The animal is believed to be the main factor in each person's life that gives them their traits, success, and happiness in their lifetime.
Scholars say that the Zodiac was brought from India, Hotan, and Sogdiana by the Buddhist people. They followed the path of the Silk Road. It was brought during the Qin dynasty.
The Chinese zodiac refers to a pure calendrical cycle; there are no equivalent constellations like those of the . In imperial times there were astrologers who watched the sky for heavenly omens that would predict the future of the state, but this was a quite different practice of divination from the popular present-day methods.
Background
The ancient Chinese astronomers called the 5 major planets by the names of the they were associated with:
NOTE: These are listed in order of the elements, not the actual order of the planets from nearest to farthest the sun. In some texts, Wood is placed before Metal.
* — Metal
* — Wood
* — Water
* — Fire
* — Earth
According to Chinese astrology, a person's destiny can be determined by the position of the major planets at the person's birth, along with the positions of the Sun, Moon and comets and the person's time of birth and Zodiac Sign. The system of the twelve year cycle of animal signs was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter . Following the orbit of Jupiter around the sun, Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections, and rounded it to 12 years . Jupiter is associated with the constellation ''Sheti'' and is sometimes called Sheti.
A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one's birthday and birth hours, known as is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. The 28 Chinese constellations, ''Xiu'' , are quite different from the 88 Western constellations. For example, the Big Bear is known as ''Dou'' ; the belt of is known as ''Shen'' , or the "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods. The seven northern constellations are referred to as ''Xuan Wu'' . Xuan Wu is also known as the spirit of the northern sky or the spirit of Water in Taoism belief.
In addition to astrological readings of the heavenly bodies, the stars in the sky form the basis of many fairy tales. For example, the Summer Triangle is the trio of the cowherd , the weaving maiden fairy , and the "tai bai" fairy . The two forbidden lovers were separated by the silvery river . Each year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, the birds form a bridge across the Milky Way. The cowherd carries their two sons across the bridge to reunite with their fairy mother. The tai bai fairy acts as the chaperone of these two immortal lovers.
Lunisolar calendar
The 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each other. The first is the cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely the in their forms.
The second is the cycle of the twelve Zodiac animal signs or Earthly Branches . They are in order as follows: the , , , , , , , , , , , and .
This combination creates the 60-year cycle due to the least amount of years it would take to get from ''Yang Wood Rat'' to its next iteration, which always starts with ''Yang Wood Rat'' and ends with ''Yin Water Boar''. Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can also only occur in either or : the dragon is always yang, the snake is always yin, etc. The current cycle began in the year 1984 .
When trying to traverse the Lunisolar calendar, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. The cycle proceeds as follows:
*If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
*If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
*If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
*If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
*If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
*If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
*If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
*If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
*If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
*If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.
However, since the Chinese zodiac follows the Chinese calendar, the switch over date is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, a person who was born in January or early February has the sign of the previous year. For example, if a person was born in January 1970, his or her element would still be Yin Earth, not Yang Metal. Similarly, although 1990 was called the year of the horse, anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990 was in fact born in the Year of the Snake , because the 1990 Year of the Horse did not begin until January 27, 1990. For this reason, many online sign calculators will give a person the wrong sign if he/she was born in January or early February.
The start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many other customs.
Table of the sixty year calendar
The following table shows the 60 year cycle matched up to the Western calendar for the years 1924 - 2043 .
Note: The Chinese symbols in the table for the elements and animal signs are special ones used only in astrology, not the ordinary symbols used in general writing.
Chinese agricultural calendar
There are some newer astrological texts which follow the Chinese Agricultural Calendar , and thus place the changeover of zodiac signs at the solar term ''li chun'' , at solar longitude 315 degrees.
