The Story Of The Chinese Zodiac |
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| Chinese astrology is an ancient astrology, and one of my passions in life. There are a few legends of how the Chinese zodiac came about, I have chosen: |
| The Jade Emperor |
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| The Jade Emperor ~ The Emperor Of Heaven. |
| A very long time ago in China the Jade Emperor decided he wanted to find a way of measuring time. After spending some time thinking about it he went outside and asked the animals of the land to gather round him. He told them there was to be a race, a swimming race, and the first 12 animals to get across the river would each have a year of the zodiac named after them. Of-course there was a great deal of excitement among the animals as they lined up on the river bank eagerly awaiting the race to begin. |
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The Rat and the Cat who were good friends were worried as they were not good swimmers and smaller than the other animals taking part. So, being clever (especially the Rat) they decided to ask the Ox for some help. The Rat and Cat explained to the Ox their predicament and asked him if he would be so kind as to let them ride on his back. The Ox having a kind nature didn’t think twice about helping them and let them sit on his big strong back. Off they all went, splashing, kicking and in some cases swimming. The Rat and Cat having a great view of the race from the position of the Ox’s back saw that the Ox was in the lead and were very excited. Ratty, however, had something else in mind, and as they approached the finish line he pushed the Cat off of the Ox’s back and into the river! He then jumped onto Ox’s head and nimbly ran onto the river bank thus winning the race. The Jade Emperor was very pleased and told the Rat that the first year of the Zodiac would be named after him. Of-course, this left the Ox in second place by the clever slyness of the Rat. |
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| Then up on the river bank came the Tiger, and he was awarded 3rd place for his efforts. |
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| Next was the Rabbit. Who hopped up to the Emperor surprisingly dry. He had found some stepping stones and a floating log to carry him to the bank, the Emperor told him he would be the 4th sign of the Zodiac. |
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| The Emperor looked up into the sky and he saw a Dragon coming down to land. Confused by this he asked the Dragon how it came that he didn’t win the race as he could fly and swim. The Dragon explained to the Emperor that he had to make it rain as some animals needed some water, and along the way he saw a Rabbit struggling on a log, so he blew a puff of wind so as to make the log float towards the river bank. this was very commendable of the Dragon and he was awarded the 5th sign of the Zodiac. |
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| The Emperor could hear hooves coming towards him, and waited to see the Horse approach, but before the Horse could get there a snake slithered round the legs of the Horse causing the Horse to rear up and thus allowing the Snake to slither into 6th place! The poor Horse had to be satisfied with being 7th. |
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| Next the Emperor saw a raft carrying three passengers came towards him, these were the Goat, the Monkey and the Rooster. They explained to the Emperor how they had all helped one another to get to the river bank. The Jade Emperor was very impressed by this and awarded the Goat 8th place, the Monkey 9th and the Rooster would be the 10th Zodiac animal. |
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| After them came the Dog. The Emperor once again was surprised knowing that the Dog was one of the best swimmers in the race, so he asked the Dog why he was so late. His answer was quite simply that the water was so lovely and clean and fresh that he had to take a bath in it. He was to have the 11th year named after him. |
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So, only one place left in the Zodiac and the Emperor waited wondering when the last animal would emerge from the river. All of a sudden he heard some grunting and the Boar walked up to him. The Emperor asked why it was that he took so long in getting to the river bank, and the Boar explained that he was hungry and so stopped for some food, and after eating he felt sleepy so he had a snooze. The Jade Emperor was still pleased with the Boar and told him he the 12th Zodiac year would be named after him. You may remember the Cat, who earlier on in the race was pushed into the river by his “friend” the Rat. Well, by the time he scrambled up the river bank it was too late to claim a place in the Zodiac. This made the Cat very cross with the Rat, and Cat’s and Rat’s haven’t got on ever since! From then on the Chinese Zodiac has always followed the 12 signs named after these animals. |
Last 5 posts in Boar (Pig), Chinese Astrology, Dog, Dragon, Goat, Horse, Monkey, Ox, Rabbit, Rat, Rooster, Snake, The Jade Emperor, Tiger, Zodiac
- 2008 Rat (Wu Zhi) New Year - January 3rd, 2008
- Chinese Year Of The Pig - October 8th, 2007
- Chinese Year Of The Dog - October 8th, 2007
- Chinese Year Of The Rooster - October 8th, 2007
- Chinese Year Of The Monkey - October 8th, 2007
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