Story about the twelve Chinese zodiac animals

We all know cats chase rats when cats see them, but you ever wondered why cats do that? Why it has to be rats not other animals?

The Chinese had an explanation for this.

When the world was first shaped, the Heavenly God announced to all kinds of animals that they could go to the Heavenly Palace. The next day, the twelve earliest kinds of animals to arrive would be chosen to represent a year, once in each cycle which consisted of twelve years.

The cat and the rat were good friends back then, and they both wanted to be chosen as representative, so the cat asked the rat to wake him up so that together they could go to the Heavenly Palace. The rat agreed, however the rat sneaked out the next morning by himself, leaving cat alone, without wake him up.

On the way, the rat met the ox, so it jumped on the ox’s back and they traveled together.

When they were just about to arrived at the Heavenly Palace, the rat jumped off suddenly and run fast to the destination, reaching it ahead of the ox. Later on, other animals, including the pig arrived. Then the God asked the pig to list the animals in the order that they arrived.

On the list, the pig put itself in the first place, and the God was angry about this. He pointed to the pig and said, “You’re too selfish!” The God put the pig at the end of the cycle as a punishment, and ruled that the other 11 animals to be ranked in the order of their arrival at the Heavenly Palace.

The order is as follows: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig.

Of course, it was too late for the cat to woke up for he to be included in the order. Since then, cats and rats became enemies.

When you tell others which animal year you belong to, that person could probably guess your age!

This is because the animals are in that particular order as mentioned above, and they repeat only every 12 years. Therefore by correctly estimating your age range, in addition to the knowledge of the animal you belong to, it would be enough to accurately tell your age.

One of the cycles started in the year 2008 (the rat), so people born in 2009 would belong to the year of the ox and so on, until 2019. Then in 2020, the cycle starts all over again from the rat. From this, you can then calculate which animal year you belong to as well.

For the fortune-tellers and the Feng Shui specialists, the Dizhi is used instead of the twelve zodiac animals to calculate years and ages.  The Dizhi sounds to be more sophisticated than using the animals, because it is more difficult for the general public to understand those words. However, they are actually the same thing, as both the animals and the Dizhi consist of a cycle of twelve, each representing a year respectively.

This is an interesting idea from the people in the past, which made the whole thing sound a lot less serious and a lot more interesting. It did not come from any particular person, thus showing the fantastic creativity and imagination of the ordinary people.

Many people look deeply into the fate and the characteristics of the animal year that they belong to, and use various methods and materials to predict how lucky one will be in a year.

This is quite similar to the Western Zodiac sign to a certain extent.

Basically if you believe in the, then there are all sorts of these calculations and predictions; on the other hand, if you don’t believe them at all, then they are all simply superstitions.

Come to think of it, there are only twelve representatives animals and there are so many people who belong to each of those animals, so how is it possible that so many people share the same characteristics and have the same fate?

Chung Mou Si & Yun Cheng Si

With the arrival of Spring Festival, all households in China will paste up large or small Chinese Character 福 fú (happiness) on their doors, windows, walls, lintels, and box frames. It has become a traditional practice for Chinese people to put up the Chinese character 福 fú for the purpose of greeting the arrival of spring and praying for happiness.

The Chinese character 福 fú , generally interpreted as “happiness”, means “good luck” or “good fortune” in the minds of the Chinese people. 福 fú posted during Spring Festival has always signified people’s yearning for a happy life, as well as a wish for a brilliant future.

It is quite an art to put up 福 fú , which should be pasted upside down. The homonyms Chinese characters “倒 Dào (upside down)” and “到 Dào (arrival)” allude to the advent of ” 福 fú (good fortune).”

In addition, many Chinese people paint carious auspicious pictures incorporating 福 fú , along with such propitious design as the god of longevity, the birthday peach, the carp leaping into the dragon’s gate (gaining fame and advancement), the abundant harvest of all food crops, and the prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix (extremely good fortune). The pictures pasted on front doors take on an auspicious, joyful and beautiful look during holidays. The Chinese character 福 fú was once written by rural calligraphers, but now in the markets or at shops is sold all sorts of red paper printed with 福 fú , as well as various auspicious pictures with different designs.

