Chinese Zodiac

There are 12 animals that are in the Chinese Zodiac. The order goes:

• Rat
• Ox
• Tiger
• Rabbit
• Dragon
• Snake
• Horse
• Goat
• Monkey
• Rooster
• Dog
• Pig

After the Year of the Pig, the cycle continues and returns to the Year of the Rat.

To answer the question: "why in this order?" There is a fable that goes with it...

The Great Race

The Jade Emperor decided to call a meeting to grant a year dedicated to these animals. He declared that the order of the years will be in the same order as the animals arrive to the meeting.

There was a river the animals had to cross to get to the end of the race. The rat was a poor swimmer, but the ox was strong and sturdy. The rat asked the ox to help take him across the river so he won't drown. The ox was naive and good-natured so he helped the rat. As they reached the riverbank, the rat jumped off the ox and was named 1st, and the ox was named 2nd.

The tiger finished in 3rd place. He is not as good as a swimmer as the ox, but he used his powerful strength to fight against the current in the river.

In 4th place, the rabbit arrived. He explained that he jumped from stone to stone to cross the river. He slipped one time but he was able to grab onto a log and pull himself out of the river.

In 5th place was the dragon. The Jade Emperor asked why a creature that was capable of flying would arrive in 5th place. The dragon explained that he was helping all the people and creatures of the Earth so he was held back. After the dragon was done explaining, the horse came galloping. The snake is hidden under the horse's hooves, and upon seeing him, the horse was frightened and the snake was able to arrive before the horse. The Jade Emperor announced that the snake came in 6th and the horse is in 7th.

Then the goat, monkey, and rooster came together. They helped each other cross the river. The rooster found a raft and the goat and monkey cleared the weeds to get the raft to shore. The Jade Emperor then named the goat in 8th place, monkey in 9th place, and rooster in 10th place.

The dog then came in 11th place. He was supposed to be the best swimmer, but he couldn't resist playing in the water a little longer.

And in the last place is the pig. He got hungry in the middle of the race so stopped to eat before continuing on.

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There's a lot of variations in this folktale, but this is the most well-known version.

You will see that there is a lot of stories that are part of the background to some traditions. Some of these stories are thousands of years old passed down from generation to generation.