The Year of the Tiger is based on the traditional Chinese calendar. The Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac corresponds to the Year of the Yin in the twelve Earthly Branches, and the Year of the Tiger is the Year of the Yin, with every twelve years as a cycle. For example, the year 2022 in the Gregorian calendar basically corresponds to the Year of the Tiger, i.e., the year of the Imjin.

The tiger is the third of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, and the twelve branches of the earth belong to the "Yin", so the twelve hours of the day in the "Yin" 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. is also known as the "Tiger Time".