Chinese Zodiac

Rat(Zi), Ox(Chou), Tiger(Yin), Rabbit(Mao), Dragon(Chen), Snake(Si), Horse(Wu), Goat(Wei), Monkey(Shen), Rooster(You), Dog(Xu), Pig(Hai).

A long, long time ago, shortly after the world was created, there was no clear system for recording time in the human world.

To bring order to the cycles of nature, the Jade Emperor decided to hold a great “River Race.” He would select twelve animals to represent time and use them to mark the years, with their ranking determined by the order in which they crossed the river.

He sent divine messengers across the world with the decree:”Whoever crosses the Heavenly River first and reaches the opposite shore will enter the Zodiac, ranked according to arrival order.” Upon hearing this, all the animals rushed to take part.

On the day of the race, the hardworking ox set off early. Steady and dependable, it moved forward step by step. Meanwhile, the clever little rat realized it was too small to swim across the river, so it quietly climbed onto the ox’s back and hid behind its horns. The ox, unaware of this, continued its journey with determination. Just as the ox stepped onto the opposite shore, the rat suddenly jumped off its back and dashed across the finish line first. Thus, the rat became number one, while the ox came in second.

The tiger, king of the forest, followed closely behind. Powerful and fierce, it charged into the river, splashing through the waves. However, the strong current slowed its progress, and it ultimately finished in third place.

The rabbit could not swim, but it was an excellent jumper. It found floating logs in the river and leapt from one to another, crossing the river step by step, eventually finishing in fourth place.

The dragon could have easily won the race, but along the way, it saw that the human world was suffering from drought. It paused to summon clouds and bring rain. By the time it finished its good deed, it had already missed the best opportunity and came in fifth.

The snake hid itself in the grass near the horse’s legs, using camouflage to cross the river. At a critical moment, it suddenly slithered forward and secured sixth place.

The horse ran like the wind, while the goat moved at a slower, gentler pace. Along the way, they helped each other cross the river and arrived together, taking seventh and eighth places respectively.

The monkey, clever and agile, leapt and climbed its way across the river, also helping the goat along the way. It finished in ninth place.

The rooster, the dog, and the pig worked together to build a raft to cross the river. The rooster guided the direction and successfully reached tenth place. The dog, although a strong swimmer, got distracted playing in the water and ended up finishing eleventh. The pig was the slowest; it even fell asleep along the way and only slowly made its way to the finish line, becoming twelfth.

From that day on, one animal represents each year in a repeating cycle, and people remember the passage of time through their stories.