CHINESE ZODIAC

China has its own ancient zodiac system, which is represented by 12 animal signs according to a 12-year mathematical cycle.

Traditional Chinese belief states that a person carries the reputed attributes of his animal sign. For example, people born in the Year of Tiger are considered powerful, passionate, vigorous but also reckless and obstinate, while those born in the Year of Dog are characterized as honest, intelligent, loyal, straightforward and cynical.

There are also taboos in Chinese zodiac in terms of marriage. For example, a Tiger and a Dragon will not be happy because the Tiger and the Dragon will always fight with each other.

Chinese even have their own method of fortune-telling. Bazi, or Eight Character, is the most popular method. It takes into consideration the four components of time - hour, day, month and year - of a person's birth. After certain analyses, the results can tell one's destiny in life.

However, these traditional superstitions are losing steam as young Chinese people embrace the inflow of Western cultures.

"The Chinese way of fortune telling is too complicated and not fashionable enough to attract as many people as the star signs can," said Xu Yan, professor and dean of the school of psychology of Beijing Normal University.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

It has long been debated whether there is any scientific evidence for the power of star signs, because people sometimes find people or things fall in line with astrological theories.

Veronica Zhang, another white collar worker in Nanjing who calls herself a more "rational" star sign follower, said that, based on her own experiences, she believes more in personality analyses than luck forecasts.

"The information about star signs just gives me a new channel to know people, but I would not avoid someone just because of his star sign. I think we should judge people according to what they say and do," said Zhang.

Li Min with Nanjing University said that though astrology has existed for thousands of years, it is not branded by science by any means.

"It's superstition just as we Chinese believe that the twitch of the left eyelid suggests fortune, while that of the right forebodes misfortune," Li said.

Zhu Jin, curator of the Beijing Planetarium, said the prediction of one's luck and examination of personality based on star signs is not only "groundless" in science, but also absolutely false.

"Actually, the term that we usually talk about which means 'star sign' in English is determined by the date of birth, not the direct translation of 'constellation,' a comparatively more astronomical concept," Zhu said in a telephone interview.

"Psychological methods are always used to lead people to actively believe in those predictions and analyses," Zhu said, explaining why some people can be easily influenced by star signs.

Yu Jun, former editor-in-chief of the Chinese edition of Scientific American, echoed Zhu's opinion.

"There are no direct relationships between human activity and the sun, moon and planets, except light and gravitation - which can be explained by scientific theories. But there is still no evidence to support the impact (of the sun, moon, and planets) on people's luck or personality," said Yu.