TED2016
ShaoLan: The Chinese zodiac, explained
薜曉嵐: 中國生肖你又知幾多？
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身兼科技員同企業家嘅薜曉蘭話宜家世界上有四分一人口留意中國生肖，就算你唔信佢，你最好都要知道佢點運作。喺呢次咁有趣同資訊豐富嘅演講，䁱嵐畀大家一啲貼士去了解呢樣古代習俗，佢仲解釋佢點樣影響你嘅個性、職業同婚姻前景，仲有你喺某一年會點樣過。咁你嘅生肖運程又話你點呀？
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West. Full bio
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Have you ever been asked
by your Chinese friend,
by your Chinese friend,
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各位有無試過畀你嘅中國朋友問
00:15
"What is your zodiac sign?"
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「你係乜嘢生肖？」
00:17
Don't think they are making small talk.
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唔好以為佢哋同你傾閒計
00:20
If you say, "I'm a Monkey,"
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如果你話：「我係屬
00:22
they immediately know
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佢哋即刻知道
00:23
you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
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你嘅年齡一定係 24、36、48 或者 60 歲
00:27
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
00:28
Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way
of asking your age.
of asking your age.
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問人屬乜嘢生肖係問人年齡嘅禮貌方法
00:32
By revealing your zodiac sign,
you are also being evaluated.
you are also being evaluated.
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你講咗自己嘅生肖，人哋就會幫你算命
00:36
Judgments are being made
about your fortune or misfortune,
about your fortune or misfortune,
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佢哋算下你會行好運定係唔好運
00:40
your personality, career prospects
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你嘅性格、事業前程
00:42
and how you will do in a given year.
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同你會喺某一年點樣過
00:45
If you share you and your
partner's animal signs,
partner's animal signs,
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如果你將自己同伴侶嘅生肖話畀人聽
00:48
they will paint a picture in their mind
about your private life.
about your private life.
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佢哋嘅腦海就有咗你私生活嘅畫面
00:52
Maybe you don't believe
in the Chinese zodiac.
in the Chinese zodiac.
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或者你唔信中國生肖運程
00:55
As a quarter of the world population
is influenced by it,
is influenced by it,
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但佢影響全世界嘅四分一人口
00:59
you'd be wise to do something about that.
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你最好認識下佢比較好
01:02
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?
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到底乜嘢係中國生肖呢？
01:05
Most Westerners think
of Greco-Roman zodiac,
of Greco-Roman zodiac,
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多數西方人都會諗起希臘羅馬嘅星座
01:09
the signs divided into 12 months.
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佢哋將星座分為十二個月
01:11
The Chinese zodiac is different.
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中國嘅十二生肖就唔同
01:13
It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals,
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佢係用動物命名，每十二年一個循環
01:17
starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig,
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排頭位嘅係老鼠，最尾嘅係豬
01:19
and has no association
with constellations.
with constellations.
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呢啲運程同星座無關
01:23
For example, if you were born
in 1975, you are a Rabbit.
in 1975, you are a Rabbit.
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例如你係 1975 年出世，咁你屬兔
01:29
Can you see your zodiac sign there?
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你見唔見嗰度有屬於你嘅生肖？
01:32
Our Chinese ancestors constructed
a very complicated theoretical framework
a very complicated theoretical framework
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我哋嘅祖先根據陰陽五行同十二生肖
01:37
based on yin and yang, the five elements
and the 12 zodiac animals.
and the 12 zodiac animals.
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做咗一個好複雜嘅理論架構
01:42
Over thousands of years,
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經過幾千年以嚟
01:44
this popular culture has affected
people's major decisions,
people's major decisions,
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呢啲通俗文化已經影響人民做重大決定
01:48
such as naming, marriage, giving birth
and attitude towards each other.
and attitude towards each other.
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譬如改名、結婚、生仔同人際關係
01:54
And some of the implications
are quite amazing.
are quite amazing.
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有時會出現啲出人意表嘅結果
01:58
The Chinese believe certain animals
get on better than the others.
get on better than the others.
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中國人相信有啲生肖比其他生肖匹配
02:03
So parents choose specific years
to give birth to babies,
to give birth to babies,
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於是夫婦會揀特定嘅年份生仔
02:07
because they believe the team effort
by the right combination of animals
by the right combination of animals
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因為佢哋相信大家生肖配合
02:12
can give prosperity to families.
