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There are lots of stories relating to the myths and legends of the Chinese Zodiac, with many different versions of the same stories. One such story is how the twelve animals were chosen to be used in the Chinese Zodiac and in what order they were to be used. Several stories relate to the animals having a race.

 

The Order of the Animals

This legendary story about the Chinese Zodiac is said to have begun when the Jade Emperor (according to Chinese folklore, he was the Heavenly Emperor) ordered that the first twelve animals to finish a race would be given calendar signs depending on the order in which they finished. Legend has it that the cat and rat were then good friends and the cat suggested that the two of them should get up early and be at the start ready to sign up for the race. The cat though, usually likes to sleep later, however the rat promised his friend that he would wake him and they would help each other in the race. On the morning of the race, the rat forgot his promise and went to the start of the race where he met the other animals that all ran much faster than he did.

 

The Rat made a deal with the Ox that he would sing for the Ox in return for his being carried during the race. The Ox arrived ahead of the other animals, but instead of him being first the Rat jumped ahead of him to cross the line in first place. The Rat’s good friend the Cat, waking up late was too late to be selected in the first twelve animals. This story highlights why cats hate rats and whenever they meet cats will try to catch and kill rats.

 

Other versions of this story claim that the race was the idea of the Yellow Emperor who wanted the animals to be his twelve guards, and that the rat intentionally forgot to wake his friend the cat. There are also stories of it being a swimming race, with one of the participants being the Elephant, but the Elephant was scared by the Rat and ran away.

Historically, famous Chinese scholars have their own versions or interpretations of this event. Hong Xun, a scholar during the Song Dynasty of 960-1279, thought the story was based on the Yin Yang Theory. Of the twelve animals, six have an odd number of toes or digits, while six have an even number (the snake has no toes, but the forked tongue gives it the number two, or even). The odd numbers are Yang or positive, the even numbers being Yin or negative. The Yin and Yang animal signs were then interlaced giving the Chinese Zodiac balance. Other scholars of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) continued and further developed this idea of Yin and Yang, or opposites.

 

Chinese Mythology- the Origins of the World

In ancient Chinese Mythology, the Rat played an important role in the origins of the world, giving it priority over all the other animals. According to Chinese Mythology, the universe was a dark place before the heaven and earth were separated. The Rat gnawed open a gap and let the air in, the Rat was the hero that started the world.
 

The original interpretation of why those twelve animals were chosen has been lost over the centuries of China’s long history. It could just be that the twelve animals chosen were the ones that have been worshipped since ancient times by the people living at that time. The Cat was not included in the list of animals, because at that time, cats were not to be found in China.