On The Subject Of The Chinese Zodiac

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

Fire Dragon. Take it or leave it.

The module has a display which shows a year and two Chinese characters below it. Both the year and the characters may be cycled between five options by pressing them.

Select a year and a Chinese zodiac sign such that the year’s zodiac sign and the zodiac sign match. Press the “生肖” button to submit an answer.

A Chinese zodiac sign is composed of two parts: an animal and an element, which vary based on the Chinese lunar New Year. For simplicity’s sake, this module only considers the part of the year after the Chinese lunar New Year.

The animal cycles between the following animals in order and changes each year: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. The element cycles between the following Wuxia elements and changes every two years: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water.

No year on the module is earlier than 1804 or later than 2104, which are Wood Rat years. 1805 is a Wood Ox year.

Use the table below to interpret the Chinese characters found on the module.

鼠 Rat	牛 Ox	虎 Tiger	兔 Rabbit	龙 Dragon	蛇 Snake
马 Horse	羊 Sheep	猴 Monkey	鸡 Rooster	狗 Dog	猪 Pig
木 Wood	火 Fire	土 Earth	金 Metal	水 Water