Editing Earthly Branches (section)

{{Short description|System of twelve ordinals native to China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = File:Chinese Zodiac carvings on ceiling of Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka.jpg
| picsize = 300px
| piccap = A carving of the [[Chinese zodiac]] on the ceiling of the gate to [[Kushida Shrine]] in [[Fukuoka]], Japan
| c = 地支
| p = dìzhī
| poj = {{ubl|tē-chi|tōe-chi}}
| j = dei6 zi1
| y = deih ji
| hiragana = ちし
| romaji = chishi
| kanji = 地支
| hangul = 지지
| rr = jiji
| hanja = 地支
| qn = Địa Chi
| chuhan = 地支
| ot = 𐰃𐰏𐰆𐰜 𐰲𐰃𐰠𐰃𐰤
| ot-Latn = İNUG KİLİNG
}}

The '''Earthly Branches''' (also called the '''Terrestrial Branches''' or the '''12-cycle'''{{sfnp|Smith|2015}}) are a system of twelve ordered symbols used throughout [[East Asia]]. They are indigenous to [[China]], and are themselves [[Chinese characters]], corresponding to words with no concrete meaning other than the associated branch's [[ordinal numeral|ordinal]] position in the list. 

Cultural applications of the Branches include a dating system known as the [[sexagenary cycle]], and their use in [[Chinese astrology]]. They are associated with the ten [[Heavenly Stems]] in [[Chinese calendar]]s, and in [[Taoism|Taoist]] practice.