WEBVTT

00:00:01.019 --> 00:00:03.713
Have you ever been asked
by your Chinese friend,

00:00:03.713 --> 00:00:05.895
"What is your Zodiac sign?"

00:00:05.895 --> 00:00:08.682
Don't think they are making small talk.

00:00:08.682 --> 00:00:10.632
If you say, "I'm a monkey,"

00:00:10.632 --> 00:00:16.391
they immediately know
you either 24, 36, 48, or 60 years old.

00:00:16.391 --> 00:00:20.570
Asking a Zodiac sign is a polite way
of asking your age.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:20.570 --> 00:00:24.750
By revealing your Zodiac sign,
you are also being evaluated.

00:00:24.750 --> 00:00:28.813
Judgments are being made
about your fortune or misfortune,

00:00:28.813 --> 00:00:31.159
your personality, career prospects,

00:00:31.159 --> 00:00:33.457
and how you will do in a given year.

00:00:33.457 --> 00:00:36.128
If you share you and your
partner's animal signs,

00:00:36.128 --> 00:00:40.725
they will paint a picture in their mind
about your private life.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:40.725 --> 00:00:43.535
Maybe you don't believe
in the Chinese Zodiac.

00:00:43.535 --> 00:00:47.389
As a quarter of the world's population
is influenced by it,

00:00:47.389 --> 00:00:50.478
you'd be wise to do something about that.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:50.478 --> 00:00:53.961
So what is exactly Chinese Zodiac?

00:00:53.961 --> 00:00:57.211
Most Westerners think
of Greco-Roman Zodiac,

00:00:57.211 --> 00:01:00.021
the sign divided into 12 months.

00:01:00.021 --> 00:01:01.995
Chinese Zodiac is different.

00:01:01.995 --> 00:01:03.945
It's a 12-year cycle

00:01:03.945 --> 00:01:06.523
labeled with animals,
starting with the rat

00:01:06.523 --> 00:01:07.892
and ending with the pig,

00:01:07.892 --> 00:01:11.584
and has no association
with constellations.

00:01:11.584 --> 00:01:17.273
For example, if you were born
in 1975, you are a rabbit.

00:01:17.273 --> 00:01:19.549
Can you see your Zodiac sign there?

00:01:19.549 --> 00:01:24.123
Our Chinese ancestors
constructed a very complicated

00:01:24.123 --> 00:01:27.003
theoretical framework
based on inner yang,

00:01:27.003 --> 00:01:30.555
the five elements,
and the 12 Zodiac animals.

00:01:30.555 --> 00:01:34.131
Over the thousands of years,
this popular culture

00:01:34.131 --> 00:01:36.801
has affected people's major decisions,

00:01:36.801 --> 00:01:40.586
such as naming, marriage, giving birth,

00:01:40.586 --> 00:01:42.560
and attitude towards each other,

00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.136
and some of the implications
are quite amazing.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:46.136 --> 00:01:48.667
Chinese believe certain animals

00:01:48.667 --> 00:01:51.267
get on more well than the others.

00:01:51.267 --> 00:01:56.028
So parents, they choose specific years
to give birth to babies,

00:01:56.028 --> 00:02:00.973
because they believe the team effort
by the right combination of animals

00:02:00.973 --> 00:02:03.667
can give prosperity to the families.

00:02:03.667 --> 00:02:08.845
We even refer to the Zodiac
when entering into romantic relations.

00:02:08.845 --> 00:02:14.650
I'm a pig. I should have perfect romance
with tigers, goats, and rabbits.

00:02:14.650 --> 00:02:19.758
Chinese people believe some animals
are natural enemies.

00:02:19.758 --> 00:02:23.102
As a pig, I need to be careful
with a snake.

00:02:23.102 --> 00:02:25.726
Raise your hands if you are a snake.

00:02:25.726 --> 00:02:27.537
Let's have a chat later.

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:27.537 --> 00:02:28.837
(Laughter)

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:28.837 --> 00:02:32.103
We believe some animals
are luckier than the others,

00:02:32.103 --> 00:02:33.821
such as the dragon.

00:02:33.821 --> 00:02:35.702
Unlike the Western tradition,

00:02:35.702 --> 00:02:38.651
Chinese dragon is a symbol for power,

00:02:38.651 --> 00:02:40.439
strength, and wealth.

00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.597
It's everyone's dream
to have a dragon baby.

00:02:43.597 --> 00:02:46.499
Jack Ma's parents
must have been very proud,

00:02:46.499 --> 00:02:48.357
and they are not the only one.