The Chinese New Year is determined by the start of the Lunar calendar. However, the annual division between the signs is not the Chinese New Year. Rather, it is the beginning of spring, which is the 4th or 5th of February of each year. In this calendar, Combination Element is the result of the Elements movement.
| Begin | End | Heaven Element | Combination Element | Sign |
| 1960 Feb 4 | 1961 Feb 3 | 金 Metal 庚 | earth | 鼠 Rat |
| 1961 Feb 4 | 1962 Feb 3 | 金 Metal 辛 | earth | 牛 Ox |
| 1962 Feb 4 | 1963 Feb 3 | 水 Water | Gold | 虎 Tiger |
| 1963 Feb 4 | 1964 Feb 3 | 水 Water | Gold | 兔 Rabbit |
| 1964 Feb 4 | 1965 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | fire | 龍 Dragon |
| 1965 Feb 4 | 1966 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | fire | 蛇 Snake |
| 1966 Feb 4 | 1967 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | water | 馬 Horse |
| 1967 Feb 4 | 1968 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | water | 羊 Sheep |
| 1968 Feb 4 | 1969 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | earth | 猴 Monkey |
| 1969 Feb 4 | 1970 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | earth | 雞 Rooster |
| 1970 Feb 4 | 1971 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | Gold | 狗 Dog |
| 1971 Feb 4 | 1972 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | Gold | 豬 Pig |
| 1972 Feb 4 | 1973 Feb 3 | 水 Water | wood | 鼠 Rat |
| 1973 Feb 4 | 1974 Feb 3 | 水 Water | wood | 牛 Ox |
| 1974 Feb 4 | 1975 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | water | 虎 Tiger |
| 1975 Feb 4 | 1976 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | water | 兔 Rabbit |
| 1976 Feb 4 | 1977 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | earth | 龍 Dragon |
| 1977 Feb 4 | 1978 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | earth | 蛇 Snake |
| 1978 Feb 4 | 1979 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | fire | 馬 Horse |
| 1979 Feb 4 | 1980 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | fire | 羊 Sheep |
| 1980 Feb 4 | 1981 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | wood | 猴 Monkey |
| 1981 Feb 4 | 1982 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | wood | 雞 Rooster |
| 1982 Feb 4 | 1983 Feb 3 | 水 Water | water | 狗 Dog |
| 1983 Feb 4 | 1984 Feb 3 | 水 Water | water | 豬 Pig |
| 1984 Feb 4 | 1985 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | Gold | 鼠 Rat |
| 1985 Feb 4 | 1986 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | Gold | 牛 Ox |
| 1986 Feb 4 | 1987 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | fire | 虎 Tiger |
| 1987 Feb 4 | 1988 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | fire | 兔 Rabbit |
| 1988 Feb 4 | 1989 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | wood | 龍 Dragon |
| 1989 Feb 4 | 1990 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | wood | 蛇 Snake |
| 1990 Feb 4 | 1991 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | earth | 馬 Horse |
| 1991 Feb 4 | 1992 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | earth | 羊 Sheep |
| 1992 Feb 4 | 1993 Feb 3 | 水 Water | Gold | 雞 Monkey |
| 1993 Feb 4 | 1994 Feb 3 | 水 Water | Gold | 猴 Rooster |
| 1994 Feb 4 | 1995 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | fire | 狗 Dog |
| 1995 Feb 4 | 1996 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | fire | 豬 Pig |
| 1996 Feb 4 | 1997 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | water | 鼠 Rat |
| 1997 Feb 4 | 1998 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | water | 牛 Ox |
| 1998 Feb 4 | 1999 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | earth | 虎 Tiger |
| 1999 Feb 4 | 2000 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | earth | 兔 Rabbit |
| 2000 Feb 4 | 2001 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | Gold | 龍 Dragon |
| 2001 Feb 4 | 2002 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | Gold | 蛇 Snake |
| 2002 Feb 4 | 2003 Feb 3 | 水 Water | wood | 馬 Horse |
| 2003 Feb 4 | 2004 Feb 3 | 水 Water | wood | 羊 Sheep |
| 2004 Feb 4 | 2005 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | water | 猴 Monkey |
| 2005 Feb 4 | 2006 Feb 3 | 木 Wood | water | 雞 Rooster |
| 2006 Feb 4 | 2007 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | earth | 狗 Dog |
| 2007 Feb 4 | 2008 Feb 3 | 火 Fire | earth | 豬 Pig |
| 2008 Feb 4 | 2009 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | fire | 鼠 Rat |
| 2009 Feb 4 | 2010 Feb 3 | 土 Earth | fire | 牛 Ox |
| 2010 Feb 4 | 2011 Feb 3 | 金 Metal | wood | 虎 Tiger |
Five elements
The Yin or Yang is broken down into on top of the cycle of animals. These are modifiers and affect the characteristics of each of the 12 animal signs. Thus, each of the 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction.
