Chinese Zodiac Story

The Chinese Zodiac (Sheng xiao, 生肖) is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year cycle. Chinese Zodiac combining with 10 the Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches is widely used as a means of numbering days and years, not only in China but also in other East Asian nations like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of Rat – 鼠 (子), and the rest are Ox – 牛 (丑), Tiger – 虎 (寅), Hare – 兔 (卯), Dragon – 龙 (辰), Snake – 蛇 (巳), Horse – 马 (午), Ram – 羊 (未), Monkey – 猴 (申), Rooster – 鸡 (酉), Dog – 狗 (戌), Pig – 猪 (亥).

Why Chinese Zodiac was in such a order has long been an interesting topic in China since it came into being. Many famous Chinese scholars, even including Zhu Xi and Wang Shou Ren, the two most important Neo-Confucian thinkers since Song Dynasty, brought out their own explanation.

There are several legends about how the animals were chosen for the Chinese zodiac. This is one of them. The Jade Emperor is the name of the Emperor of Heaven.

Long long time ago, the Jade Emperor (the Emperor of Heaven in China folklore) was going to elect twelve animals to represent the twelve calendar years. So he invited all animals to participate in a swimming race. The first 12 animals to cross the river would appear on the Chinese Zodiac calendar in the order in which they completed the race.

At that time, the Cat and the Rat were the best of friends. They accompanied each other no matter where they went. Hearing this news, the two friends got very excited, for both of them want a coveted position on the calendar. But soon their excitement faded, and they began to worry about their poor swimming skill. After thinking for a while, they decided to ask the Ox for some help. The Rat and Cat explained to the Ox their problem and asked him if he would be so kind as to let them ride on his back. The Ox, having a kind nature, agreed without the slightest hesitation and promised to let them sit on his back in the race.