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群策群力可以為家族帶來繁榮
02:15
We even refer to the zodiac
when entering into romantic relations.
when entering into romantic relations.
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我哋搵伴侶都要睇下生肖運程
02:20
I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance
with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.
with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.
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我屬豬，咁同老虎、羊仲有兔都會好夾
02:27
Chinese people believe some animals
are natural enemies.
are natural enemies.
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中國人相信有啲動物天生相沖
02:31
As a Pig, I need
to be careful with a Snake.
to be careful with a Snake.
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我屬豬, 所以要小心屬蛇嘅朋友
02:35
Raise your hand if you are a Snake.
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在座邊個係屬蛇嘅，唔該舉舉手
02:37
Let's have a chat later.
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我哋遲啲傾吓
02:39
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
02:40
We believe some animals
are luckier than the others,
are luckier than the others,
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我哋相信有啲動物比其他動物好運
02:43
such as the Dragon.
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譬如龍
02:45
Unlike the Western tradition,
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唔似西方嘅傳統習慣
02:47
the Chinese Dragon is a symbol
for power, strength and wealth.
for power, strength and wealth.
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中國嘅龍象徵權力同財富
02:52
It's everyone's dream
to have a Dragon baby.
to have a Dragon baby.
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所以每個人都夢想生個龍仔龍女
02:55
Jack Ma's parents
must have been very proud.
must have been very proud.
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馬雲嘅父母一定為佢覺得驕傲
02:58
And they are not the only ones.
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佢哋唔會係唯一孤獨嘅父母
03:00
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,
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2012 年係龍年
03:03
the birthrate in China,
Hong Kong and Taiwan
Hong Kong and Taiwan
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中國、香港同台灣嘅出生率
03:05
increased by five percent.
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增加咗 5%
03:07
That means another
one million more babies.
one million more babies.
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即係代表比平時多咗一百萬有多嘅嬰兒
03:12
With a traditional
preference to baby boys,
preference to baby boys,
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由於中國傳統偏愛男嬰
03:15
the boy-girl ratio that year
was 120 to 100.
was 120 to 100.
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男仔同女仔喺呢一年係 120 :100
03:20
When those Dragon boys grow up,
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當呢啲龍仔大個之後
03:22
they will face much more severe
competition in love and job markets.
competition in love and job markets.
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喺戀愛同搵工都會競爭得好犀利
03:27
According to the BBC and the Chinese
government's press release,
government's press release,
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根據 BBC 同中國政府嘅新聞發布
03:31
January 2015 saw a peak
of Cesarean sections.
of Cesarean sections.
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2015 年 1 月係剖腹生產手術嘅高峰
03:36
Why?
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點解？
03:38
That was the last month
for the Year of the Horse.
for the Year of the Horse.
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因為呢個係馬年嘅最後一個月
03:42
It's not because they like horses so much,
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佢哋唔係特別鍾意馬年
03:44
it's because they try to avoid
having unlucky Goat babies.
having unlucky Goat babies.
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而係唔想生個唔好運嘅羊仔
03:48
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
03:49
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad.
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如果你屬羊，唔好唔開心
03:52
Those are Goat babies.
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呢啲人都係羊仔羊女
03:53
They don't look like losers to me.
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佢哋睇嚟都唔似輸家
03:56
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
03:57
Tiger is another undesirable animal,
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老虎係另一隻唔受歡迎嘅動物
04:00
due to its volatile temperament.
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因為老虎性格變幻無常
04:02
Many Chinese regions
saw a sharp decline of birthrate
saw a sharp decline of birthrate
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好多中國地區喺呢啲生肖年份
04:06
during those years.
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都見到出生率急劇下降
04:08
Perhaps one should consider
zodiac in reverse,
zodiac in reverse,
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或者我哋應該反過嚟睇
04:11
as those Tiger and Goat babies
will face much less competition.
will face much less competition.
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呢啲虎年同羊年嘅嬰兒面對少啲競爭
04:16
Maybe they are the lucky ones.