Although it is usually translated as 'element' the Chinese word ''xing'' literally means something like 'changing states of being', 'permutations' or 'metamorphoses of being'. In fact Sinologists cannot agree on one single translation. The Chinese conception of 'element' is therefore quite different to the Western one. The Western elements were seen as the basic building blocks of matter. The Chinese 'elements', by contrast, were seen as ever changing and moving forces or energies - one translation of ''xing'' is simply 'the five changes'.
The balance of yin and yang and the five elements in a person's make-up has a major bearing on what is beneficial and effective for them in terms of feng shui, the Chinese form of geomancy. This is because each element is linked to a particular direction and season, and their different kinds of or life force.
木 Wood
*The East（東）
*Spring（春）
*Azure Dragon（青龍）
*The Planet Jupiter （木星）
*The Colour Green（緑）
*Liver（肝） and gallbladder（胆）
*Generous, Warm, Persuasive, Co-operative, Seeks to Expand and Grow
*Idealistic, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Seeks to Explore
Wood Governs Rabbit,the tiger , Dragon
火 Fire
*The South（南）
*Summer（夏）
*Vermilion Bird（朱雀）
*The Planet Mars（火星）
*The Colour Red（赤）
*Circulatory system & Heart（心）
*Dynamic, Humanitarian, Enterprising, Adventurous, Restless
*Competitive, Leadership Skills, Strong, Single-minded, Loves a good laugh
Fire Governs the Snake, Horse , Sheep
土 Earth
*Centre（中）
*Three Enclosures, Change of seasons
*The Yellow Dragon（黄龙）
*The Planet Saturn（土星）
*The Colour Yellow（意）
*Digestive system, Spleen（脾） and stomach（胃）
*Powerful, Patient, Militaristic, Prideful, Prudent, Stable, Reliable, Hard-working, Ambitious, Stubborn, very energetic, Seeks to Conquer
*Disciplined, Rigid, Controlling, Tenacious, Logical, Governed by Service and Duty to Others
Earth Governs
''Dragon, Sheep, Dog and Ox''. It is the central balance of the elements and can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well.
金 Metal
*The West（西）
*Autumn（秋）
*White Tiger（白虎）
*The Planet Venus（金星）
*The Colour White（白）
*Respiratory system & Lungs（肺）
*Determined, Self-reliant, Unyielding, Strong, Tenacious, Forceful
*Reserved, Needs Personal Space, Sophisticated, Seeks pleasure, caring, respectful
Metal Governs the Monkey , Rooster, Dog
水 Water
*The North （北）
*Winter（冬）
*Black Tortoise（玄武）
*The Planet Mercury（水星）
*The Colour Black（黑）
*Skeletal（骨）/Excretory System & Lungs
*Secretive, Self-destructive, Charming, Intuitive, Deceptive, Passive-Aggressive, Compassionate, Sensitive, Creative
*Flexible, Addictive, Manipulative, Compliant, Eloquence, Intellectual, Betrayal
Water Governs the Rat , Ox, Pig
The 12 zodiac animals
In Chinese astrology the zodiac of twelve represents twelve different types of personality. The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and there are many stories about the Origins of the Chinese Zodiac which explain why this is so . The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order and their characteristics.
# : Forthright, disciplined, systematic, meticulous, charismatic, hardworking, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, shrewd. Can be manipulative, vindictive, mendacious, venal, selfish, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, scheming.
# : Dependable, calm, methodical, patient, hardworking, ambitious, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.
# : Unpredictable, rebellious, colourful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous. Can be restless, reckless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish.
# : Gracious, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, astute, compassionate, flexible. Can be moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, lazy.
# : Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, zealous, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, ambitious, generous, loyal. Can be arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, eccentric, grandiloquent and extremely bombastic, prejudiced, dogmatic, over-bearing, violent, impetuous, brash.
# : Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, ambitious, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.
# : Cheerful, popular, quick-witted, changeable, earthy, perceptive, talkative, agile mentally and physically, magnetic, intelligent, astute, flexible, open-minded. Can be fickle, anxious, rude, gullible, stubborn, lack stability and perseverance.
# : Righteous, sincere, sympathetic, mild-mannered, shy, artistic, creative, gentle, compassionate, understanding, mothering, determined, peaceful, generous, seeks security. Can be moody, indecisive, over-passive, worrier, pessimistic, over-sensitive, complainer, wise.
# : Inventor, motivator, improviser, quick-witted, inquisitive, flexible, innovative, problem solver, self-assured, sociable, polite, dignified, competitive, objective, factual, intellectual. Can be egotistical, vain, selfish, reckless, snobbish, deceptive, cunning, jealous, suspicious.
# : Acute, neat, meticulous, organized, self-assured, decisive, conservative, critical, perfectionist, alert, zealous, practical, scientific, responsible. Can be over zealous and critical, puritanical, egotistical, abrasive, opinionated.
# : Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amiable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, ''dogged''. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsome.
# : Honest, simple, gallant, sturdy, sociable, peace-loving, patient, loyal, hard-working, trusting, sincere, calm, understanding, thoughtful, scrupulous, passionate, intelligent. Can be naive, over-reliant, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic.
In Chinese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month and hours of the day .
To sum it up, while a person might appear to be a because they were born in the year of the dragon, they might also be a internally and an secretively. In total, this makes for 8,640 possible combinations that a person might be. These are all considered critical for the proper use of Chinese astrology .
The months - the inner animals
The 12 animals are also linked to the traditional Chinese , which runs alongside the better known lunar calendar. Instead of months, this calendar is divided into 24 two week segments known as ''Solar Terms''. Each animal is linked to two of these solar terms for a period similar to the Western month. Unlike the 60 year lunar calendar, which can vary by as much as a month in relation to the Western calendar, the agricultural calendar varies by only one day, beginning on the Western February 3 or 4 every year. Again unlike the cycle of the lunar years, which begins with the Rat, the agricultural calendar begins with the Tiger as it is the first animal of spring.
An individual's monthly animal sign is called their inner animal and is concerned with what motivates a person. Since this sign dictates the person's love life and inner persona, it is critical to a proper understanding of the individual's with other signs.
As each sign is linked to a month of the solar year, it is thereby also linked to a season. Each of the elements is also linked to a season , and the element that shares a season with a sign is known as that sign's ''fixed element''. In other words, that element is believed to impart some of its characteristics to the sign concerned. The fixed element of each sign applies also to the year and hour signs, and not just the monthly sign. It is important to note that the fixed element is separate from the cycle of elements which interact with the signs in the 60 year cycle.
The hours - the secret animals
The Chinese zodiac is also used to label times of day, with each sign corresponding to a "large-hour" or '''' , which is a two-hour period . It is therefore important to know the exact time of birth to determine it. The secret animal is thought to be a person’s truest representation, since this animal is determined by the smallest denominator: a person’s birth hour. As this sign is based on the position of the sun in the sky and not the time of your local clock, it is important to compensate for daylight saving time. However, some online systems already compensate for daylight savings time, and astrologers may compensate your time for you oblivious to the fact that you've compensated it yourself, leading to an inaccurate reading.
The large-hour in which a person is born is their secret animal. It is a person's own true sign which their personality is based on. Note that while this chart is quite precise, the exact time at which each animal begins shifts by the day.
* 23:00 - 01:00: 子 rat
* 01:00 - 03:00: 丑 ox
* 03:00 - 05:00: 寅 tiger
* 05:00 - 07:00: 卯 rabbit
* 07:00 - 09:00: 辰 dragon
* 09:00 - 11:00: 巳 snake
* 11:00 - 13:00: 午 horse
* 13:00 - 15:00: 未 sheep
* 15:00 - 17:00: 申 monkey
* 17:00 - 19:00: 酉 rooster
* 19:00 - 21:00: 戌 dog
* 21:00 - 23:00: 亥 boar
Problems with English Translation
Due to confusion with synonyms during translation, some of the animals depicted by the words did not exist in ancient China. For example, 羊 can mean both goat and sheep, but goat is the species that existed in central China since the beginning of time, and goat is the species seen in illustrations, not sheep. Similarly, 豬 is sometimes translated to boar, and 牛 is commonly thought to be ox, whose female counterpart is the dairy cow.
