The Race of 12 Animals of the Year

Chinese Zodiac: 12 Zodiac signs

On Tuesday, I celebrated Tenby's Chinese New Year online. Sadly, I did not get the chance to decorate the classroom, but I decorated my house and researched the Chinese New Year traditions. The week served as a great opportunity for me to learn more about Chinese New Year.

What interested me the most was the Fun Fact Friday question.

"How many Chinese zodiac signs are there?"

"What is the order of Chinese zodiac animals?"

It made me curious about the Chinese zodiac animals and how they got into this order which I will be sharing in this article.

Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor - one of the most important gods in the Chinese tradition - invited all the animals in the world to take part in a race. These animals turned up at the start line and started the race. During the course of the race, there was a huge river that every animal, large or small, had to cross inevitably. The rat, which came in the first place, used its cunningness to persuade the ox to let it sit on its head. Instead of showing gratitude, the rat dashed towards the finish line and became the first creature in the first cycle, followed by the ox. After the ox, the tiger came in third place due to the current sending a little offshore. The rabbit felt tired from the race and almost drowned itself, but fortunately, it saved itself by floating on a log. The dragon - the only mythical creature - extinguished a fire that was endangering the lives of some nearby villagers. Once it got back to the course, it saw the rabbit and used its breath to blow it safely to shore, coming in as fifth place. The horse was not far behind the dragon, but the snake cunningly wrapped itself around the horse's leg. When they approached the finish line, the snake uncoiled itself and came in sixth place. The sheep, monkey, and rooster were small animals that could not cross the river easily like the ox. So, the answer they came up with was teamwork. They piloted a small raft that would see them across the river safely. After crossing the river, the sheep came eighth, the monkey came ninth and the rooster came tenth.

All dog owners would know how interested dogs are in the pool. They would splash water instead of swimming in it. This was what happened to the dog in the race. Hence why the dog came in eleventh place. The pig - the last animal of the cycle, got peckish in the middle of the race and stopped for food. It became sleepy and dozed off. There is a story that the Jade Emperor gave up on the pig but was very happy to complete the cycle with the pig.

This is the story of Chinese zodiac signs. Due to the moral behind the story, Chinese people believe that the zodiac cycle is associated with a person's personality and horoscope. Nowadays, this story is a very prominent part of Chinese tradition. For more visually-entertaining story-telling, visit this link: https://youtu.be/may2s9j4RLk

The year 2022 is the year of the tiger.

What is your Chinese zodiac sign? Do you have any more interesting stories about Chinese zodiac signs? Reply in the post!

How to see your Chinese zodiac animal:

Author: Dohyen, 8N