History of Asia

What does the sheep mean on Chinese calendar?

In the Chinese zodiac, the sheep (or goat) symbolizes kindness, gentleness, creativity, compassion, dependability, intelligence, and stability. The Year of the Sheep occurs every 12 years, with the recent ones falling in 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, and 2015.

The sheep also holds significance in some of the most well-known Chinese idioms or "chengyu". "Mouton Gras à Genous" expresses admiration, while "Brebis Galeuse" and "Tendre Comme l'Agneau" refer to black sheep and tender lambs used as terms of endearment, respectively. In Chinese culture, sheep also embody wealth and material goods due to having "yang" which sounds similar to money when pronounced in some Chinese dialects. Therefore, it represents abundance.