Pig (zodiac)

Lore & Background

In Chinese zodiac legend, the Pig was the last to arrive when the Jade Emperor called for a great meeting. Other sources say Buddha called the meeting when he was about to leave Earth, and the Pig arrived last. Another legend tells of an emperor who organized a race to determine the order of the animals; the pig did not arrive long after all others, and the emperor was about to call it a day when an oink and squeal were heard. The term 'lazy pig' comes from this incident: the pig had become hungry during the race, stopped for a feast, and then fell asleep, finally completing the race to be named the 12th and last animal. Other sources say the pig was too slow a swimmer due to his stout form, or conversely that he was so fast he went up the wrong side of the river first.

Reader's Guide

The Pig holds significance as the twelfth and final animal in the Chinese zodiac, completing the 12-year cycle. In Chinese astrology, the zodiacal animals, including the Pig, are used for cycles of years and hours, with the Pig governing the double-hour from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., a time traditionally associated with sleeping and enjoying life. The Pig is yin and its natural element is Water, linking it to emotions and intuitions. Five elemental types of Pig—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—recur every sexagenary cycle. The Pig's legacy extends beyond China: in Japanese and Tibetan zodiacs it is called the boar; in the Dai zodiac it is replaced by the elephant; in the Gurung zodiac by the deer; and in the Malay zodiac by the tortoise. Cultural notes indicate that some Chinese Muslims avoid saying 'Pig,' instead referring to the year of hai, because pigs are considered unclean in Islam. In Muslim-majority Malaysia, businesses avoid pig illustrations to avoid controversy. The 2019 Year of the Earth Pig saw 56 jurisdictions issue lunar new year stamps, as collected by the USC U.S.-China Institute.

Did You Know?

• The Pig is sometimes translated as the Boar in Japanese and Tibetan zodiacs.
• In the Dai zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the elephant; in the Gurung zodiac, by the deer; in the Malay zodiac, by the tortoise.
• The term 'lazy pig' originates from a legend where the pig stopped for a feast during a race and fell asleep.
• Some Chinese Muslims say they were born in the year of hai to avoid saying 'Pig' because pigs are haram in Islam.

Position in the Sexagenary Cycle

The Pig occupies the final slot in the twelve-animal sequence that structures the Chinese calendar and its associated system of timekeeping. Unlike the Western zodiac, which maps signs onto a band of sky roughly eight degrees either side of the ecliptic, the Chinese zodiacal animals have no connection to celestial latitude or the apparent paths of the Sun, Moon, and planets. Instead, they form a fixed rotational cycle applied to both years and hours. On the yearly scale, the twelve-position loop mirrors Jupiter's roughly twelve-year orbital period; on the hourly scale, it divides each day-night stretch into twelve double-hours. Within the broader sexagenary cycle of sixty years, the twelfth Earthly Branch—hai (亥)—reappears every twelve years, and that recurring slot is what people commonly call the Year of the Pig (豬年). The term "zodiac" in the Chinese context therefore refers to this cyclical animal sequence rather than to any astronomical belt of constellations.

The Five Elemental Pigs

The Pig's natural elemental affinity is Water, which links it to emotional depth and intuitive perception in Chinese astrological thinking. Because the Pig is classified as yin, only the yin (negative) forms of the five elements can pair with it, yielding exactly five distinct Pig types across each sixty-year sexagenary cycle. These are the Wood Pig (yǐhài), the Fire Pig (dīnghài), the Earth Pig (jǐhài), the Metal Pig (xīnhài), and the Water Pig (guǐhài). Each pairing combines the twelfth Earthly Branch with a specific yin Heavenly Stem, so the elemental character shifts from one Pig year to the next. A concrete illustration is 2019: the Earthly Branch was the twelfth (hài) and the Heavenly Stem was the sixth (jǐ), making it the Earth Pig. The Chinese New Year that year fell on February fifth, marking the start of both the jǐ-hài sexagenary year and the zodiacal Earth Pig year. Thus, no two Pig years are astrologically identical; the elemental overlay gives each a distinct temperamental flavor.

The Legend of the Pig's Arrival

Several folk narratives explain why the Pig holds the last position in the zodiac. In one telling, the Jade Emperor summoned all animals to a great assembly, and the Pig was the final one to show up. Another version attributes the gathering to Buddha, who called the meeting just before departing the Earth; again, the Pig arrived last. A more elaborate legend frames the ordering as a race organized by the Emperor. In that race, the Pig lagged far behind every other contestant. Just as the Emperor was about to declare the event over, a distant oink and squeal carried across the field. The explanation given is that the Pig had grown hungry mid-race, paused for a hearty feast, and then dozed off. This episode is said to be the origin of the phrase "lazy pig." Despite the delay, the Pig did ultimately cross the finish line and was assigned the twelfth and final place. A separate variant attributes the late arrival to the animal's stout build making it a poor swimmer, or alternatively to it heading up the wrong bank of the river.

Cultural Variations and Sensitivities

The Pig's representation shifts noticeably across different cultural zodiac traditions. In both the Japanese and Tibetan zodiacs, the animal is rendered as a boar rather than a domesticated pig. The Dai zodiac substitutes an elephant in the twelfth position, the Gurung zodiac replaces it with a deer, and the Malay zodiac uses a tortoise. Beyond these structural differences, the Pig also carries religious sensitivity in certain communities. Some Chinese Muslims prefer to refer to the twelfth year simply as the year of hai (亥), the Earthly Branch name, to avoid invoking the pig, which is haram and considered unclean in Islam. In Muslim-majority Malaysia, commercial establishments tend to steer clear of pig imagery or displays to sidestep public controversy, even though no formal government prohibition exists. On a more celebratory note, the global reach of the zodiac is evident in philatelic culture: for the 2019 Year of the Pig, the USC U.S.-China Institute gathered commemorative New Year stamps from fifty-six different countries and jurisdictions.