Signs baaad for Chinese lunar Year of the Sheep

BEIJING — Chinese were seeing in the Year of the Sheep on Thursday, but with fortune-tellers predicting accidents and an unstable economy and some parents-to-be fretting over the year’s reputation for docile kids, it wasn’t exactly warming everyone’s heart.

This animal sign, which comes once every dozen years, can be said to have an identity crisis. Known variably as the Year of the Goat, Sheep or Ram, the sign’s confusion stems from its Chinese character, “yang,” which broadly describes any of the ruminating mammals, with or without horns.

Many Chinese prefer to translate it as the “Year of the Sheep” because sheep are more cute and cuddly, and large sheep figures have appeared around the capital’s shopping areas in recent weeks.

The goat, however, is more likely to be the original meaning because it was a popular farm animal among Han Chinese who started the zodiac tradition, Huang Yang, a researcher on the roles of sheep and goats in Chinese culture, was quoted by the official Xinhua News agency as saying.

Still, Xinhua is going with “Year of the Sheep” in its English-language reports rather than “Year of the Goat.”

The United States also appears to be opting for the fluffier, more gentle animal sign, at least in the U.N. Security Council. A U.S. diplomat at a council meeting wished China, this month’s council president, a happy “Year of the Sheep.”

Astrologists said this year would bring a volatile economy, more transport accidents and windy natural disasters such as tornadoes in the United States and typhoons to Southeast Asia.