00:02:48.357 --> 00:02:51.213
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,

00:02:51.213 --> 00:02:53.535
the birth rate in China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan

00:02:53.535 --> 00:02:55.532
increased by 5 percent.

00:02:55.532 --> 00:03:00.152
That means another
one million more babies.

00:03:00.152 --> 00:03:03.519
With a traditional preference
to baby boys,

00:03:03.519 --> 00:03:08.535
the boy-girl ratio of that year
was 120 to 100.

00:03:08.535 --> 00:03:11.832
When those dragon boys grow up,
they will face much more severe

00:03:11.832 --> 00:03:15.501
competition in love and job markets.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:15.501 --> 00:03:19.518
According to the BBC and the Chinese
government's press release,

00:03:19.518 --> 00:03:24.835
January 2015 saw a peak
of Cesarean sections.

00:03:24.835 --> 00:03:26.344
Why?

00:03:26.344 --> 00:03:30.431
That was the last month
for the Year of the Horse.

00:03:30.431 --> 00:03:32.916
It's not because they like
horses so much,

00:03:32.916 --> 00:03:37.188
it's because they try to avoid
having unlucky goat babies.

00:03:37.188 --> 00:03:40.323
If you are a goat,
please don't feel bad.

00:03:40.323 --> 00:03:42.250
Those a goat babies.

00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:44.479
They don't like losers to me.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:45.524
(Laughter)

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:45.524 --> 00:03:47.962
Tiger is another undesirable animal

00:03:47.962 --> 00:03:50.401
due to its volatile temperament.

00:03:50.401 --> 00:03:54.441
Many Chinese regions
saw a sharp decline of birthrate

00:03:54.441 --> 00:03:56.345
during those years.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:56.345 --> 00:03:59.967
Perhaps, on should consider
Zodiac in reverse,

00:03:59.967 --> 00:04:04.147
as those tiger and goat babies
will face much less competition.

00:04:04.147 --> 00:04:06.028
Maybe they are the lucky ones.

00:04:06.028 --> 00:04:12.343
I went through the Forbes
top 300 richest people in the world,

00:04:12.343 --> 00:04:14.596
and it's interesting to see

00:04:14.596 --> 00:04:18.311
the most undesirable two animals,
the goat and tiger,

00:04:18.311 --> 00:04:20.679
are at the top of the chart,

00:04:20.679 --> 00:04:22.606
even higher than the dragon.

00:04:22.606 --> 00:04:26.043
So maybe we should consider,
maybe it's much better

00:04:26.043 --> 00:04:28.504
to have much less competition.

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:28.504 --> 00:04:30.548
One last but interesting point:

00:04:30.548 --> 00:04:33.404
many Chinese people make
their investment decisions

00:04:33.404 --> 00:04:36.492
based on the Zodiac sign index.

00:04:36.492 --> 00:04:40.300
Although the belief and the tradition
of the Zodiac sign

00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:42.506
has been over thousands of years,

00:04:42.506 --> 00:04:44.805
the trend of using it

00:04:44.805 --> 00:04:47.707
in making major decisions
did not really happen

00:04:47.707 --> 00:04:50.029
until the past few decades.

00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:53.907
Our ancestors were very busy
to survive from poverty,

00:04:53.907 --> 00:04:56.786
drought, famine, riot, disease,

00:04:56.786 --> 00:04:58.272
and civil war.

00:04:58.272 --> 00:05:02.893
And finally, Chinese people
have the time, wealth,

00:05:02.893 --> 00:05:07.467
and technology to create
and ideal life they've always wanted.

00:05:07.467 --> 00:05:11.275
The collective decision
made by 1.3 billion people

00:05:11.275 --> 00:05:15.850
has caused the fluctuation in economics
and demand on everything,

00:05:15.850 --> 00:05:20.958
from health care and education
to property and consumer goods.

00:05:20.958 --> 00:05:26.090
As China plays such an important role
in the global economy and geopolitics,

00:05:26.090 --> 00:05:30.223
the decision made based on Zodiac
and other Chinese traditions

00:05:30.223 --> 00:05:34.983
end up impacting everyone
around the world.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:34.983 --> 00:05:37.839
Is there any monkeys here?

00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.276
2016 is the Year of the Monkey.

00:05:41.276 --> 00:05:43.180
Monkeys are clever,

00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:47.197
curious, creative, and mischievous.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:47.197 --> 00:05:48.938
Thank you.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:48.938 --> 00:05:51.237
(Applause)