What’s your sign? In Western astrology, it’s a constellation determined by
when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac,
or shēngxiào, it’s your shǔxiàng, meaning the animal
assigned to your birth year. And of the many myths explaining
these animal signs and their arrangement, the most enduring one is
that of the Great Race. As the story goes, Yù Dì, or Jade Emperor,
Ruler of the Heavens, wanted to devise a way to measure time,
so he organized a race. The first twelve animals to make it
across the river would earn a spot on the zodiac calendar
in the order they arrived. The rat rose with the sun
to get an early start, but on the way to the river, he met the horse, the tiger, and the ox. Because the rat was small
and couldn’t swim very well, he asked the bigger animals for help. While the tiger and horse refused, the kind-hearted ox agreed
to carry the rat across. Yet, just as they were about
to reach the other side, the rat jumped off the ox’s head
and secured first place. The ox came in second, with the powerful tiger right behind him. The rabbit,
too small to battle the current, nimbly hopped across stones and logs
to come in fourth. Next came the dragon,
who could have flown directly across, but stopped to help some creatures
she had encountered on the way. After her came the horse,
galloping across the river. But just as she got across,
the snake slithered by. The startled horse reared back,
letting the snake sneak into sixth place. The Jade Emperor looked out at the river and spotted the sheep, the monkey,
and the rooster all atop a raft, working together to push it
through the weeds. When they made it across, the trio agreed to give eighth place
to the sheep, who had been the most comforting
and harmonious of them, followed by the monkey and the rooster. Next came the dog,
scrambling onto the shore. He was a great swimmer, but frolicked in the water for so long
that he only managed to come in eleventh. The final spot was claimed by the pig, who had gotten hungry and stopped
to eat and nap before finally waddling
across the finish line. And so, each year is associated with one
of the animals in this order, with the cycle starting over
every 60 years. Why 60 and not twelve? Well, the traditional Chinese calendar
is made up of two overlapping systems. The animals of the zodiac are associated
with what’s called the Twelve Earthly Branches, or shí’èrzhī. Another system, the Ten Heavenly Stems,
or tiāngān, is linked with the five classical elements of metal, xīn, wood, mù, water, shuǐ, fire, huǒ, and earth, tǔ. Each element is assigned yīn or yáng, creating a ten-year cycle. When the twelve animals
of the Earthly Branches are matched with the five elements plus the yīn or the yáng
of the Heavenly Stems, it creates 60 years
of different combinations, known as a sexagenary cycle, or gānzhī. So someone born in 1980 would have
the sign of yáng metal monkey, while someone born in 2007
would be yīn fire pig. In fact, you can also have an inner animal
based on your birth month, a true animal based on your birth date, and a secret animal based on
your birth hour. It was the great race
that supposedly determined which animals were enshrined
in the Chinese zodiac, but as the system spread through Asia, other cultures made changes
to reflect their communities. So if you consult the Vietnamese zodiac, you may discover that you’re a cat,
not a rabbit, and if you’re in Thailand, a mythical snake called a Naga
replaces the dragon. So whether or not you place stock
in what the zodiac says about you as an individual, it certainly reveals much about
the culture it comes from.
This story is familiar to me.
Plus I’m half japanese so I can speak Japanese and I’m still a kid and I’m learning 3rd grade kanji (cause I’m in 3rd grade)
And imspeak a few languages
hmm i always wonder about the basic of this intriguing tnX
I know chinese
Thank you for shedding light on the origins of the zodiac. With no offence intended, the title however seem to suggest something else. Generally to say the myth of something is to question its authencity and perhaps suggests its reality. In that context, i find it doesnt justify as the title to this wonderful animation of history superbly presented bilingually perfectly.
I say we have a zodiac of Lundy- tunes characters.
Yosemite-Sam best character!
“Naga” is the exact definition of “dragon” tho. I don’t see the difference
Can some one tell me mine
Year animals
Fruits Basket brought me here
Waat i was born on 2007
im-speek-chinese
yay, I'm a Water Sheep
Shame… They didn't even mention the cat…
The animals are a subsequent development to explain the Twelve Earthly Branches. To quote wiki:
“This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of 歲星 Suìxīng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with 攝提 Shètí (η Boötis) and sometimes called Sheti.
In correlative thinking, the 12 years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the 12 months of the year, 12 animals (mnemonics for the system), directions, seasons, and Chinese hour in the form of double hours.”
Cambodian also adopted the Chinese Zodiac but we replace Dragon with Naga (also dragon)
I am a Water Rooster
Sheep gang!
I wonder why there is no bird (aerial ones) won? It was them who announced the race to all creatures and they can travel with ease so they could have overtook that boar too.
It is not chinese it is nomadic zodiac
you…….
im year of the ox
ironically i celebrate every year but i never actually learned the story cuz i lived overseas and it was way to complicated
Fire goat here
Can someone just make a fruits basket version?
There is more animals then 12 ? Tell us more
Where are the ox squad?
