I was told the Chinese count one year of age from the moment of birth because they count one year of gestation.
Is that really so?
I recently learned that Hungarians count their age in a way similar to this Chinese traditional usage, but they do so because they consider that the first year of a person starts with birth. So that from the moment a baby is born, it is already on its first year. After the first year, that is, after his first birthday celebration, the second year starts. And so on.
The European century counting follows a similar reasoning. If we counted centuries the way we (non-Chinese) count life years, we would be in the 20th century, not the 21th.
What is the reason about the traditional Chinese way of life year counting ? Is it still used? When did it start?

Yes. It is true. The age that is counted this way is called, "虚岁" (xu sui4 – empty age). In addition, Chinese would add one year to his/her empty age at the Chinese New Year.

I was born about a little more than one month before the Chinese New Year, so I was one year old when I was born and considered two years old when I was really a little more than 1 month old.

The actual age when counting by the birthday and baby at birth as 0 year old is called 周歲 （cycle age or 實歲、足歲 full age）.



I think Chinese believe that the fetus has life and its age should be counted. In addition, Chinese respect older people, so many Chinese want to make themselves older to gain respect. It is still used, and I hate it because I am always 2 years older than my actual age!!!

I think it’s probably from the very beginning because I don’t remember seeing any recording of this custom.

Thank you, Fireball. Your avatar looks so young. Your help has been so effective. Now suddendly you seem still more respectable.

Oh no! Not you, too! I prefer to keep my heart of a child.

Oh trust me, the heart stays a child even if the joints dont

I'm not sure I like the idea of adding an extra one or two years to my age.

My cousins insisted referring to my age with the Chinese years and not my actual age! However, they did go when I told them my age. I guess farmer's wives couldn't compare to city girls. Fortunately for me also, both my parents had the genes that don't have many wrinkles even when they are very old.

For info about Xu Sui 虚岁(chinese age), you can refer to
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9295

It's important to know about Chinese age.
Because in Chinese historical records, generally, only people's death year and death age, are available. We can reckon their birth year according to Chinese age.

Is it still used in China these days? I met many Chinese students from China and none of them seem to know about this, which I find very strange since the Malaysian Chinese still use it sometimes.

Yes, it is used in both mainland China and Taiwan. Some of those Chinese students may come from the city, and they might not use it there. However, I am thinking: could it be the language problems? Maybe you did not use the term they understand? Just copy the Chinese term in this thread and show them. Maybe they would know if they see the Chinese term.

Just asked my roommate from Guangdong. He knows the term but doesn't exactly know the connotations of it. I found it strange that when the Koreans I know mentioned their "Korean age", which is similar to how my relatives in Malaysia would count what they call the "唐人岁", the Chinese students said they had nothing similar in China. I always thought that was strange. So, now it seems my roommate does know the term but isn't familiar with the usage.

Then, your roommate is one of those modern Chinese who live in the city and do not use this Chinese age counting method. My cousins in mainland China are farmers and/or have farmer's roots, so they use the Xu Sui. I grew up in Taipei (Taiwan), and we used Xu Sui there a lot even though it is a major city.