Categorizations of the twelve signs
Power Signs
*
*
*
*
*
*
Romance Signs
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Four Animal Trines
The First Trine
The first trine consists of the Rat, Dragon, and Monkey. These three signs are intense and powerful individuals, capable of great good or great evil. They make great leaders, but the three may have different approaches. Frustrated when hampered, these signs are ruled by highly potent energy and unpredictability. At their worst, Rats are ruthlessly power-hungry, vindictive, and Machiavellian, Dragons are inflexible megalomaniacs and dogmatists, and Monkeys are destructive manipulators and hedonists. They are intelligent, magnanimous, charismatic, charming, authoritative, confident, eloquent and artistic. They can also be tyrannical, bombastic, prejudiced, deceitful, imperious, ruthless, power-hungry, and megalomaniacal.
The Second Trine
The second trine consists of the Ox, Snake, and Rooster. These three soul mates conquer life through endurance, application, and slow accumulation of energy. Although each sign is fixed and rigid in opinions and views, they are genius in the art of meticulous planning. They are hardworking, discreet, modest, industrious, charitable, loyal, punctual, philosophical, patient, and good-hearted individuals with high moral standards. They can also be self-righteous, vain, critical, judgmental, myopic, narrow-minded, petty, and pessimistic.
The Third Trine
The third trine consists of the Tiger, Horse, and Dog. These three signs seek a true lover, and are like-minded in their pursuit of humanitarian causes. Each is a gifted orator and excels at verbal communication. Relationships and personal contact are of highest priority and each one seeks their intimate soul mate. Idealistic and impulsive, the Tiger, Horse and Dog follow the beat of their own drummer. Defiant against injustice, these three signs wilt without large amounts of physical affection and loyal support for causes. They are productive, enthusiastic, independent, engaging, dynamic, and honourable. They can also be rash, rebellious, quarrelsome, hot-headed, reckless, anxious, moody, disagreeable, and stubborn. Although these three signs are loyal, they can be very protective when lied to. The three signs do not enjoy being told what to do, but will listen when it is a person they love or trust whole-heartedly.
The Fourth Trine
The fourth trine consists of the Rabbit, Sheep, and Pig. The quest for these three signs is the aesthetic and beautiful in life. Their calm nature gives them great leadership abilities. They are artistic, refined, intuitive, and well-mannered. These souls love the preliminaries in love, and are fine artists in their lovemaking. The Rabbit, Sheep and Pig have been bestowed with calmer natures than the other 9 signs. These three are compassionately aware, yet detached and resigned to their condition. They seek beauty and a sensitive lover. They are caring, unique, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, emphatic, tactful, and prudent. They can also be naive, pedantic, insecure, cunning, indecisive, and pessimistic.
Zodiac origin stories
The 12 Zodiac animal signs are, in order, the , , , , , , , , , , , and . There are many legends to explain the beginning of the zodiac . One of the most popular reads, in summarised form, as follows:
:''The rat was given the task of inviting the animals to report to the Jade Emperor for a banquet to be selected for the zodiac signs. The cat was a good friend of the rat, but the rat tricked him into believing that the banquet was the next day. The cat slept through the banquet, thinking that it was the next day. When he found out, the cat vowed to be the rat's natural enemy for ages to come.''
Interestingly, the cat does make it into the Vietnamese Zodiac, in place of the rabbit .
Another popular legend has it that a race was used to decide the animals to report to the Jade Emperor.
The cat and the rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although bad swimmers, they were both intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a na?ve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, overcome with a fierce competitiveness, the rat decided that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat has never forgiven the rat, and hates the water as well. After the ox had crossed the river, the rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, and it claimed first place in the competition.
