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.
Vas je vaš kitajski prijatelj kdaj vprašal: "Katero je tvoje astrološko znamenje?" Ne mislite, da samo malo klepetajo. Če rečeš: "Sem opica," bodo takoj vedeli, da si star 24, 36, 48 ali 60 let.
(Laughter) Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
(Smeh) Vprašanje o astrološkem znamenju je vljudno vprašanje o tvoji starosti.
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.
Razkritje tvojega astrološkega znamenja, pomeni tudi, da boš ovrednoten. Sodili bodo o tvoji sreči in nesreči, o tvoji osebnosti, kariernih možnostih ter kakšno bo zate določeno leto. Če jim poveš svoje in partnerjevo znamenje, si bodo ustvarili sliko o tvojem zasebnem življenju. Mogoče ne verjameš v kitajski horoskop. Glede na to, da četrtina svetovne populacije je pod njegovim vplivom, bi bilo pametno, da nekaj narediš glede tega.
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.
Torej, kaj natačno je kitajski horoskop? Večina zahodnjakov pomisli na grško-rimski horoskop, kjer so znaki razdeljeni na 12 mesecev. Kitajski horoskop je drugačen. Je 12-letni cikel označen z živalmi, ki se začne s podgano in konča s prašičem in nima nikakršne povezave z ozvezdji. Na primer, če si bil rojen leta 1975, si zajec. Vidiš tu svoje znamenje? Naši kitajski predniki so ustvarili zelo zapleteno teoretično ogrodje, ki je osnovano na notranjem jangu, petih elementih in 12 živalih horoskopa. Skozi tisoče let je ta popularna kultura vplivala na najpomembnejše odločitve ljudi, kot je poimenovanje, poroka, rojevanje in odnos do drugih. In nekatere izmed posledic so osupljive.
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.
Kitajci verjamejo, da se nekatere živali med sabo razumejo boljše kot druge. Posledično starši izbirajo specifična leta za rojevanje otrok, ker verjamejo, da skupinski trud za dobro kombinacijo živali lahko privede do družinske blaginje. Na horoskop se zanašamo tudi, ko vstopamo v romantično zvezo. Jaz sem prašič; morala bi imeti odlično romanco s tigri, kozami in zajci. Kitajci verjamejo, da so nekatere živali naravne sovražnice. Kot prašič moram biti previdna s kačo. Dvignite roke, če ste kača. Pozneje se bova pogovorila.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Verjamemo, da so nekatere živali srečnejše od drugih, na primer zmaj. Za razliko od zahodnjaške tradicije je kitajski zmaj simbol oblasti, moči in bogastva. Vsi si želijo imeti dojenčka zmaja. Jack Majevi starši so najverjetneje bili ponosni. In niso edini. Leta 2012, v zmajevem letu, se je stopnja rodnosti na Kitajskem, v Hong Kongu in Tajvanu povečala za pet odstotkov. To pomeni še en milijon več dojenčkov. S tradicionalno naklonjenostjo do fantkov je bilo razmerje med fantki in punčkami enako 120 proti 100. Ko bodo zmajevi fantki odrasli, se bodo soočili z večjo tekmovalnostjo v ljubezni in na trgu dela.
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.
Po sporočilu za javnost, ki sta ga izdala BBC in kitajska vlada, je število carskih rezov doseglo vrh januarja 2015. Zakaj? To je bil zadnji mesec leta konja. Pa ne zato, ker imajo Kitajci tako radi konje, ampak se skušajo izogniti nesrečnim kozjim dojenčkom.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad. Those are Goat babies. They don't look like losers to me.
Če si koza, se, prosim, ne počuti slabo. To so kozji dojenčki. Osebno se mi ne zdijo ravno neke zgube.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Tiger je druga nezaželena žival zaradi njegovega muhastega značaja. V mnogih kitajskih regijah se je v tistih letih stopnja rodnosti izrazito zmanjšala. Morda pa bi bilo dobro razmisliti o horoskopu z druge plati. Tigrovi in kozji otroci bodo imeli veliko manj konkurence. Morda so oni srečneži. Šla sem skozi Forbesov seznam 300 najbolj bogatih oseb na svetu in je zanimivo videti, da sta najbolj nezaželeni živali, koza in tiger, na vrhu lestvice, celo višje od zmaja. Zato bi morda morali razmisliti, da je veliko boljše imeti manj konkurence.
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.
Še zadnja, a zanimiva točka: veliko Kitajcev sprejema svoje investicijske odločitve na osnovi horoskopskega indeksa. Čeprav sta bili verovanje in tradicija horoskopskih znamenj razširjeni skozi tisoče let, se je trend njihove uporabe pri sprejemanju glavnih odločitev pojavil šele v zadnjih desetletjih. Naši predniki so bili zelo zaposleni s preživetjem revščine, suše, lakote, izgredov, bolezni in državljanske vojne. In končno imajo Kitajci čas, bogastvo in tehnologijo za ustvarjanje idealnega življenja, ki so si ga vedno želeli. Skupna odločitev, ki jo sprejme 1,3 milijarde ljudi, povzroča nihanje v ekonomiji in povpraševanju po vsem, od zdravstva do izobrazbe, nepremičnin in potrošnih dobrin. Ker ima Kitajska pomembno vlogo v globalni ekonomiji in geopolitiki, odločitve osnovane na horoskopu in drugih kitajskih tradicijah močno vplivajo na cel svet.
Are there any Monkeys here? 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.
So tu prisotne kake opice? 2016 je opičje leto. Opice so inteligentne, radovedne, kreativne in nagajive.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplavz)