Translation

[chinadude2006]

Hey guys,

Can anyone translate the red part:

1999 是中国农历己卯年，也就是兔年。兔是中国民间的十二生肖之一。十二生肖，又叫十二属相，在中国的历法中，指的是纪年的十二种动物，

below is the second part of the reading, I can translate this part without too many problems but the above in red.

它们是鼠，牛，虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡，狗，猪。古人认为人出生在哪一年，他的属相就是哪一种动物。1998年是戊寅年，就是虎年。那你猜猜看，2000年是什么年？对了，是龙年。你是哪一年出生的？你属什么呢？

[889]

Instead of translating, can we provide some DIY help?

To understand that text, you need to understand the Chinese 60-year calendar and the 12-year zodiac calendar.

Wikipedia will help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac

[chinadude2006]

I understand and know each individual word and have a basic understanding of the Chinese zodiac, I can vaguely understand the meaning of the text, (I spent two hours on this text, looking up the characters I didn't know and then trying to work out the meaning). However I am still struggling to translate it. so

[889]

"1999 is the Jimao Year under the Chinese lunar calendar, as well as the Year of the Rabbit. [Jimao is the 16th year in the 60-year lunar cycle.] In Chinese folk custom, the rabbit is one of the 12 zodiacal animals. In the Chinese calendar system, the 12 shengxiao, also called the 12 shuxiang, refer to the 12 types of animals used to number years. [Shengxiao and shuxiang are equivalent Chinese terms for the Chinese zodiac.]"

[chinadude2006]

谢谢你！