Naga means dragon, same thing in different language
Apparently I’m a yang wood dog, awesome.
I am born in the year of ox
Hahaha! Western ego fools!
Weirdest thing….they didn't ate one another.
So is the 8 January dragon or rabbit please?
In Japan, the dragon became the seahorse. Makes sense since it has a kanji for "dragon"
Not entirely correct… I’m born in 2007 but I’m a dog that’s because I’m born before Chinese new year
I ask my mom what my animal was and it was a rabbit.my little brother was a snake
Ahh that why i confused by the cat instead of the rabbit
Idk how many times I’ve heard this story in chinese class as I’m chinese
My zodiac sign is Pisces
Can One of you recommend a site/homepage where i can find all my animals? And not just my animal of birth year. Im water rooster from 1993 would like to know all the others 🙂
2009
Year of the Dragon here, never mind my birthday is before the Chinese New Year so I’m a rabbit.
Well, I'm happy that my sign (The Mouse) came in first, but did it have to be so cruel? Poor Ox, at least it came in second 🙂
Mine is dog
Umm a naga is actually half-human and half-snake
Thanks for posting this video
I have wanted to know the myth about this for my entire live
I am an Asian and my zodiac is a tiger 🐯
Me:see video title in school
Me:says zodiac killer
Lol if it's 10 x12 it's 120 not 60. It's base on 5 elements not 10 heavenly branch which is literally just the 5 elements in their yin and yang form.
Wrong understanding of the true meaning of the myth
Wow is freaking hard to master !!!!!
Ms. Chen is so soothing to my ears! Please more!
I feel bad for the cat, he wasn’t even in this video too…
Naga means Dragon right? XD in bahasa tho
My sign is ugliness.
OOPS 2007. No wonder my Ruby Necklace I got for Christmas gave me luck 🙂 also, I am a kind, gentle person, just like the yin symbol… just like the year I was born!
Beep, beep, I said, I'm a sheep. And, the most peaceful one too 😉
The Naga is not a snake it is a water dragon so wrong information and not likely mythical. You can find thousands of references for thousands of years from Emperors owning some to what their parts can be used for. Still to this day the Mekong river has many sightings. As well a similar creature in Burma Thailand was over hundred feet long witnessed by hundreds of people on shore and filmed close up showing it is longer then dozens of people in a row. So this stuff they teach you in science is theoretical and not reality Dragons existed until recent times and Naga types still exist likely. And Man caused dinosaurs aka dragons extinction not a meteor
Meh is in tiger
Fire Dragon in the building. ☯
Mongolians use Chinese zodiac
Chinese pronunciation, the accurate about Vietnamese zodiac. 100% perfect
This is a good story. =} I think the dog is funny frolicking in the water. I'm the sheep and it's true I'm the best of all animals other than maybe the wabbut, munky or woostuh. 🐑
I am Ox, what about you guys?
Sign rabbit 2011
this is a different story i herd
I am the piggy
that's Why I am Lazy😯😯
Am familiar with these animals, I want to see a real dragon! Not Agamids nor Komodo😂
I am the Ox 🐂
I’m aries
So.. the sorcerer and the white serpent has a sequel that needs made?
no i hate pigs :/
I’m the ox zodiac
Lol the tiger tho
How did the snake get across the river?
im a tiger 🥰
Any dragons here?
Crystal clear. Thank you.
I’m a fire sheep! 🔥🐑
ı ṭһȏȗɢһṭ ıṭ ẇѧṡ ɞʏ ʏєѧя ȏя ṡȏṃєṭһıṅɢ
Uhhh wat zodiac animal are kids born in 2009?
I will just stick with Taurus for now
Sadly cats isn’t in it but this just reminds me of the time I was small ;-;
Tiger miraculous ladybug
WOW stories sooo educational buko jobs comeing
I was born 1999 so I’m a rabbit
snitch69 is the mouse
Chinese astrology is truthhhhhhh I’m a dragon 🐉 and i clash with dog born people especially in marriage if the two animals don’t go together best to not marry that person IT WILL END IN BITTER DIVORCE!!
It would be illarious in future when all the this is real then we would be ridiculed like we do of them
I’m a tiger I’m Chinese uwu
I’m OX 😘
good thing the video said jade emperor instead of GOD when the author of fruits basket use GOD instead, im just like are we rlly going to mix christian believes in our myth chinese religion and Christianity just dont go together
十二生肖:鼠,牛,虎,龙,蛇,马,羊,猴,鸡,狗,猪
My Chinese Zodiac sign is the dragon.🐉🐲
My sign is dog and I love dogs
For some reason she sounds a bit weird when she says the Chinese.. oh well, it could be just me
My chinese zodiac is Mouse with fire element…
Miraculous Ladybug 🐞 anyone?
I’m the 🐑♎️
My brother was born in 2007. I also didn’t know they had elements
Roar bitches
Born 2006 on 9 th of jan