So the year of the Dog (according to the Chinese tradition) is officially here. We have just bade farewell to the year of the Rooster, and next year will be the year of the Pig, then Rat (the first animal in the Chinese zodiac), Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey. For traditional Chinese people, the new year is not officially “new” until Chinese New Year itself.
Many people I know have no idea where these zodiac animals came from. They know they are born under a certain animal, but have no idea why and the sequence of the animals. Actually it is very easy. The animal year comes back after every twelve years, so we just have to count twelve years for our animal year to come back.
If one was born before the Chinese New Year, he / she would be considered as the end of the previous animal year, whereas someone born after Chinese New Year would be the beginning of the next animal year.
This is much less confusing than to calculate our elements, ie whether we were born of the elements Water, Wood, Metal (Gold) or Earth. I myself have no idea which element I am under, although my mum used to say I am either Fire (due to my fiery temper) or Wood (as she always think I am a blockhead).
So why are there twelve animals? There are many legends about this, but the one which I remember the most was the one my mum used to tell me as a bedtime story when I was young. My mum’s version also explained why cats and rats became enemies.
According to legend, the Jade Emperor of Heaven felt that the years went by without much meaning. He wanted the years to be represented by animals, so the animals could have their shares in the years, instead of always taken by humans.
However, he only had the intention to honour twelve animals, so he set up a race where the first twelve animals to cross a certain river would be the twelve honoured. He would be at the other side of the river to await them.
All the animals got into a frenzy to prepare for the competition. Each of them wanted to be honoured. In those days, the cat and the rat were very good friends. They lived together, ate together, went everywhere together. Needless to say, both wanted to be honoured.
The night before the big race, the cat and rat both stayed up to celebrate. The cat got so drunk that if fell asleep immediately. The rat stayed up the whole night so it would be the first to get out by sunrise, as that was the time when the race started.
At the first cock’s crow, the rat got out without bothering to wake the cat. It ran as fast as possible to the river, where a lot of animals were already there. The ox started to swim across, followed by the Tiger.
The Rabbit hopped onto the Tiger’s head and the Snake tried slithering its way over. The Horse and Goat started galloping, the Dragon was flying by, the Rooster flew across, the Dog and the Pig held on to the Horse and went forward.
The Monkey quickly swung from tree to tree and landed on the back of the Horse. The Rat immediately bounded on the heads of each animal and landed on the head of the Ox, which was still in the lead. Once these twelve animals have started crossing the river, there was some sort of an invisible shield to prevent more animals from coming in.
What happened to the Cat in the meantime? When it awoke, it was already bright. When it realised that the Rat had left without it, it flew into a rage and immediately dashed off to join the race. But by the time it reached the river, the shield was already there, and it was stuck behind with the other animals that did not make it into the first twelve.
By the time the animals reached the others side of the river where the Jade Emperor was indeed waiting, the Rat bounded off the Ox’s head and landed first, with the Ox right behind him. The Tiger rushed forward with the Rabbit on its back, coming in third and fourth.
The Dragon then flew down, followed by the Snake that slithered out of the water. The Horse bounded up immediately, followed by the Goat that was right behind him. The Monkey fell off the Horse’s back and landed behind the Goat. The Rooster flew down, followed by the Dog and the Pig, which were both soaking wet but made it on time.
The Jade Emperor was very pleased and started to honour all the twelve animals in order of their appearance. Thus, the sequence was Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. And that was how these animals became the Chinese zodiac.
The Cat was angry at the Rat for backstabbing it, thus from then on, each time the Cat saw the Rat, it would chase it as revenge. That was also how the Cat and Rat became arch enemies.
Many people I know have no idea where these zodiac animals came from. They know they are born under a certain animal, but have no idea why and the sequence of the animals. Actually it is very easy. The animal year comes back after every twelve years, so we just have to count twelve years for our animal year to come back.
If one was born before the Chinese New Year, he / she would be considered as the end of the previous animal year, whereas someone born after Chinese New Year would be the beginning of the next animal year.
This is much less confusing than to calculate our elements, ie whether we were born of the elements Water, Wood, Metal (Gold) or Earth. I myself have no idea which element I am under, although my mum used to say I am either Fire (due to my fiery temper) or Wood (as she always think I am a blockhead).
So why are there twelve animals? There are many legends about this, but the one which I remember the most was the one my mum used to tell me as a bedtime story when I was young. My mum’s version also explained why cats and rats became enemies.
According to legend, the Jade Emperor of Heaven felt that the years went by without much meaning. He wanted the years to be represented by animals, so the animals could have their shares in the years, instead of always taken by humans.
However, he only had the intention to honour twelve animals, so he set up a race where the first twelve animals to cross a certain river would be the twelve honoured. He would be at the other side of the river to await them.
All the animals got into a frenzy to prepare for the competition. Each of them wanted to be honoured. In those days, the cat and the rat were very good friends. They lived together, ate together, went everywhere together. Needless to say, both wanted to be honoured.
The night before the big race, the cat and rat both stayed up to celebrate. The cat got so drunk that if fell asleep immediately. The rat stayed up the whole night so it would be the first to get out by sunrise, as that was the time when the race started.
At the first cock’s crow, the rat got out without bothering to wake the cat. It ran as fast as possible to the river, where a lot of animals were already there. The ox started to swim across, followed by the Tiger.
The Rabbit hopped onto the Tiger’s head and the Snake tried slithering its way over. The Horse and Goat started galloping, the Dragon was flying by, the Rooster flew across, the Dog and the Pig held on to the Horse and went forward.
The Monkey quickly swung from tree to tree and landed on the back of the Horse. The Rat immediately bounded on the heads of each animal and landed on the head of the Ox, which was still in the lead. Once these twelve animals have started crossing the river, there was some sort of an invisible shield to prevent more animals from coming in.
What happened to the Cat in the meantime? When it awoke, it was already bright. When it realised that the Rat had left without it, it flew into a rage and immediately dashed off to join the race. But by the time it reached the river, the shield was already there, and it was stuck behind with the other animals that did not make it into the first twelve.
By the time the animals reached the others side of the river where the Jade Emperor was indeed waiting, the Rat bounded off the Ox’s head and landed first, with the Ox right behind him. The Tiger rushed forward with the Rabbit on its back, coming in third and fourth.
The Dragon then flew down, followed by the Snake that slithered out of the water. The Horse bounded up immediately, followed by the Goat that was right behind him. The Monkey fell off the Horse’s back and landed behind the Goat. The Rooster flew down, followed by the Dog and the Pig, which were both soaking wet but made it on time.
The Jade Emperor was very pleased and started to honour all the twelve animals in order of their appearance. Thus, the sequence was Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. And that was how these animals became the Chinese zodiac.
The Cat was angry at the Rat for backstabbing it, thus from then on, each time the Cat saw the Rat, it would chase it as revenge. That was also how the Cat and Rat became arch enemies.
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