What year of birth are you?

你是什么生肖？

I realize that one's life can be summed up in a dash between the year of death and the year of birth.

我意识到一个人的生命在死亡和出生之间可以总结为一场冲刺。

For some, both the year of birth and that of death have been examined. For others only the former or the latter.

有的生卒年俱已考实，有的仅考实了生年或卒年。

As long as people know a person's probable age and his symbolic animal, people can infer his exact age and year of birth.

人们只要知道一个人大概的年龄和他的属相，就能推算出他的准确年龄和出生年份了。

So for me the shortest days of the year and the deepest cold are a backdrop to the perilous stories of birth and the radiant exhaustion of new motherhood.

所以对于我来说，那一年在白天最短的日子和最寒冷的季节成了危险的生育趣事和新为人母、面带喜色而身体却筋疲力尽的一幕背景。