Liu Dongping & Zhai Shurong

FISH
Fish are one of the most ubiquitous items in Chinese paintings, gardens, and interior decor. Most of Chinese hotel, restaurants, and families keep a fish pond or tanks they contain beautiful gold fish or brightly colored koi. And during holiday celebrations, you can always find fish as a main entree.

The popularity of dish comes from the fact that the word of fish, 鱼 yú, is a homonym for extra or in Chinese is 余 yú. Therefore, people believe having fish in their home or their workplace will help them get a little extra income or profit.

Over the past decade, as the Chinese economy has soared and the number of restaurant mushroomed in cities, more and more business entrepreneurs try to increase their luck in the increasingly competitive environment. Therefore, having the right kind of fish in their display cases becomes important. In recent years, one particular kind of goldfish became very popular among restaurant owners (for show, not for eating!). It is a special breed called get rich fish.

These goldfish are bright orange. They have such a rotund body that they look like balloons ready to pop. Their owners typically pack hundreds of them into one giant rectangular tank. Both their individual butterball look and their sheer number represent abundance in the literal sense. Their obese bodies show that they are clearly well-fed, and their large number means the restaurant is going to have lots of extras. As if that is not enough, they have some ingenious aquarium shops tattoo the characters 发财 fā cái, get rich or fortune, onto individual fish bodies. These tattoos even glow in the dark!

DRAGON AND PHOENIX
Dragons and phoenix are mystical creatures that are both powerful and auspicious. In dynastic days, the dragon symbolized the emperor. But today, one sees dragons and phoenix most often at weddings. The dragon represents the groom and phoenix the bride. In more traditional families, the newlyweds receive silk bedding from the parent that have dragons and phoenix embroidered on theme. Wedding halls are often named after the two creatures and are decorated with their themes. sometimes even the chinaware for the newlyweds has dragons and phoenix painted on theme. In Chinese parlance, dragon and phoenix also represent the pinnacle of achievement for men and women. Parents’ hope for their sons is expressed in the phrase 望子成龙 wàng zǐ chéng lóng, which means wishing the son to become a dragon or in short is succeed in life. Similarly, their hope for daughters is encapsulated in the phrase 望女成凤 wàng nǚ chéng fèng, wishing the daughter to become a phoenix, hopeful or succeed.

Finally, as you may already know, the dragon is the symbol of China. The Chinese consider themselves descendents of the dragon. This is an identity shared by Chinese people living in China, as well as people of Chinese descent throughout the world.

MANDARIN DUCKS
Another symbol associated with Chinese weddings and anniversaries is the mandarin duck. Their unique green blue heads, brown, and black colored feathers are seen in wedding decorations and on dishes, etc.The life long partnership of the mandarin ducks symbolized the couple’s loyalty and love for each other. For that reason, paintings or artwork of mandarin ducks are perfect gifts for weddings or important anniversaries. They are both celebrations and reminders of the couple’s life long commitment to each other.

CRANES
Cranes are symbols of longevity most often seen in Chinese brush paintings or bronze statues in traditional gardens. They are often paired with pine trees, also a symbol of strength and longevity. In addition, cranes were symbols of non military officials in the late dynastic China. Cranes were embroidered on official robes to indicate an individual’s status.

TURTLES
Turtles live to be hundreds of years old; therefore, they are another symbol of longevity for the Chinese. Turtles symbolize longevity, so they are a suitable gift for young and old alike. However, one has to be careful not to call anyone, especially a man, a turtle. Calling a man a turtle means his wife is cheating on him. And that is definitely not good thing to say!

