About the Chinese Gender Calendar
Chinese gender calendars are lunar calendars that have been used for thousands of years to help Chinese couples predict an unborn baby's gender. An ancient system that reflects the Chinese esteem for male children, gender calendars are used to this day in China. They have also become popular in the West.
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History
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Xia Li, purported to be 7,000 years old, is the Chinese lunar calendar, also known as the Chinese gender calendar. Reportedly devised by a Chinese scientist, the original calendar was unearthed over 700 years ago. It resides in a museum in Beijing. Use of the Chinese lunar calendar to predict the gender of a child is considered to be one of the oldest methods ever employed. Since China was agrarian, male children were more valued. Female children had to be married off and were considered expenses and, therefore, less auspicious births.
Significance
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As in ancient agrarian China, modern Chinese still honor male children over females. The patriarchy endures and, with severe over-population, the Chinese government allows only one child per couple. The Chinese gender calendar predicts the gender of future children, even prior to conception. Claims of accuracy range in the 90th percentile. Modern Chinese couples turn to gender calendars, as did their ancestors.
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Function
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A woman calculates her lunar age and cross-references that information with her intended or actual time of conception. Since Chinese lunar months are used to make the calculations, dates are calculated according to the moon's phases. The best chances for a boy or a girl depend upon time of conception and the woman's age. At one age, a woman is more likely to conceive a boy, at another age, a girl.
Considerations
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Although the use of Chinese gender calendars is used as entertainment in the West (much like Chinese astrology), people of Chinese descent consider Chinese lunar calendars part of their heritage. Ancient conditions that emphasized the need for male children were pressing matters to the ancestors. With a current population that exceeds one billion, another pressing matter drives Chinese couples to predict a baby's gender.
Misconceptions
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Age is not calculated from birth in the Chinese system. When a baby is born, the infant is one year old. The mother must correctly calculate her time of conception and must adjust her age and date of conception to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is not possible to use the West's Gregorian calendar for Chinese gender prediction. The Chinese lunar calendar is complex and based on ancient astronomical rules that were developed for ancient Chinese agrarian needs. It is no less accurate than the Gregorian calendar.
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Resources
- Photo Credit http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/359750/2/istockphoto_359750_gender_symbols_2.jpg, http://www.echinaexpat.com/Portals/2/eChinaImage/ChineseGenderSelection.jpg, http://www.chinesefertilitycalendar.net/common/imagelib/index.htm/305_420_280
