Calligraphic representations of Chinese cyclical dates as found on late Qing dynasty porcelain
This is an on-going research project which list Chinese cyclical dates as they appear in inscriptions on Chinese porcelain from the late Qing dynasty. Chinese dates are cyclical and recur every 60th year. Without a reference to the reigning Emperor, it is possible to by mistake date a piece 60 years back or forward in time.
This table is not primarily for finding out the Gregorian calendar equivalent of Chinese cyclical dates but to show what they actually look like when found in inscriptions. However, to read the table first find the "heavenly stem" character in the left column, like jia (1), then search for the appropriate earthly branch character in the horizontal row, like chen (5). In the cross section you will find the cyclical year jia chen which occurs every sixtieth year. For my purpose I might have indicated some of the years according to the Gregorian calendar that fits with this cyclical year, like 1844, 1904, 1964, etc.
|
The ten heavenly stems and the twelwe earthly branches |
| |
zi (1) |
chou (2) |
yin (3) |
mao (4) |
chen (5) |
si (6) |
wu (7) |
wei (8) |
shen (9) |
you (10) |
xu (11) |
hai (12) |
jia (1) |
  
jia zi
(1)
1864, 1924 |
|
(51)
1854, 1914 |
|
jia chen
(41)
1844, 1904 |
|
  
jia wu
(31)
1894, 1954 |
|
jia shen
(21)
1884, 1944 |
|
(11)
1874, 1934 |
|
yi (2) |
|
 
yi chou
(2)
1865, 1925 |
|
yi mao(52)
1855, 1915, 1975 |
|
   
yi si
(42)
1845, 1905 |
|
yi wei
(32)
1835, 1895 |
|
(22)
1825, 1885, 1945 |
|
(12)
1815, 1875, 1935 |
bing (3) |
(13)
1816, 1876, 1936 |
|
(3)
1866, 1926 |
|
 
bing cheng
(53)
1856, 1916 |
|
 
bing wu
(43)
1846, 1906 |
|
(33)
1836, 1896 |
|
(23)
1826, 1886, 1946 |
|
ding (4) |
|
(14)
1817, 1877, 1937 |
|
(4)
1867, 1927 |
|
 
ding si
(54)
1857, 1917 |
|
  
ding wei
(44)
1847, 1907 |
|
(34)
1837, 1897 |
|
ding hai
(24)
1827, 1887 |
wu (5) |
wu zi
(25)
1828, 1888, 1948 |
|
(15)
1818, 1878, 1938 |
|
(5)
1868, 1928 |
|
 
wu wu
(55)
1858, 1918 |
|
wu shen
(45)
1848, 1908 |
|
  wu xu
(35)
1838, 1898, 1958 |
|
ji (6) |
|
ji chou
(26)
1829, 1889, 1949 |
|
(16)
1819, 1879, 1939 |
|
ji si
(6)
1869, 1929 |
|
  
ji wei
(56)
1859, 1919 |
|
 
ji you
(46)
1849, 1909 |
|
ji hai
(36)
1839, 1899 |
geng (7) |
(37)
1840, 1900, 1960 |
|
 
geng yin
(27)
1830, 1890, 1950 |
|
(17)
1820, 1880, 1940 |
|
(7)
1870, 1930 |
|
 
geng shen
(57)
1860, 1920 |
|
(47)
1850, 1910 |
|
xin (8) |
|
 
xin chou
(38)
1841, 1901, 1961 |
|
xin mao
(28)
1831, 1891, 1951 |
|
(18)
1821, 1881, 1941 |
|
(8)
1871, 1931 |
|
(58)
1861, 1921, 1981 |
|
(48)
1851, 1911, 1971 |
ren (9) |
 
ren zi
(49)
1852, 1912 |
|
    
ren yin
(39)
1842, 1902 |
|
   
ren chen
(29)
1832, 1892 |
|
(19)
1822, 1882, 1942 |
|
(9)
1872, 1932 |
|
  
ren xu
(59)
1862, 1922 |
|
gui (10) |
|
 
gui chou
(50)
1853, 1913 |
|
  
gui mao
(40)
1843, 1903, 1963 |
|
  
gui si(30)
1833, 1893 |
|
(20)
1823, 1883, 1943 |
|
(10)
1873, 1933 |
|
gui hai (60)
1863, 1923 |
Pictures and pieces making up this section have been donated by Simon Ng, City University of Hong Kong; N K Koh, Singapore; Hans Mueller, USA; Bill Thurnbull, Canada; Hans Slager, The Nederlands and Tony Jalin Zhang, Beijing. Readers are encouraged to contribut any insights or further information you might have. Any dated Chinese Porcelain you might be willing to part with, can be offered to the gotheborg.com reference collection by email to Jan-Erik Nilsson
Web page © Jan-Erik Nilsson, 2004.
