三阳开泰

Pronunciation: sān yáng kāi tài Literal meaning: Three yang open into prosperity

Origin & Usage

This is the single most important New Year phrase of a Goat year, and it comes from the Book of Changes (《周易》). In the hexagram cycle, the eleventh month is 复 with one yang line born beneath, the twelfth is 临 with two, and the first month of the new year is 泰 with three — the point at which yin recedes and yang grows, and everything begins again. The phrase appears in 《易·泰》 as 'the small departs, the great arrives' and in the 《宋史·乐志》 as 三阳交泰. In Goat years it is deliberately written 三羊开泰, substituting sheep for yang: the two are homophones, and 羊 served in antiquity as a loan character for 祥, auspiciousness.

Examples

English: "At the turn of the year the family wished each other a fortunate new beginning."

Chinese: 新年伊始，祝您三阳开泰，万象更新。