Sheep or goat?

山羊还是绵羊？

China's coming lunar new year has stirred a debate over which zodiac creature is the correct one.

即将到来的中国农历新年引起了网络热议：中国羊年到底哪个“羊”。

Traditional astrology in China attaches different animal signs to each lunar year in a cycle of 12 years.

中国传统占星学按照12生肖把农历年分为12年一轮回。

The symbol for the new year starting on February 19 is the "yang", which can refer to any member of the caprinae subfamily depending on what additional Chinese character it is paired up with.

2017年2月19日开始的新一年是羊年，其中的“羊”可能是羊亚科的任何一种分支，具体是哪一种羊要看中国传统把各个种类的羊都赋予了什么性格和特点。

For example, a goat is a "mountain yang", a sheep is a "soft yang" and a Mongolian [en]gazelle

is a "yellow yang".[/en]

比如说，“goat”是山羊，“sheep”是绵羊，“Mongolian gazelle”是黄羊。

Both goats and sheep appear in Chinese new year paintings, paper-cuts and other festival decorations.

在中国的传统年画、剪纸和其他节日装饰品上，山羊和绵羊都有出现。

Folklorists say it does not matter which one is used since the zodiac sign was chosen for the Chinese character's auspicious connotation rather than the specific animal.

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