猪豬 Pig

Characteristics

The Pig is popularly linked with good nature, generosity and sincerity — an easy-going, warm-hearted figure said to be honest, tolerant and fond of good company and comfort. Folk descriptions credit it with diligence and a genuinely kind temperament. These belong to the sign’s cultural image in tradition, not to any individual.

History

The Pig closes the cycle as the twelfth sign and the earthly branch 亥 (hài). Long a household animal and a measure of family prosperity, it is a homely emblem of plenty, contentment and good fortune; the character 家 ("home, family") even pictures a pig under a roof. Rounding off the twelve, it carries a settled, abundant, good-humoured feeling.

In the Great Race

The Pig set off with the rest but grew hungry along the way, stopped for a hearty meal, and then — comfortably full — lay down for a nap before finally ambling across the river. It reached the Jade Emperor last of all and so took twelfth place, completing the cycle; its leisurely, contented finish suits the easy-going sign perfectly.

The five elements

Over the sixty-year cycle the Pig takes on five elemental tones: a Wood Pig is described as more generous and sociable, a Fire Pig as more energetic, an Earth Pig as especially steady and home-loving, a Metal Pig as more determined, and a Water Pig as more easy-going and accommodating. They are cultural shadings of the same good-natured sign, not forecasts.

Recent & upcoming years

Further reading

• Wikipedia: Pig (zodiac)
• Wikipedia: Chinese zodiac
• Britannica: Chinese zodiac (owner to confirm)