BATS
Bats appear frequently in Chinese jewelry design, specially in jade pendants and gold charms. That is because the word for bats, 蝙蝠 biān fú, sound like the word luck and blessing, 福 fú, in Chinese. Therefore, in Chinese culture, there are none of the dark associations with bats typical of Western cultures. In fact, it is very auspicious to wear a pendant with bat carvings on it because it will bring you good luck!

TIGERS
You may encounter paintings or embroideries of tigers as you wander through art galleries and shopping stalls in China. The tiger is a powerful animal and is typically associated with military or physical might in traditional Chinese culture. In the Qing dynasty, only high ranking military officers wore tigers on their robes when they were not in combat uniform. This is was an indication of their rank and position, And families would not usually put a painting of tiger in their living room. A large painting of a tiger in the main hall of a household indicates that the man of the house is a military official.

Yi S. Ellis & Bryan D. Ellis

From international movie star Gong Li, wearing a red cheongsam at the Cannes Film Festival, to Maggie Cheung who was dressed in several delicate traditional cheongsams in the film In The Mood For Love, beautifully dressed Chinese women of graceful bearing have provided audiences worldwide with a visual feast.

Cheongsam, a close fitting dress with a high neck and a slit skirt as worn by women in the Manchu ethnic group, is a style of traditional Chinese costume representing the cream of the Chinese fashion culture. Its shape and charm completely embody oriental women’s virtuous, elegant, gentle, and graceful temperament, and is glamour and cultural connotations make it ever popular as it plays a leading role in China’s national fashion style.

Cheongsam date back to ancient times, originating from the robes worn by the nomadic Mongolian ethic group. These later evolved into the garments worn by women of the Manchu ethic group of the Qing Dynasty, called chi pao. In the 1920s, cheongsams were improved and become popular with women in Shanghai. Incorporating a Western style tailoring method and the elements of one piece dresses and evening dresses, they looked elegant and fashionable. Once, Sun Yat Sen’s wife Soong Ching Ling wearing a newly improved silk cheongsam was present at the National Government’s stand for reviewing a military parade in Hankou. Her advocacy made the new style cheongsam nationally popular overnight. In the 1930s and 1940s, cheongsams in new styles were constantly brought forth in the most current fashion of the time. These were not only garments for daily wear, but also fashionable dresses worn by upper class women in Shanghai. During the Cultural Revolution, cheongsams disappeared from fashion on the Chinese mainland.

In the past few years, various new style cheongsams have become popular again in cities. At certain celebrations and wedding banquets or on reception occasions, many women enjoy wearing cheongsams and other traditional Chinese garments to incarnate the solemnity of the ceremonies and the charm of oriental women. The new style cheongsams retain the graceful curves formed by a woman’s body and incorporate elements of modern fashions and the spirit of the times in terms of color, tailoring and arrangement.

Also, cheongsams, with their gorgeous and splendid styles and designs, often serve as the preferred style of dress for women representing China on diplomatic occasions. Dress cheongsams, exquisitely made out of silk, satin, velveteen and other materials and blended with such traditional means of decorations as embroidery and painting, appear noble and elegant.

Cheongsams are coming into vogue at international fashion shows as well. In particular, some cheongsams, decorated with images of birds, flowers, and even images of Beijing Opera style makeup and designed in an original and exaggerative manner, vividly reveal the glamour of Chinese garments and their Cultural charm, winning good graces.

Fashion designer often draw inspiration from classical costumes such as cheongsam. France fashion designer Pierre Cardin once admitted that he had gotten much inspiration from Chinese cheongsams. In 2004, at the fashion show held in honor of Tom Ford, a talented fashion designer from Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), a series of Chinese gowns and cheongsams matched with European style high boots brought the charm of Eastern fashions to the audience.

The beautiful Chinese cheongsam will constantly change with the times, and will, by virtue of its unique and everlasting charm, forever be an important contributor to world fashion culture.

Liu Dongping & Zhai Shurong

In such movies as Red Lanterns and Hero, China’s famous director Zhang Yimou cleverly used red lanterns, red costumes, red silk and other red symbols, creating a strong atmosphere of Chinese art, a striking sense of oriental beauty, and intense visual pleasure.

