To rely or not to rely on the Chinese Gender Predictor

Rodyka Cranbash
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read

Getting to know the gender of the baby is probably one of the most crucial and exciting stages of pregnancy. The trend of finding out the gender of the baby varies from culture to culture, region to region. There are countries like India where female foeticide is a menace and hence finding out the sex of the baby is banned.

But for those cultures in which sex determination is not a punishable offence of an unborn child, there have emerged trends and ways of various types throughout the ages. Imagine the time when the USG machine was not there. How was then the gender of the baby determined? While some believed and still believe that the bigger the belly, higher the chances are that it is a boy, the Chinese came up with a way of their own to devise the sex of an unborn child- the Chinese Gender Predictor chart.

What does this chart do?

The use of this chart is believed to have been a practise in ancient China which has disappeared through the passage of time. The royal priest had a chart with them which could apparently successfully determine the sex of the baby. It was used by the royal families, mainly the emperor himself in order bear male heirs to the throne. In fact more than a gender predictor child of a conceived child, this chart predicts the gender of a child that has not even been conceived.

So how does this chart work?

There are numerous variations of this chart but the most basic details can be summarized from the points that are common to all the versions that have been found. For starters, this chart has three columns- the age of the mother, the month of conception and the related gender of the child. Suppose you are a woman of 32 years old and you have conceived in the month of December, then this chart will be able to tell you what would be the gender of your child from that. However there is one trick to this chart that people often forget to take into account- the month cited in Chinese Gender Predictor Chart is the lunar month and not the ones according to the Roman calendar, because when the chart was devised the Roman calendar of today was not accepted as the standard one throughout the world. This chart was mainly used by the emperors so that they knew when it to consummate with their wife in order to bear a son who would go on to become the heir of the throne.

Does this chart really work?

No scientific data has been recovered till date that suggests that the chart is accurate. It might predict correctly or it might not. There is always a question of chance and authenticity. There are numerous variations too which might alter the results. So it is safe not to base your assumptions on the findings of this chart, let alone shop and decorate the nursery based on its result.

Let the gender of the child be a surprise, but if you want you can always try out this chart for fun!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade