Zi (子), the Rat, one of the Twelve Earthly Branches:

It is the beginning of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs and the starting point of the cycle of heaven and earth.

The hour of Zi (子) is from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. It is the quietest and deepest moment of the day. All things are asleep, and the world returns to silence; the power of yin reaches its extreme.

But this is exactly where the most romantic and profound part of Eastern wisdom lies:  
In the darkest night hides the earliest light.

When yin reaches its extreme, yang must arise; when stillness reaches its extreme, movement is born.

While everyone is resting, a new round of vitality has already quietly come into being.

This is the temperament of Zi (子):  
unassuming and quiet, yet the first to awaken and the first to gather strength.

Its corresponding zodiac animal is the Rat, not because it is dominant, but because it is the keenest and most perceptive, able to sense the changes of qi in the darkness.  
Tiny, yet with immense vitality; low-key, yet endlessly alive.

Zi (子) belongs to Water, representing wisdom, agility, and inclusiveness.  
It stands for new birth, beginnings, hope, and continuation.

All endings are for the sake of a new beginning. All silence is quietly nurturing the power to turn things around.

This is the life of Zi (子): seeing new life in the deepest darkness; bringing forth all things from the soundless.

If you were born in 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, or 2020 — a Year of the Rat — does any of this feel familiar to you?  
Are you naturally perceptive, adaptable, quiet but resilient? Or do you feel completely different?  
I’d love to hear how Rat-year people see themselves.

1/12 The Twelve Zodiac Signs: Zi (子) | The First Stirring of Life at the End of Darkness