The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, also known as the phases of the genus, are the twelve animals in China that match the twelve earthly branches with the year of a person’s birth, including the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The origin of the Chinese zodiac is related to animal worship. As a long-standing folk cultural symbol, the Chinese Zodiac has left a large number of poems, spring couplets, paintings, calligraphy and folk craft works depicting the image and symbolism of the Chinese Zodiac through the ages.
The twelve zodiac signs are the figurative representatives of the twelve earthly branches, i.e., Zi (Rat), U (Ox), Yin (Tiger), Mao (Rabbit), Chen (Dragon), Si (Snake), Wu (Horse), Wei (Sheep), Shen (Monkey), You (Chicken), Xu (Dog), and Hai (Pig), which are gradually blended into the concept of folk beliefs of inter-relationships with each other as history develops and reflected in the concepts of marriage, life and yearly fortunes, etc. Each of these zodiac signs has a wealth of legends and has become a system of conceptual interpretation, which has become a system of interpretation. Each zodiac sign has a rich legend, and in this way it forms a conceptual interpretation system and becomes a figurative philosophy in folk culture, such as the phases of the zodiac in marriage, prayers at temples, and the year of the birth of a child. In modern times, more people use the Chinese zodiac as a mascot for the Spring Festival and as a symbol for entertainment and cultural activities.
In addition to China, many countries in the world have folk cultures related to the Chinese zodiac. In the East Asian Cultural Circle, Korea and Japan have the same Chinese Zodiac as China, Vietnam has a cat instead of a rabbit, India has a lion but not a tiger, and the rest are the same as China. Cambodia and Thailand are the same as China, but with the ox and snake at the head respectively. Myanmar is the eight zodiac signs.
Long, long ago, on the ancient land of Huaxia, there lived a great emperor named Xuan Yuan Huang Di.
He wanted to choose twelve of the bravest and most loyal animals to guard his palace.
When the news spread, all the animals were thrilled, and they all wanted to be part of this honor.
The cat thought it was agile, but it overslept on the day of registration, so it asked its good friend, the mouse, to help sign up.
The mouse promised readily, but when it came to registration, it forgot about it.
From then on, whenever the cat saw the mouse, it got angry and always wanted revenge.
On the day of selection, Emperor Xuan Yuan looked at the animals before him and had already chosen some in his heart.
Everyone chose the ox as the leader because it was strong and diligent.
But the cunning mouse secretly climbed onto the ox’s back, wanting to make itself look tall and mighty.
When the tiger and the Long saw the ox being chosen as the leader, they felt dissatisfied.
Seeing their dissatisfaction, Emperor Xuan Yuan made the tiger the god of the mountains and the Long the god of the sea, placing them behind the ox to guard the four directions.
The rabbit felt it was fast and also dissatisfied, so it challenged the Long to a race.
Unexpectedly, the rabbit really ran faster than the Long and quickly got ahead of it.
Seeing the rabbit so pleased with itself, the dog felt unhappy, and in a fit of anger, it bit the rabbit.
Emperor Xuan Yuan was very angry and punished the dog by placing it last.
Among the remaining snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, and chickens, there was also a fierce competition.
They each had their own abilities and refused to give in.
Finally, the lazy pig came slowly. Although it ran the slowest, Emperor Xuan Yuan saw its cute appearance and still let it take the last spot.
In this way, the twelve zodiac animals were born, and they have been guarding Emperor Xuan Yuan’s palace, becoming legends of the land of Huaxia.
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