View source for Earthly Branches

{{Short description|System of twelve ordinals native to China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = File:Chinese Zodiac carvings on ceiling of Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka.jpg
| picsize = 300px
| piccap = A carving of the [[Chinese zodiac]] on the ceiling of the gate to [[Kushida Shrine]] in [[Fukuoka]], Japan
| c = 地支
| p = dìzhī
| poj = {{ubl|tē-chi|tōe-chi}}
| j = dei6 zi1
| y = deih ji
| hiragana = ちし
| romaji = chishi
| kanji = 地支
| hangul = 지지
| rr = jiji
| hanja = 地支
| qn = Địa Chi
| chuhan = 地支
| ot = 𐰃𐰏𐰆𐰜 𐰲𐰃𐰠𐰃𐰤
| ot-Latn = İNUG KİLİNG
}}

The '''Earthly Branches''' (also called the '''Terrestrial Branches''' or the '''12-cycle'''{{sfnp|Smith|2015}}) are a system of twelve ordered symbols used throughout [[East Asia]]. They are indigenous to [[China]], and are themselves [[Chinese characters]], corresponding to words with no concrete meaning other than the associated branch's [[ordinal numeral|ordinal]] position in the list. 

Cultural applications of the Branches include a dating system known as the [[sexagenary cycle]], and their use in [[Chinese astrology]]. They are associated with the ten [[Heavenly Stems]] in [[Chinese calendar]]s, and in [[Taoism|Taoist]] practice.

== Overview ==
The twelve Earthly Branches are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Heavenly Stem
![[Pinyin]]
|-
!1
|子
|zǐ
|-
!2
|丑
|chǒu
|-
!3
|寅
|yín
|-
!4
|卯
|mǎo
|-
!5
|辰
|chén
|-
!6
|巳
|sì
|-
!7
|午
|wǔ
|-
!8
|未
|wèi
|-
!9
|申
|shēn
|-
!10
|酉
|yǒu
|-
!11
|戌
|xū
|-
!12
|亥
|hài
|}
The branches each have specific names in the languages of the [[Sinosphere]]—which include [[Chinese languages|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Old Turkic|Turkic]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], and [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]. Branches are commonly used when counting in a manner similar to how [[letter (alphabet)|letter]]s are used according to their [[alphabetical order]]ing. In addition to the calendar months, each branch has been associated with several distinct cultural categories, including animals and the hours of the day, with some regional variation.

The Earthly Branches are used with the Heavenly Stems in [[Chinese calendar]]s, and in [[Taoist]] practice. Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the second [[new moon]] after the [[Dongzhi (solar term)|winter solstice]].

== History ==
The earliest attested use of the Earthly Branches and Heavenly Stems is in recording cycles of days.{{sfnp|Smith|2015}} The ten Heavenly Stems provided names for the days of the week during the [[Shang dynasty]] ({{circa|1600|1050&nbsp;BC}}). The Branches are at least as old as the Stems, with archaeological evidence suggesting they may actually be older.

There are several theories about the origin of the Earthly Branches prior to the advent of the historical record. One theory is that the Earthly Branches were adapted from observations of the planet [[Jupiter]] ({{zhi|l=Year Star|c=歲星|p=Suìxīng}}), whose [[orbital period]] is roughly twelve Earth years long. Jonathan Smith has proposed that the first meanings of the earthly branches, predating the Shang, were [[phases of the moon]], with the Heavenly Stems at that point referring to divisions of the ecliptic. After being adopted as a calendar these would have lost their clear lunar reference, permitting their re-purposing for Jupiter stations.{{sfnp|Smith|2011|pp=222}}

In the context of [[Chinese cosmology]] becoming increasingly sophisticated during the [[Warring States period]] ({{circa|475}}{{snd}}221&nbsp;BC), the 12-, 10-, and 60-cycles began to be applied to units of time other than days.{{sfnp|Smith|2015}}

== Directions ==
[[Image:China 24 cardinal directions.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The 24 cardinal directions assigned to Earthly Branches and Heavenly Stems, with south (red) placed at the top according to the traditional convention]]
Though Chinese has words for the four [[cardinal direction]]s, Chinese sailors and [[astronomer]]s preferred using the 12 directions of the Earthly Branches, analogous to the use of ''o'clock'' for directions by English-speaking pilots. Since twelve points were not enough for sailing, 12 midpoints were added. Instead of combining two adjacent direction names, they assigned new names: for the four diagonal directions, appropriate trigram names of ''[[I Ching]]'' were used. For the rest, Heavenly Stems 1–4 and 7–10 were used. According to the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five elements]] theory, east is assigned to wood, and the Stems of wood are {{zhc|c=甲|p=jiǎ}} and {{zhc|c=乙|p=yǐ}}. Thus, they were assigned clockwise to the two adjacent points of the east.

Mariners like [[Zheng He]] ({{floruit}}&nbsp;1405–1433) used 48-point compasses.  An additional midpoint was called by a combination of its two closest basic directions, such as {{zhi|丙午}} ({{tlit|zh|bǐngwǔ}}; 172.5°), the midpoint between {{zhi|丙}} ({{tlit|zh|bǐng}}; 165°) and {{zhi|午}} ({{tlit|zh|wǔ}}; 180°).

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Pankenier |first=David W. |title=Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar |pages=19–50 |year=2011 |editor-last=Li |editor-first=Feng |editor-last2=Branner |editor-first2=David Prager |chapter=Getting "Right" with Heaven and the Origins of Writing in China |place=Seattle |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-80450-7 |jstor=j.ctvcwng4z.7 |editor-link=Li Feng (sinologist)}}
* {{Citation |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |title=The Ganzhi as Phonograms and their Application to the Calendar |journal=Early China |volume=16 |pages=39–80 |year=1991 |doi=10.1017/S0362502800003837 |author-link=Edwin G. Pulleyblank}}
* {{Citation |last=Smith |first=Adam |title=Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics Online |year=2015 |editor-last=Sybesma |editor-first=Rint |chapter=Cyclical Signs |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/2210-7363-ecll-all |issn=2210-7363}}
* {{Citation |last=Smith |first=Jonathan M. |title=The ''Di Zhi'' 地支 as Lunar Phases and Their Coordination with the ''Tian Gan'' 天干 as Ecliptic Asterisms in a China before Anyang |journal=Early China |volume=33 |pages=199–228 |year=2011 |doi=10.1017/S0362502800000274 |s2cid=132200641}}
{{Refend}}

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