Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend, "What is your zodiac sign?"
你有没有被中国朋友问过“你的生肖是什么？”
Don't think they are making small talk.
不要以为他们只是寒暄。
If you say, "I'm a Monkey," they immediately know you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
如果你说：“我属猴”，他们马上就可以知道你是24、36、48或者60岁。
Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
问生肖是问年龄的一种礼貌的方式。
By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated.
知道了你的生肖，还可以对你进行评估。
Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune, your personality, career prospects and how you will do in a given year.
可以预测你幸运与否，你的性格，职业前景，接下来一年的运势走向。
If you share you and your partner's animal signs, they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life.
如果你分享了你和爱人的生肖，甚至可以想象你的私人生活。
Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.
也许你不相信中国的生肖。
As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it, you'd be wise to do something about that.
但是鉴于全球四分之一的人受它的影响，你最好还是知道一些相关的知识。
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?
到底什么是中国的生肖呢？
Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac, the signs divided into 12 months. The Chinese zodiac is different.
大多数西方人听说过希腊罗马12星座，这些星座把一年分成12个月。中国生肖不同。
It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals, starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig, and has no association with constellations.
中国生肖是以动物命名的，一个12年的循环，以鼠开始，以猪结尾。它们与星座没有任何联系。
For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit.
比如你出生在1975年，你就属兔。
Can you see your zodiac sign there?
大家可以看到自己的生肖么？
Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework based on yin and yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals.
中国的老祖先以阴阳，五行和12生肖为基础，建立了一套非常复杂的理论框架。
Over thousands of years, this popular culture has affected people's major decisions,
千百年来，这种流行文化影响着人们的大部分决定，
such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other.
比如起名，婚介，生产，甚至对彼此的态度。
And some of the implications are quite amazing.
其中一些涵义令人称奇。
The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others.
中国人相信某些生肖与其它生肖比较好相处。
So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies,
所以夫妇选择特定的年份生孩子，
because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families.
因为他们相信特定的生肖组合会让家族更加繁荣，
We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations.
甚至谈恋爱的时候也会参考生肖。
I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.
我属猪，我最好的恋爱对象是属虎，羊和兔的人。
Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.
中国人相信有些生肖天生相克。
As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake.
对于属猪的人来说，我要小心属蛇的人。
Raise your hand if you are a Snake. Let's have a chat later.
各位属蛇的人请举手。我一会有话跟你们说。

We believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon.
我们相信有些生肖更加好运，比如生肖龙。
Unlike the Western tradition, the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth.
不同于西方传统，中国龙是权力，力量和财富的象征。
It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby. Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.
每个人都希望有一个龙宝宝。马云的父母就非常自豪。
And they are not the only ones.
这种现象非常普遍。
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon, the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased by five percent.
2012年是龙年，中国香港和台湾的婴儿出生率提高了5%。
That means another one million more babies.
比正常多出了一百万新生儿。
With a traditional preference to baby boys, the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100.
加之生男孩的倾向明显，那年的男女比例为120:100。
When those Dragon boys grow up, they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.
当属龙的男孩长大，他们会面临更加激烈的婚姻和职场挑战。
According to the BBC and the Chinese government's press release, January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections. Why?
根据BBC和中国政府的官方消息，2015年1月迎来了剖腹产的高潮。为什么？
That was the last month for the Year of the Horse.
因为这是马年的最后一个月。
It's not because they like horses so much, it's because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.
并不是大家喜欢生肖马，而是大家尽量避免不祥的属羊的孩子。
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad. Those are Goat babies. They don't look like losers to me.
如果你属羊，也不要伤心，这些都是属羊的人。我可不觉得他们是失败者。
Tiger is another undesirable animal, due to its volatile temperament.
还有一个不受欢迎的生肖是虎，也许和它的喜怒无常有关。
Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate during those years.
在不受欢迎生肖的年份，中国很多地区的婴儿出生率都有明显下降。
Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse, as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition.
对于生肖，也许我们应该逆向思维，因为虎宝宝和羊宝宝将会面临最少的竞争。
Maybe they are the lucky ones. I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world,
也许他们才是最幸运的。我调查了世界福布斯财富榜前300位的生肖，
and it's interesting to see the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger,
有趣的是，属最不受欢迎的羊和虎的人数
are at the top of the chart, even higher than the Dragon.
反而排在前两位，甚至高于龙。
So maybe we should consider, maybe it's much better to have less competition.
也许我们应该考虑减轻竞争压力才是更好的选择。
One last but interesting point: many Chinese people make their investment decisions based on the zodiac sign index.
最后一个有趣的事情是：很多中国人依据生肖图作为索引，进行投资。
Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign has been over thousands of years,
尽管生肖的信仰和传统由来已久，
the trend of using it in making major decisions did not really happen until the past few decades.
使用生肖作重大决定的风潮近几十年才开始出现。
Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought, famine, riot, disease and civil war.
我们的祖先忙于战胜贫穷，干旱，饥荒，动乱，疾病甚至国内战争。
And finally, Chinese people have the time, wealth and technology to create an ideal life they've always wanted.
终于，中国人有时间，有财富和科技，可以过上他们梦想中的生活。
The collective decision made by 1.3 billion people has caused the fluctuation in economics and demand on everything,
13亿人做出的集体决定，足以在经济上掀起巨大的波澜，足以改变很多事情的走向，
from health care and education to property and consumer goods.
无论是医疗还是教育领域，无论是财产还是消费品方面。
As China plays such an important role in the global economy and geopolitics,
随着中国在全球经济和地域政治中扮演越来越重要的角色，
the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions end up impacting everyone around the world.
基于生肖和其他中国传统而作出的决定，将会最终影响世界上的每一个人。
Are there any Monkeys here? 2016 is the Year of the Monkey.
在座的有属猴的吗？2016年是猴年。
Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous. Thank you.
猴意味着聪明，好奇，创造力和顽皮。谢谢。