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.
各位有無試過畀你嘅中國朋友問 「你係乜嘢生肖?」 唔好以為佢哋同你傾閒計 如果你話:「我係屬𤠣。」 佢哋即刻知道 你嘅年齡一定係 24、36、48 或者 60 歲
(Laughter) Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
(笑聲) 問人屬乜嘢生肖係問人年齡嘅禮貌方法
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.
你講咗自己嘅生肖,人哋就會幫你算命 佢哋算下你會行好運定係唔好運 你嘅性格、事業前程 同你會喺某一年點樣過 如果你將自己同伴侶嘅生肖話畀人聽 佢哋嘅腦海就有咗你私生活嘅畫面 或者你唔信中國生肖運程 但佢影響全世界嘅四分一人口 你最好認識下佢比較好
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.
到底乜嘢係中國生肖呢? 多數西方人都會諗起希臘羅馬嘅星座 佢哋將星座分為十二個月 中國嘅十二生肖就唔同 佢係用動物命名,每十二年一個循環 排頭位嘅係老鼠,最尾嘅係豬 呢啲運程同星座無關 例如你係 1975 年出世,咁你屬兔 你見唔見嗰度有屬於你嘅生肖? 我哋嘅祖先根據陰陽五行同十二生肖 做咗一個好複雜嘅理論架構 經過幾千年以嚟 呢啲通俗文化已經影響人民做重大決定 譬如改名、結婚、生仔同人際關係 有時會出現啲出人意表嘅結果
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.
中國人相信有啲生肖比其他生肖匹配 於是夫婦會揀特定嘅年份生仔 因為佢哋相信大家生肖配合 群策群力可以為家族帶來繁榮 我哋搵伴侶都要睇下生肖運程 我屬豬,咁同老虎、羊仲有兔都會好夾 中國人相信有啲動物天生相沖 我屬豬, 所以要小心屬蛇嘅朋友 在座邊個係屬蛇嘅,唔該舉舉手 我哋遲啲傾吓
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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.
我哋相信有啲動物比其他動物好運 譬如龍 唔似西方嘅傳統習慣 中國嘅龍象徵權力同財富 所以每個人都夢想生個龍仔龍女 馬雲嘅父母一定為佢覺得驕傲 佢哋唔會係唯一孤獨嘅父母 2012 年係龍年 中國、香港同台灣嘅出生率 增加咗 5% 即係代表比平時多咗一百萬有多嘅嬰兒 由於中國傳統偏愛男嬰 男仔同女仔喺呢一年係 120 :100 當呢啲龍仔大個之後 喺戀愛同搵工都會競爭得好犀利
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.
根據 BBC 同中國政府嘅新聞發布 2015 年 1 月係剖腹生產手術嘅高峰 點解? 因為呢個係馬年嘅最後一個月 佢哋唔係特別鍾意馬年 而係唔想生個唔好運嘅羊仔
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad. Those are Goat babies. They don't look like losers to me.
如果你屬羊,唔好唔開心 呢啲人都係羊仔羊女 佢哋睇嚟都唔似輸家
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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.
老虎係另一隻唔受歡迎嘅動物 因為老虎性格變幻無常 好多中國地區喺呢啲生肖年份 都見到出生率急劇下降 或者我哋應該反過嚟睇 呢啲虎年同羊年嘅嬰兒面對少啲競爭 可能佢哋係幸運兒 我喺福布斯查過世界頭三百個有錢人 發現一件有趣嘅嘢 就係大家最唔想做嘅老虎 同羊呢兩個生肖 竟然名列榜首 甚至高過龍 咁樣我哋或者要諗下 面對少啲競爭可能仲好
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.
最後一點但係喺最有趣嘅一點 好多中國人根據生肖運程 嚟做投資決定 雖然人民信賴生肖嘅傳統 已經超過幾千年 但係人民利用生肖做重大嘅決定 直到呢幾十年,呢種熱潮先真正出現 以前我哋嘅祖先為咗生計奔波 要抵受貧窮飢荒 乾旱、疾病同內戰暴亂 最後中國人多咗時間,財富同科技 去創造自己一直希望嘅理想生活 十三億人集體做嘅決定 已經令到經濟波動,佢哋每樣嘢都需要 由醫療服務,教育到房屋同消費品 中國喺世界經濟同地緣政治都好重要 佢哋根據生肖同其他中國傳統做決定 最後會影響到全世界每一個人
Are there any Monkeys here? 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.
呢度有無猴年出世嘅人 2016 係猴年 猴子生性聰明、好奇、多計同頑皮
Thank you.
多謝
(Applause)
(掌聲)