The Great Race - How the Chinese Zodiac was Created

(Image via DavidVictorVector.Blogspot.Com)

A long, long time ago, there was no concept of time. People wanted to mark the passage of time but did not know how. So they asked the Jade Emperor for his wisdom. After deliberating for a long time, he decided that the years who be named after twelve animals. So he decreed that a river crossing race be held to determine which of the animals would be those used to name the years after.

On the day of the race, all sort of animals arrived to participate. The Cat and the Mouse (or Rat), who were the best of friends, discussed on how to win the race. Since they were both poor swimmers, they asked the help of the Ox, who was one of the best swimmers. The good-natured but naïve Ox agreed to take them both on his back.

When the race began, the Ox, being a good swimmer took an early lead. But the mouse, who was cunning and selfish, secretly wanted to cross the finish line first. So when they got into the middle of the river, the Mouse suddenly pushed the Cat off the Ox’s back. As the Ox was nearing the finish line on the other side of the river, the Mouse jumped off the Ox’s back, which made him the first animal to finish. The Ox came in second.

Meanwhile, the Tiger came in third. He explained to the Jade Emperor that the heavy currents kept pushing him down the river. But because of his strength, he was able to cross the river.

Next came the Rabbit in fourth place. He was able to cross the river by jumping on the heads of the other animals. But because he ran too fast, he hit his mouth on a tree, causing him to have huge front teeth.

After the Rabbit, the Dragon came in fifth place. He should have placed earlier but because he was busy in making thunder and lightning, he became deaf; so he was not able to hear the start of the race.

The Snake came in sixth while the Horse came in seventh. In order to defeat the Horse, the Snake scared him and overtook him. But the Snake ran so fast that his four legs broke off, leaving him legless.

The Sheep (or Goat or Ram), and the Monkey, and the Rooster decided to help each other cross the river. The Sheep sat on the back of the Monkey who in turn rode on the Rooster’s back. While they were crossing on a raft, the Sheep, who was serving as a lookout, saw the Dog playing in the river and scolded him severely. The Sheep overstrained his eyes looking at the Dog so he became nearsighted. Because he had been sitting for so long, the Monkey’s behind became permanently red. The Rooster, who originally had four legs, had two of his legs crushed because he had been supporting the Monkey and the Sheep for so long. The Sheep arrived on eighth place, the Monkey on ninth, and the Rooster on tenth. The Dog finished next to the last but he didn’t care.

The Pig (or Boar) arrived last because he decided to eat and take a nap first before participating in the race. When he crossed the finish line, he asked the Jade Emperor for more food; making him the laughingstock of all the other animals.

The Cat was finally able to cross the river but it was too late. He would never be included in the Chinese Zodiac. This made him very angry so he told his children what the Mouse did to him. Henceforth, the Cat and the Mouse became mortal enemies. The Mouse, aware of his wrongdoing, hid in dark places because of his guilt.

(Image via Hutong-School.Com)

R E F E R E N C E S

Daniels, R., rev. by Haiyan Situ. (1993, 2003). Making out in Chinese (rev. ed.). Singapore: Berkeley Books Pte Ltd.

“The Chinese Zodiac”. Wikipedia. Accessed: November 23, 2013, Retrieved: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac.