bitter (e.g. criticism); sharp; biting; severe; scathing; harsh
8th in rank; eighth sign of the Chinese calendar
irritating; annoying; tedious (work, person, etc.); boring; depressing; dark (e.g. story)
hot taste; sharp taste; pungent taste; salty taste
trial and tribulation; hardships; privations; difficulties
mentality; mood; sentiment; fretfulness; tedium; irritation
Xinhai Revolution (of China; 1911)
toil and moil; working assiduously for; tireless hard work; painstaking labor (labour)
Metal Sheep (8th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1931, 1991, 2051)
Metal Boar (48th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1911, 1971, 2031)
Metal Snake (18th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1941, 2001, 2061)
trials and tribulations; adversities; suffering hardships and troubles
five pungent roots (in Buddhism or Taoism)
Metal Rabbit (28th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1951, 2011, 2071)
Metal Rooster (58th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1921, 1981, 2041)
Metal Ox (38th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1961, 2021, 2081)
hardships and joys; tasting the sweets and bitters of life; (having seen much of life) being well-versed in the ways of the world
Siebold's wild ginger (esp. its dried root or rhizome, used as an antitussive and analgesic in traditional Chinese medicine)
pungent vegetable (e.g. garlic, onion, etc)
Siebold's wild ginger (Asarum sieboldii)