Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend, "What is your zodiac sign?" Don't think they are making small talk. If you say, "I'm a Monkey," they immediately know you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
Je li vas vaš kineski prijatelj ikada upitao, "Koji je tvoj horoskopski znak?" Nemojte misliti da oni čavrljaju. Ako kažete: "Ja sam Majmun," oni odmah znaju da imate ili 24, 36, 48, ili 60 godina.
(Laughter) Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
(Smijeh) Pitati o horoskopskom znaku zapravo je pristojan način pitanja vaše dobi.
By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated. Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune, your personality, career prospects and how you will do in a given year. If you share you and your partner's animal signs, they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life. Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac. As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it, you'd be wise to do something about that.
Otkrivajući svoj horoskopski znak, također vas procjenjuju. Presude se prave o vašoj sreći ili nesreći, vašoj osobnosti, prospektima u karijeri i kakva će vam biti godina. Ako podijeliti svoje i partnerove životinjske znakove, oni će oslikati sliku u svom umu o vašem privatnom životu. Možda ne vjerujete u kineski horoskop. Ali kako utječe na četvrtinu svjetske populacije, bili biste pametni da uredite nešto po tom pitanju.
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly? Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac, the signs divided into 12 months. The Chinese zodiac is different. It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals, starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig, and has no association with constellations. For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit. Can you see your zodiac sign there? Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework based on yin and yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals. Over thousands of years, this popular culture has affected people's major decisions, such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other. And some of the implications are quite amazing.
Dakle, što je zapravo kineski horoskop? Većina zapadnjaka misli o grčko-rimskom horoskopu, znakovima podijeljenim u 12 mjeseci. Kineski horoskop je drugačiji. To je 12-godišnji ciklus obilježen životinjama, počevši sa Štakorom i završavajući sa Svinjom, bez ikakvih asocijacija sa sazviježđem. Na primjer, ako ste se rodili 1975, vi ste Zec. Vidite li ovdje svoj horoskopski znak? Naši kineski preci su izradili vrlo komplicirani teorijski okvir baziran na yin-u i yang-u, pet elemenata i 12 horoskopskih životinja. Tijekom tisuća godina, ova popularna kultura je utjecala na glavne odluke ljudi, kao što su imenovanja, brak, rođenja i stav jedan prema drugom. I neke od implikacija su prilično nevjerojatne.
The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others. So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies, because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families. We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations. I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits. Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies. As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake. Raise your hand if you are a Snake. Let's have a chat later.
Kinezi vjeruju kako se određene životinje slažu bolje od drugih. Dakle, roditelji biraju određene godine da porode bebe, jer vjeruju kako timski rad određene kombinacije životinja može donijeti prosperitet obitelji. Čak se referiramo na horoskop prilikom ulaska u romantične odnose. Ja sam Svinja; Ja bih trebala imati romantičnu vezu sa Tigrovima, Kozama, i Zečevima. Kinezi vjeruju kako su neke životinje prirodni neprijatelji. Kao Svinja, moram biti oprezna sa Zmijom. Podignite ruku ako ste Zmija. Popričajmo kasnije.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
We believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon. Unlike the Western tradition, the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth. It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby. Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud. And they are not the only ones. In 2012, the Year of the Dragon, the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased by five percent. That means another one million more babies. With a traditional preference to baby boys, the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100. When those Dragon boys grow up, they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.
Vjerujemo kako neke životinje imaju više sreće od drugih, poput Zmaja. Za razliku od zapadne tradicije, kineski Zmaj je simbol moći, snage i bogatstva. Svačiji san je imati dijete Zmaja. Roditelji Jack Ma-a mora da su jako ponosni. I oni nisu jedini. 2012., godine Zmaja, stopa nataliteta u Kini, Hong Kongu i Tajvanu je porasla za pet posto. To znači dodatan milijun beba. Uz tradicionalnu sklonost prema bebama dječacima, odnos dječak-djevojčica je te godine bio 120 naspram 100. Kada ti dječaci Zmajevi odrastu, suočiti će se sa mnogo težom konkurencijom u ljubavi i na tržištima rada.
According to the BBC and the Chinese government's press release, January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections. Why? That was the last month for the Year of the Horse. It's not because they like horses so much, it's because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.
Prema priopćenje za tisak BBC-a i Kineske vlade, Siječnja 2015. je predstavljao vrhunac carskih rezova. Zašto? To je bio posljednji mjesec godine Konja. Nije jer toliko vole konje, to je zato jer oni pokušavaju izbjeći imati nesretne bebe Koze.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad. Those are Goat babies. They don't look like losers to me.
Ako ste Koza, nemojte se osjećati loše. Ovo su bebe Koze. Meni ne izgledaju poput gubitnika.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
Tiger is another undesirable animal, due to its volatile temperament. Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate during those years. Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse, as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition. Maybe they are the lucky ones. I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world, and it's interesting to see the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger, are at the top of the chart, even higher than the Dragon. So maybe we should consider, maybe it's much better to have less competition.
Tigar je još jedna nepoželjna životinja, zbog svog promijenjivog temperamenta. Puno kineskih regija je zabilježilo nagli pad stope nataliteta tijekom tih godina. Možda treba uzeti u obzir Horoskop u obrnutom slijedu, jer će se bebe Tigrovi i Koze suočiti s mnogo manje konkurencije. Možda su oni sretnici. Prošla sam kroz Forbes-ovu listu top 300 najbogatijih ljudi na svijetu, i zanimljivo je vidjeti kako su dvije najnepoželjnije životinje, Koza i Tigar, na samom vrhu liste, čak i više od Zmaja. Dakle, možda bismo trebali uzeti u obzir, možda je puno bolje imati manje konkurencije.
One last but interesting point: many Chinese people make their investment decisions based on the zodiac sign index. Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign has been over thousands of years, the trend of using it in making major decisions did not really happen until the past few decades. Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought, famine, riot, disease and civil war. And finally, Chinese people have the time, wealth and technology to create an ideal life they've always wanted. The collective decision made by 1.3 billion people has caused the fluctuation in economics and demand on everything, from health care and education to property and consumer goods. As China plays such an important role in the global economy and geopolitics, the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions end up impacting everyone around the world.
I posljednja ali zanimljiva poanta: puno Kineza donosi odluke o ulaganju prema indeksu horoskopskog znaka. Iako vjerovanja i tradicija horoskopskog znaka su prisutna tisućama godina, trend njihovog korištenja u svrhu donošenja velikih odluka se nije dogodio sve do prije posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća. Naši preci su bili vrlo zauzeti preživjeti siromaštvo, sušu, glad, pobune, bolesti i građanske ratove. I na kraju, Kinezi imaju vremena, bogatstvo i tehnologiju da stvore idealan život koji su oduvijek željeli. Kolektivna odluka koju je donijelo 1,3 milijarde ljudi uzrokovala je fluktuaciju u ekonomiji i potražnju za sve, od zdravstvene skrbi i obrazovanja do nekretnina i potrošačkih dobara. Kako Kina igra tako važnu ulogu u globalnoj ekonomiji i geopolitici, odluke donesene na temelju horoskopa i drugih kineskih tradicija imaju utjecaj na sve ljude na svijetu.
Are there any Monkeys here? 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.
Ima li ovdje Majmuna? 2016. je godina Majmuna. Majmuni su pametni, znatiželjni, kreativni i nestašni.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)