In China, the color red signifies prosperity, growing affluence and good fortune. In the eyes of the Chinese people, red is a joyful and auspicious color, transmitting such meaning as fervor, warmth, bustling activity, romance, aspiration for happiness, and exorcism. “Good luck at the sight of red” has always been a sort of cultural psychology according to Chinese tradition. From time immemorial, red has decorated Chinese people’s lives and their festive ceremonies.

The advocacy of red traces back to ancient times, when people worshiped the god of sun and the god of fire. During the Stone Age, The Upper Cave Man dyed their ornaments with red coloring. Emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty claimed to be the “Son of the Red Emperor“. Since then, red has become widely popular with Chinese people and has lasted to this day. Chinese red is rooted in Chinese tradition.

Example of traditions involving the color red are manifold, from including a red door or wall in the home or business to placement of the a red wooden box as decoration. An infant is traditionally protected by the placement of a red undergarment over his or her abdomen, and a red belt fastened around a person’s waist is worn for luck during the recurrent year of the animal when one was born. Births are  celebrated with a red strip of cloth hung down the lintel of a Chinese house and the elderly wear red garments in celebration of their birthday as they share red birthday peaches. As personal adornment a red string may be used for binding a girl’s plaits or a piece of red silk may be worn in a yangge dance. The auspicious beginning of a business is heralded by the cutting of a red ribbon and wishes for a prosperous new year are shared with red greeting cards. From a red ink paste used to affix a seal to symbolize a person’s power to a red silk banner recoding a person’s meritorious deeds, from the well known tricolor glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty to the bright red porcelain manufactured in Jǐngdézhèn 景德镇 … Chinese red is ubiquitous at any time.

double happiness - Red envelope

Chinese red is indispensable in love and wedding ceremonies. Red beans are a token of love; a girl tosses a red silk ball to a man as a pledge of her love for him; betrothal gifts are called “Hua Hong” (red flower); a nuptial chamber is imbued with red: red door or window curtains, red quilts, red bed sheets, red pillows, red Chinese characters “Shuang Xi (double happiness 双喜)”, and red candles; a bride sitting in a sedan chair wears a red skirt and a red bridal veil covering her head during the wedding ceremony, and bridegroom wears a large red flower as he approaches on his horse. All these add a lively and joyful atmosphere t the wedding ceremony.

Double happiness pasted on entrance door - Someone just got married

Chinese red is embodied more vividly during Spring Festival, when all households will hang red lanterns, paste red antithetical couplets, and cut red paper for window decorations, and children will light red firecrackers and receive the lunar New Year gift money wrapped in red paper. According to a old rhyme, “When the lunar New Year is drawing near, the old wear new clothes and the young have on red hats; the bustling streets are filled with red and green“.

Teeming with profound philosophical tradition, Chinese red, a color loved by Chinese people, shows their love of life as they forge ahead energetically.

Liu Dongping & Zhai Shurong

In many Western countries, there is often no 13th floor in hotels or residential buildings. Thirteen has been considered an unlucky number for centuries. Additionally, the number 6. 666 has a connection to the devil. That’s right, Chinese are superstitious about few numbers as well.

FOUR
The number 4 (四 sì) is an unlucky number in Chinese. The word four is a homonym for the noun death or the verb die (死 sǐ). Therefore, some Chinese prefer not to live at places that have a number 4 in the address. While house hunting, they did not even want to go inside to look at the beautiful garden of a house that had a number 4 in the street address. They would rather live in a house number 13 that one numbered 4. As well as, number like 14 and 44 are also bad luck and avoided. Some hotels in China now do not even have a 44th floor because many Chinese guests would not want to stay on it.

FIVE
For Chinese, 5 is the most commonly used number by people in all aspects of live, so things would usually be divided into 5 categories, for example there are 5 main body organs, 5 tastes, and 5 basic notes in musics. There are also 5 elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These five substances are often seen in daily lives, so they are used to explain the beginning of everything.

