16 questions · Mythology
The Chinese zodiac counts years rather than months and it tells its order as a story. The Jade Emperor, so it goes, invited all animals to a race; the first twelve to finish would each be given a year. The rat was small and slow but clever: it rode across the river on the ox's back and jumped off just before the bank, which is why it stands first and the ox second. The cat, in the versions where it appears at all, was tricked by the rat about the starting time and has been missing ever since: though in Vietnam it sits in the calendar quite happily, in place of the rabbit. Unlike the Western zodiac, the Chinese system does not repeat after twelve years, because each animal pairs with one of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Only after sixty years does a combination return and that is what makes 2026 special: it is a year of the Fire Horse, the last one being 1966. In Japan it is called hinoeuma, and the superstition that girls born in such a year bring misfortune caused the birth rate to collapse by more than a quarter in 1966. The new year, by the way, moves: it follows the lunar calendar and falls between late January and late February, so anyone born in January often still belongs to the previous year's animal.
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Twelve
Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig: in exactly the order the legend of the race explains.
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The rat
By legend it rode across the river on the ox's back and jumped off just before the bank: cunning beat strength.
A race
The Jade Emperor invited all the animals; the first twelve to finish each got a year. The story explains every position and gives each animal its character.
The rat tricked it about the starting time
So the legend says, and cat and rat have been enemies ever since. More soberly: domestic cats reached China later, when the cycle was long settled.
Vietnam
One explanation: the Chinese word for rabbit (mao) sounds like the Vietnamese for cat (mèo). The ox becomes a buffalo there too: fitting for local farming.
The five elements
Wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Twelve animals and five elements yield sixty combinations: the sexagenary cycle.
After 60 years
Not twelve: the cycle comes from the least common multiple of 12 animals and 10 heavenly stems. That is why a 60th birthday is traditionally a special celebration.
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The horse
More precisely the Fire Horse. The year runs from 17 February 2026 to 5 February 2027.
Births fell by more than a quarter
The hinoeuma superstition holds that girls born in such a year bring misfortune on their husband's family. Births dropped from 1.8 million to about 1.36 million and rebounded in 1967.
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Between late January and late February
It follows the lunar calendar, falling on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Anyone born in January often still belongs to the previous year's animal.
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The dragon
Birth rates measurably rise in dragon years across several East Asian countries. It is also the only mythical creature in the cycle; the other eleven are real animals.
Exactly one
Only the dragon is mythical. The other eleven (from rat to pig) actually walk, crawl or fly about.
You are thought to be prone to bad luck in your own sign
Benmingnian is the year returning every twelve years. The remedy: wear red: traditionally given by others, not bought yourself.
Double hours of the day
The day falls into twelve two-hour segments, each with an animal: the hour of the rat sits around midnight. Months and compass directions follow the same scheme.
The goat
The character 羊 (yáng) covers small livestock generally: goat, sheep or ram depending on region. English uses all three versions side by side.
In Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia
With local variations: Vietnam swaps rabbit for cat, Japan calls the goat a sheep, and Thailand starts the year on a different date.
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