Chinese New Year: Year of the Tiger
虎年
In the past, the Chinese calendar was based on a cycle of 60 years, calculated by combining the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches （十天干，十二地支. Thus, from Chinese New Year’s Day, which in 2010 falls on Sunday 14 February, the year is designated jiayin (甲寅) and is also referred to as the Year of the Tiger (hunian 虎年).
According to one story, as the Buddha lay dying he was visited by 12 animals. In order, these were the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, cockerel, dog and pig. As they paid their respects, the Buddha linked each of them to a year. This 12-year cycle fits neatly into the 60-year cycle and also that connected with the sequence of protective martial spirits who are associated with the stars. One part of each of the deities’ names is derived from the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The first illustration below, showing Ming Wenzhang （明文章）, the Jiayin Deity in the form of a tiger, is a woodcut from the popular Ming period encyclopaedia Sancai tuhui (三才图绘1609, CHIN.F, 639-44).
The second tiger below, and the detail following, are taken from
Qinding Gujin tushu jicheng (钦定古今图书集成’Synthesis
of illustrations and books past and present’. 1728, 15023.b.1,
XIX, 61), an encyclopaedia in approximately 5000 traditional thread-bound
volumes (xianzhuang 线装) commissioned by the
Kangxi emperor. The text was reproduced using 230-250,000 pieces
of copper moveable type, probably cut rather than cast, which were
subsequently melted down for coinage. Accompanying illustrations
were finely printed from woodblocks, notable for their fidelity
to the brushwork of the original paintings which is evident in the
detail of the third picture. Carried out over several years, this
undertaking represents one of the greatest feats ever carried out
in the history of printing and publishing worldwide.
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