China Festival ToursYou could enjoy a pleasant Chinese New Year this winter!(February 13 - February 28 )
The true origins of the Chinese Zodiac have been lost to time, but there are several legends surrounding its origins. The two most common are as follows:
In ancient times the rat was requested by the Jade Emperor, who lived in heaven, to invite the animals to report to a banquet where the zodiac animals would be chosen. Cats and rats at that time got along and were friends, but the rat tricked the cat into believing that the banquet was the next day. The cat slept through the banquet, and therefore did not become one of the zodiac animals. When he found out he vowed to be the rat's arch enemy for all eternity.
The most popular legend says that the Jade Emperor invited all of the animals into a race. The winners would be chosen as the animals for the Chinese Zodiac. In the middle of the course was a wide river with a fast current. The rat and the cat being the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom knew that they could never cross the river on their own. They asked the ox if they could hitch a ride with him to get across the river. The ox being a good natured animal readily agreed to carry them across. During the river crossing the cat and rat had a heated argument about who was the smartest and fastest animal. In the middle of the argument the rat pushed the cat into the river. Ever since, cats hate water to this day.
As soon as the ox reached the other side, the rat hopped off his back and ran ahead to be the first animal in the Chinese Zodiac. The ox came in second behind the rat and was named the second animal. The tiger came in third explaining to the Jade Emperor that the river's strong currents kept him from getting across first. The rabbit hopped onto a floating log and was able to come in fourth. Next came the dragon, who flew across the finish line. The Jade Emperor was curious how the dragon being very powerful and able to fly did not come in first. The dragon explained that during the race he crossed an area affected by a drought and stopped to make it rain, which slowed him down.
The Jade Emperor was very impressed by his compassion and named him the fifth place winner. Next came the horse, which unbeknownst to him had the snake hitching a ride on his hoof. As he was about to cross the finish line he noticed the snake and jumped back causing the snake to be sixth place and the horse seventh. Soon the goat, monkey, and rooster crossed the finish line. They told the Jade Emperor that they had to work as a team to cross the rapid river. The rooster found a raft and saw that the ram and monkey couldn't possibly cross the river, so he offered to give them a ride. Upon reaching the heavily weeded shore, the monkey and ram fought to get the raft through the weeds so that the rooster could get to shore. The Jade Emperor named the ram as eight, the monkey as ninth, and the rooster as tenth. Next came the dog, the eleventh animal. The Jade Emperor asked him why he was so late since he was the best swimmer. The dog replied that he hadn't had a bath for a very long time and the cool fresh water of the river was too much of a temptation for him to resist.
For a very long time no further animals crossed the finish line. The Jade emperor was ready to call it a day and limit the Chinese Zodiac to just eleven animals, instead of the twelve he had originally planned when in the distance he heard squealing and soon the pig crossed the finish line. The Jade Emperor asked him why he was so late. The pig told the Jade Emperor that he got hungry during the race and stopped for something to eat. After eating his fill he fell asleep, which made him late. The Jade Emperor named him the twelfth animal and announced the openings for the Chinese Zodiac closed. Just as he finished, the cat came running up soaking wet. The cat was too late to win a place in the Chinese Zodiac and vowed to be the enemy of the rat for all eternity.
The Buddhist origin legend is quite a bit different. The legend says that The Buddha summoned all of the animals on earth before he departed this world. Only twelve animals actually showed up. To reward those twelve devoted animals to come to say goodbye, The Buddha named a year after each one of them. The order of the zodiac was decided by the order in which they arrived.
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