Following closely behind was the strong ox, and it was named the 2nd animal in the zodiac. After the ox, came the tiger, panting, while explaining to the Emperor just how difficult it was to cross the river with the heavy currents pushing it downstream all the time. But with powerful strength, it made to shore and was named the 3rd animal in the cycle.
Suddenly, from a distance came a thumping sound, and the rabbit arrived. It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it almost lost the race but the rabbit was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed him to shore. For that, it became the 4th animal in the zodiac cycle. Coming in 5th place was the dragon, flying and belching fire into the air. Of course, the Emperor was deeply curious as to why a strong and flying creature such as the dragon should fail to reach first. The mighty dragon explained that he had to stop and make rain to help all the people and creatures of the earth, and therefore he was held back a little. Then, on his way to the finish line, he saw a little helpless rabbit clinging on to a log so he did a good deed and gave a puff of breath to the poor creature so that it could land on the shore. The Emperor was very pleased with the actions of the dragon, and he was added into the zodiac cycle. As soon as he had done so, a galloping sound was heard, and the horse appeared. Hidden on the horse's hoof is the snake, whose sudden appearance gave the horse a fright, thus making it fall back and gave the snake 6th spot while the horse took the 7th.
Not long after that, a little distance away, the ram, monkey and rooster came to the shore. These three creatures helped each other to get to where they are. The rooster spotted a raft, and took the other two animals with it. Together, the ram and the monkey cleared the weeds, tugged and pulled and finally got the raft to the shore. Because of their combined efforts, the Emperor was very pleased and promptly named the ram as the 8th creature, the monkey as the 9th, and the rooster the 10th.
The 11th animal is the dog. His explanation for being late—although he was supposed to be the best swimmer amongst the rest—was that he needed a good bath after a long spell, and the fresh water from the river was too big a temptation. For that, he almost didn't make it to finish line. Just as the Emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal was heard from a little pig. The pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast and then fell asleep. After the nap, the pig continued the race and was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac cycle. The cat finished too late to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore.
In Buddhism, legend has it that Buddha summoned all of the animals of the earth to come before him before his departure from this earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him he named a year after each of them, the years were given to them in the order they had arrived.
Chinese zodiac in other countries
The Chinese zodiac signs are also used by cultures other than Chinese. For one example, they usually appear on Korean New Year and Japanese New Year's cards and stamps. The United States Postal Service and those of several other countries issue a "Year of the _____" postage stamp each year to honor this Chinese heritage. However, those unfamiliar with the use of the Chinese lunar calendar usually just assume that the signs switch over on Jan 1 of each year. Those who are serious about the fortune telling aspect of the signs can consult a table, such as the one above. The Chinese zodiac animals were used also in the coins.
The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China. However, some of the animals in the Zodiac may differ by country.
East Asia
The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the '''' instead of the ''ox'', the fourth animal is the '''' instead of the ''rabbit'' and the eighth animal is the ''goat'' instead of the ''''. The Japanese zodiac includes the ''wild boar'' instead of the ''pig'', and the mouse instead of the rat. The Thai zodiac includes a '''' in place of the ''dragon''.
The Bulgars, Huns and Turkic people
The European Huns used the Chinese Zodiac complete with "dragon", "pig". This common Chinese-Turkic Zodiac was in use in Balkan Bulgaria well into the Bulgars' adoption of Slavic language and .
Following is the Hunnish or Turkic Bulgarian Pagan zodiac calendar, distinctive from the Greek zodiac but much in conformity with the Chinese one:
Torè calendar
Names of years
# Kuzgé - Saravana
# Shiger - Artom
# Kuman
# ?gur - Tiger Myachè ?gur - Tiger
# Taushan - Rabbit
# Samar - Dragon Birgün - Dragon
# Mcloven - Snake
# Tykha - Horse
# Téké - Sheep
# Bichin, Michin - Monkey
# Tavuk - Rooster, Hen
# It - Dog
# Shushma - Pig
In Kazakhstan, animal cycle similar to the Chinese is used, but the dragon is substituted by a snail , and tiger appears as a leopard .
Sources
* Shelly Wu. . ''Chinese Astrology''. Publisher: The Career Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56414-796-7
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