[Earthly Branches]] of Birth Year:
| 子 Zi
|-
|[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|The Five Elements]]:
| [[Water (wuxing)|Water]]
|-
|[[Cardinal direction|Cardinal Point]]:
|'''N'''orth ('''N''')
|-
|[[Yin and yang|Yin / Yang]]:|| Yang
|-
|[[Chinese Lunar Calendar|Lunar]] Month:|| Eleventh
|-
|Season:|| Winter
|-
|Closest Western Zodiac:|| [[Sagittarius (astrology)|Sagittarius]]
|-
|[[Earthly Branches|Earthly Branch]] Ruling Hours:
|23:00 to 00:59
|-
|[[Twelve Heavenly Generals]]:
|[[Sanskrit]]'': [[Twelve Heavenly Generals|Vikala]]'' ([[Chinese characters|Hanzi]]: ''毘羯羅'')
|-
|Lucky Flowers:|| [[Lilium|Lily]] of each and every [[species]]
|-
|Lucky Numbers:|| 2, 3, 6, 8; Avoid: 4, 5, 9
|-
|Lucky Colors:|| gold, blue, green; Avoid: yellow, brown
|}

==The Jade Emperor and the race for zodiacal place==
[[File:Year-of-the-Rat-2020 (1).jpg|thumb|The rat and the other animals as shown on a Romanian postage stamp]]

A popular modern story has it that the order of the animals in the twelve-year cycle was due to a competition between animal candidates, held by the ruler of [[Tian|Heaven]], [[Di (Chinese concept)|Earth]], and [[Diyu|Hell]] — the [[Jade Emperor]]. According to one version of this tale, the emperor's advisors selected twelve candidates from among the animal types, including the rat and the cat. The winner was to be selected based upon merit, as to personal appearance, lifestyle, and contributions to the world. Before the competition, the cat asked the rat for a wake up call in order to get to the show on time; however, the rat apprehensive of the competition, especially as to the cat's apparent beauty, did not wake the cat, who then overslept (and, ever afterwards, the embittered cat became a ratter and a mouser). The Jade Emperor mystified as to why there were only eleven candidate animals to show up inquired of his servants. These servants hastily acquired the first possible replacement animal which they encountered, (a [[pig (Zodiac)|pig]]). After the start of the competition, the rat achieved first place by performing on the flute while upon the back of the [[ox (zodiac)|ox]]. Impressed, the Jade Emperor placed the rat at the beginning of the twelve-year cycle (and the ox second, for being so generous as to allow the rat to play the flute upon the ox's back). Then the other animals were placed in order according to the Jade Emperor's judgment.<ref>Alston, Isabella and Kathryn Dixon (2014). ''Chinese Zodiac''. (China: TAJ Books International) {{ISBN|978-1-84406-246-1}}, pp. 14-15</ref>

==The zodiacal rat around the world==
[[File:Stamps of Indonesia, 011-08.jpg|thumb|Postal stamp issued in Indonesia, commemorating the Year of the Rat/Mouse, 2008]]
{{More|Chinese zodiac#In other countries}}

The zodiacal rat is known in other cultures besides China, in Asia and beyond. Generally, the rat/mouse is the first of a twelve-year animal cycle, although some of the other animals tend to vary. In Japan, the rat is known as ''nezumi'', and is the first in a twelve-year zodiacal cycle of animals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://japanesezodiac.org/|title=Japanese Zodiac Signs and Symbols|date=5 January 2012|access-date=24 March 2020|publisher=japanesezodiac.org/}}</ref> The Year of the Rat and the years of the subsequent other zodiacal animals is celebrated during [[Chinese New Year]], in many parts of the world, with the animal appropriate to each new year serving as an artistic motif for decorations. The Rat and other zodiacal animals are also a popular motif on [[Chinese lunar coins]] and other coin series minted by various countries and also on various internationally issued [[postage stamp]]s.

In English, Rat Years are sometimes referred to as Mouse Years instead, although in Chinese there is no distinction between the terms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lary |first=Diana |url= |title=China's grandmothers : gender, family, and aging from late Qing to twenty-first century |date=2022 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-06478-1 |edition= |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |pages=37 |oclc=1292532755}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Burmese zodiac]]
*[[Chinese astrology]]
*[[Chinese calendar]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading and references consulted==
*Alston, Isabella and Kathryn Dixon (2014). ''Chinese Zodiac''. (China: TAJ Books International) {{ISBN|978-1-84406-246-1}}
*Hale, Gill (2002). ''The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui''. New York: Barnes and Noble Books. {{ISBN|0-7607-3741-X}}
<!--This reference is to the pig: *{{cite book|author=Neil Somerville|title=Your Chinese Horoscope 2008: What the Year of the Rat Holds for You|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/yourchinesehoros0000some_e4p1/page/368 368]|isbn=9780007244058|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/yourchinesehoros0000some_e4p1/page/368}}-->
*Wu, Zhonxian and Karin Wu (2014, 2016). ''Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches:TianGan DiZhi''. London and Philadelphia: Singing Dragon. {{ISBN|978-1-84819-208-9}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
{{Chinese Zodiac}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chinese astrological signs]]
[[Category:Animals in Chinese mythology]]
[[Category:Vietnamese astrological signs]]
[[Category:Rats]]
[[Category:Mythological rodents]]