Do you have trouble remembering each of the different years in the Chinese system? There is a poem that old Beijing people like to say that just combines the 12 heavenly branches (地支) with the 12 years, and when you read it off, it sounds like it’s an actual little story because of the similar words (形声字).

Note that the Heavenly Stems (天干) are： 甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、己、庚、辛、壬、癸

The Heavenly Branches (地支) which are used in calculations in conjunction with the heavenly stems are：子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戌、亥。

And a simple listing of the years are: 鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪

子鼠丑牛 zǐ shǔ chǒu niú
寅虎卯兔 yín hǔ mǎo tù
辰龙巳蛇 chén lóng sì shé
戊马未羊 wù mǎ wèi yáng
申猴酉鸡 shēn hóu yǒu jī
戌狗亥猪 xū gǒu hài zhū