Rabbit (zodiac)
| Rabbit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Rabbit" in regular Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 兔 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Rabbit or Hare is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit or Year of the Hare is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯. the element Wood in Wuxing theory and within Traditional Chinese medicine the Liver Yin and the emotions and virtues of kindness and hope. Both rabbits and hares are called 兔 in Chinese. However, rabbits were not introduced to China until the 16th century, and hares were the only leporids in China when the Chinese zodiac was invented.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and the Gurung zodiac, the cat takes the place of the rabbit/hare. In the Malay zodiac, the mousedeer takes the place of the rabbit/hare.