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The Yi-Chou Tai Sui: General Chen Cai
A smiling, steady general who fought a tiger with his bare hands.
- Guardian of
- People born in a Yi-Chou year, the Year of the Ox
- Born between
- Feb 20, 1985 – Feb 8, 1986
Feb 17, 2045 – Feb 5, 2046 - Past life (legend)
- Chen Cai, a martial scholar from Jinhua in the Ming dynasty (folk legend)
- Symbol
- A bright yellow cloak like ripe wheat: calm strength and a good harvest
If you were born between these dates, you were born in a Yi-Chou year, the Year of the Ox, and General Chen Cai watches over you.
(A new year starts on Lunar New Year’s Day.)
Quiet strength
Yi is soft wood, like new bamboo that bends in the wind but keeps growing toward the sun. Chou is the earth after winter, still holding life inside. Together they feel like an ox in a field: slow, quiet, and unstoppable.
General Chen Cai watches over this year. He looks after people born under it with a kind heart, helping them keep walking steadily through rain and wind.
A face you can lean on
He has a round, gentle face and clear eyes that smile. He wears a black hat, a dark robe and golden armor, with a bright yellow cloak the color of ripe wheat. One hand holds a command flag, the other rests on his knee.
He does not try to scare anyone. You look at him and simply feel safe. People born in Yi-Chou years often work the same way: they do not show off, they keep building, and when the moment comes, they surprise everyone.
The tiger and the fire
According to legend, in his human life he was Chen Cai, a young martial scholar from Jinhua in the Ming dynasty. On his way to the capital for the exams, a man-eating tiger blocked the road. Everyone ran. Chen Cai shouted, fought it with his bare hands, and pinned it down.
Later, a fire broke out at the exam hall while the doors were locked. Chen Cai ran in, let the other students climb on his shoulders and back, and lifted them over the wall one by one. He did not leave until the last one was out.
The slingshot magistrate
As a county magistrate in Shandong, he chased a gang of thieves alone at night with nothing but a slingshot. Two shots, and the leader gave up. Every coin came back. People called him the Slingshot Magistrate.
His honesty made powerful enemies, and they tried to frame him. He handed back his seal, wrote a couplet on the office wall, and went home with a clean name. Heaven later named him the Tai Sui of the Yi-Chou year.
A yellow cloak on his shoulders and a mountain's calm: that is his gift to everyone born in the Year of the Ox.
Born in 1985
- Bruno Marssinger
- Allyson FelixOlympic sprinter
- Keira Knightleyactor
Questions people ask
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1985?
People born between Feb 20, 1985 and Feb 8, 1986 were born in a Yi-Chou year, the Year of the Ox. Their Tai Sui is General Chen Cai.
Who was General Chen Cai before becoming a Tai Sui?
Chen Cai, a martial scholar from Jinhua in the Ming dynasty (folk legend).
What does General Chen Cai hold?
A bright yellow cloak like ripe wheat: calm strength and a good harvest.
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