SIX
The number 6 (六 liù) is also a favorable number. It sound like the word happiness in Chinese. For Western people 666 equal to devil. For all Chinese thought it is a great number. It stood for triple happiness and smooth.

EIGHT
The number 8 (八 bā), on the other hand, is a very lucky number. It sounds like the word getting rich in Chinese, prosper / wealth / fortune (发 fā short for 发财 fācái), especially in Cantonese. Therefore, businesses love to have the number 8 in any part of their address or phone number. They believe that the usage of the number 8 will actually bring them good luck and prosperity. In fact, people will spend more money to buy phone numbers and license plates that contain 8. So if you see a license plate that has the number 8 for all its numerals, you can be sure the person is a businessman who spent a fortune for it! Similarly, a real estate property with an 8 in its address will be in greater demand.

THIRTY EIGHT
Beware of the number 38. It is especially problematic when associated with women. In Chinese terms, 38 or sān bā is a lower or cheapen for women. It can mean bitchy, bimbo-like, trampy, or shameless depending upon the context. So it is definitely not good for any woman to be called san-ba. Ironically, march 8th, 3/8, is the International Day of Woman. It is a day when all Chinese women can take a half day off from work. Stores and restaurants have special bargains for women on that day. I do not know if there is any relationship between March 8th and lower or cheapen word. Just be sure you make a clear distinction between March 8th the noun and 38 the adjective when you do say the word sān bā in Chinese.

THE PLAY OF NUMBERS
The interesting thing about numbers in Chinese is that you can easily transform a number into a completely different word by slightly changing its pronunciation. It certainly makes memorizing numbers easier. For example, 1 (one) sounds like the verb want, 9 (jiŭ) is identical to the word wine or liquor (jiŭ). Similarly, the number 5 (wú) can sound like the word I or me (wŏ). And the number 7 (qī) sound like the verb eat. When combined, the number 57 (wú qī)) sounds like the phrase I eat (wǒ chī). There is a clever commercial played in many Shanghai taxis that advertise for a service which makes restaurant recommendations and reservations. The phone number for that service is 57-57-5777. “I eat, I eat, I eat eat eat eat!”

Yi S. Ellis & Bryan D. Ellis
Chung Mou Si & Yun Cheng Si

Once there was a farmer, who did not like farm works. One day, he felt very tired and went to rest under a big tree in the edge of the farm field. He looked at other people were working hard and in his mind thought: “If no need to do a number of farm works but have more foods to eat, it would be wonderful…” while thinking, suddenly, a white rabbit came out from the woods, crashed into that big tree as because the white rabbit run too fast, hitting his head too hard and died at once right away. The farmer picked up the white rabbit,  he was very happy: “Luckily, today I had plenty of rest for a while just came across such a good meal. If everyday I rest under this big tree, I will eat white rabbit meat then why should I be tired and spend much time from those farming works?” Since then, he was no longer working as a farmer, every single day just sit under a big tree waiting for the white rabbit to crashed into and hit the big tree. Day after day he waited for the white rabbit to come but there is nothing.

The other people’s ground fields are full of green seedling outgrown, their land full covered with grass. The other people advised him to plant and start now while still have time. However, he said: “Tomorrow just maybe there is a white rabbit crashed and hit the big tree, I would right away have a rabbit meat to eat, no need to do hard working anymore.” Month after month passed away, the other people’s plants and crops were already harvested, while that farmer was still waiting under the big tree. One year had just passed away, not only failed waiting the white rabbit to crashed into and hit the big tree, his ground fields were also wasted.

This is a story call “Wait For A Windfall” 守株待兔

RED
For Chinese people, red color is the color of good fortune, happiness and joy. This is why the tradition Chinese wedding colors are red. The bride is dressed in red qipao or long form-fitting gown or cheongsam. The groom wears a big red sash with a bow over his long black gown.

