Have you been ever asked by your Chinese friend, "What is your zodiac sign?" Don't think they are making small talk. If you say "I am a monkey." They immediately know you are either 24,36,48 or 60 years old. Asking a zodiac sigh is a polite way of asking your age.

By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated. Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune, your personality, career prospects and how you would do in a given year. If you share you and your partner's animal signs, they may paint a picture in their mind about your private life. Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it, you'd be wise to do something about that. So what is the exactly the Chinese zodiac?

Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac, the signs divided into 12 months. Chinese zodiac is different. It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals, starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig, and has no association with constellations. For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit. Can you see you zodiac sign there?

Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework based on yin and yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals. Over the thousands of years, this popular culture has affected people's major decisions, such an naming, marriage,giving birth and attitude towards each other. And some of the implications are quite amazing.The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others. So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies, because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families. We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations.Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.

We believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon. Unlike the western trandition, the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth. It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby. Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud. and they are not the only ones.