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可能佢哋係幸運兒
04:20
I went through the Forbes
top 300 richest people in the world,
top 300 richest people in the world,
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我喺福布斯查過世界頭三百個有錢人
04:24
and it's interesting to see
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發現一件有趣嘅嘢
04:26
the most undesirable two animals,
the Goat and Tiger,
the Goat and Tiger,
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就係大家最唔想做嘅老虎
同羊呢兩個生肖
同羊呢兩個生肖
04:30
are at the top of the chart,
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竟然名列榜首
04:32
even higher than the Dragon.
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甚至高過龍
04:34
So maybe we should consider,
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咁樣我哋或者要諗下
04:36
maybe it's much better
to have less competition.
to have less competition.
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面對少啲競爭可能仲好
04:40
One last but interesting point:
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最後一點但係喺最有趣嘅一點
04:42
many Chinese people make
their investment decisions
their investment decisions
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好多中國人根據生肖運程
04:45
based on the zodiac sign index.
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嚟做投資決定
04:48
Although the belief and tradition
of the zodiac sign
of the zodiac sign
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雖然人民信賴生肖嘅傳統
04:52
has been over thousands of years,
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已經超過幾千年
04:55
the trend of using it
in making major decisions
in making major decisions
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但係人民利用生肖做重大嘅決定
04:58
did not really happen
until the past few decades.
until the past few decades.
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直到呢幾十年，呢種熱潮先真正出現
05:01
Our ancestors were very busy
surviving poverty, drought,
surviving poverty, drought,
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以前我哋嘅祖先為咗生計奔波
05:06
famine, riot, disease and civil war.
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要抵受貧窮飢荒
乾旱、疾病同內戰暴亂
乾旱、疾病同內戰暴亂
05:10
And finally, Chinese people
have the time, wealth and technology
have the time, wealth and technology
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最後中國人多咗時間，財富同科技
05:15
to create an ideal life
they've always wanted.
they've always wanted.
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去創造自己一直希望嘅理想生活
05:19
The collective decision
made by 1.3 billion people
made by 1.3 billion people
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十三億人集體做嘅決定
05:23
has caused the fluctuation in economics
and demand on everything,
and demand on everything,
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已經令到經濟波動，佢哋每樣嘢都需要
05:27
from health care and education
to property and consumer goods.
to property and consumer goods.
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由醫療服務，教育到房屋同消費品
05:33
As China plays such an important role
in the global economy and geopolitics,
in the global economy and geopolitics,
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中國喺世界經濟同地緣政治都好重要
05:38
the decisions made based on the zodiac
and other Chinese traditions
and other Chinese traditions
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佢哋根據生肖同其他中國傳統做決定
05:42
end up impacting everyone
around the world.
around the world.
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最後會影響到全世界每一個人
05:47
Are there any Monkeys here?
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呢度有無猴年出世嘅人
05:50
2016 is the Year of the Monkey.
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2016 係猴年
05:53
Monkeys are clever, curious,
creative and mischievous.
creative and mischievous.
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猴子生性聰明、好奇、多計同頑皮
05:58
Thank you.
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多謝
06:00
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneurShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West.
Why you should listen
ShaoLan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, geek, writer, traveller and dreamer. She is the founder and creator of Chineasy, which she launched after her TED Talk in Long Beach, California in 2013.
In just over three years, she has built Chineasy into one of the most popular methods of learning Chinese across the Internet with several hundred thousand fellow learners. Her first book, Chineasy, The New Way to Read Chinese, was launched in March 2014 and has been translated into 18 languages. Her next book, Chineasy Everyday, was launched in March 2016.
ShaoLan is a tech entrepreneur with extensive business experience. At the age of 22, while studying for her MBA, she wrote four best-selling books on software in Taiwan, and her books were bundled by Microsoft. She co-founded pAsia, one of the major players on Internet in Asia in 1990’s. After a second masters degree at the University of Cambridge, she began Caravel Capital in 2005 to advise young tech companies.
Chineasy represents a return for ShaoLan to her artistic upbringing and in many ways a design project. This project is the culmination of her life’s journey through the East and West. Her aim is to help people to understand China, Chinese culture, its language and to bridge the gap between East and West. Her next step is to help Chinese children to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of their own language.
ShaoLan Hsueh | Speaker | TED.com