Nowadays, many bridges and grooms also wear white wedding gowns and tuxedos like in the west, but they will always have a traditional Chinese red costume to change into after the formal exchange of vows.

Babies and anything associated with fertility is also symbolized by red. For example, a new mother will give out hard-boiled eggs dyed red to all her friends, in this way she is thought to pass on her fertility and good fortune to them.

Additionally, red is thought to ward off evil and bad luck. The Chinese believe that one is typically unlucky in the zodiac year in which one was born. For example, if you are born in the year of the dog, then every dog year is considered especially dangerous for you. in order to protect themselves in their zodiac year, many Chinese wear bright red underwear all year around. So the next time you see red underwear flying on a clothes line, you can bet the resident was born in the current zodiac year.

WHITE
White is a color most often associated with funerals. Funeral homes are decorated with white flowers and wreaths. White flowers are given to the family of the deceased as a sign of condolence. Thus it is crucial not to give white flowers to Chinese friends, especially not as a gift to someone who sick.

In additional to giving gift, it is taboo to wear white in one’s head, such as hair accessories. White is a funerary color and wearing it meant that one of the family member has just passed away. Furthermore, wearing white in head when no one has died is considered very unlucky. In fact, it is even thought to precipitate an untimely death of a family member.

BLACK
Black is a somber color in Chinese. It signifies formality and is also a funerary color. When attending a funeral, friends and distant relatives all wear black.

Whereas white is reserved for the immediate family.

And for months after the funeral, children of the deceased often wear a black cloth armband to indicate mourning. The grandchildren, however, have a small red square stapled on their black armband. The little red square indicates that the deceased had lived long enough to have grandchildren, so it is a symbol of fortune and longevity.

GREEN
Green is typically an innocuous color. The only thing to be aware of is not to give anyone, especially a man, a green hat as a gift. A green hat on a man indicates he is a cuckold or associated with infidelity. Calling someone a turtle also means the same.

YELLOW
Yellow signifies neutrality and good luck. Yellow is sometimes paired with red in place of gold. Clothing and objects that are yellow in color still resemble a higher social status. Although each dynasty designates each official rank with their own color, yellow is reserved for the emperor himself.

Yellow color represents freedom from worldly cares in Buddhism. Yellow color is also used as a mourning color for Chinese Buddhists.

Yellow is relating with earth. A beautiful color.

Land & soil are more precious than everything.

Yi S. Ellis & Bryan D. Ellis

Chinese people gradually began to like night life. Such as go to a bar, visit a dance ballroom, night club and so on. Many young people go to those places after finish work. Many of them sleep late wake up late, there are even sleep in daytime and do the work at night. They feel at night life can be relaxing.

However, there is also many people like to sleep early wake up early. Everyday wake up about at 5 am, go to the park square, all of them are doing some body exercise. There are people do Tai Chi, social dance, climbing, etc. This is called a morning lifestyle of the elderly people. They believe this is very joyful and also keep body good and healthy.

One thing I don’t understand Chinese people is that at Chinese Restaurant, a waiter always give us  one menu per table. I and friend always talk about this. “why do they do this, we are their customer, there are two people sitting here, they should give us one each.” We asks for an additional menu then…

But to a Chinese waiter asking for an additional menu is simply unusual thing to do. Every time I ask them, They question me back with confused face.

Chinese food

Chinese restaurant expects only one person decide and do the food ordering for everyone and all dishes are meant to be shared together. For us, find it hard to decide how many dishes we want to order. In Chinese food there are small, medium or large portion or plate sizing system that we always used in our country. The portion are usually too large for both of us. One dishes can be eat and share with 3 or 4 people.

However, if we go out dinner with friends of 8 or more, we sometimes get 2 or 3 menus.

What if it fine dinning Chinese restaurant? They will still give you one menu per table for two persons.

p.s. Italian, American, Korean, Japanese or other non-Chinese food restaurant will give you two menus per table for two persons.

Yi S. Ellis & Bryan D. Ellis