Why the traditional Chinese practice of nominal age makes people up to 2 years older
Por Fran Lu — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Trending in China People & Culture Trending in China Why the traditional Chinese practice of nominal age makes people up to 2 years older
Under xu sui, babies are born at age one, a relic of ancient China lacking a numerical zero until Indian monks introduced it 1,000 years ago
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Fran Lu in Beijing Published: 8:08pm, 8 Oct 2026
Age calculation in China is probably one of the most confusing aspects of Chinese culture, even for Chinese people themselves, because two systems are used.
One system is the international standard: a person’s age is calculated from their date of birth. The other, the traditional nominal-age system, or xu sui, adds a year at the start of each lunisolar year.
Under the xu sui system, a person’s nominal age can be up to two years greater than their actual age. The system is more commonly used in rural China and among older generations.
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