This is the order of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Now everyone knows the order of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals. But why is it arranged this way? Let's follow "Huayi Network" to find out. There are three explanations, which you can refer to.
First, the zodiac arrangement comes from a folk tale. According to the story, when the Yellow Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals as palace guards, the cat asked the rat to register on its behalf, but the rat forgot, and thus the cat was not chosen, leading to an enmity between the two. An elephant also came to compete, but was chased away by the rat sneaking into its nose. Originally, the ox was considered the leader, but the rat jumped onto the ox's back, and the pig joined in, causing the rat to be first and the pig last. The tiger and dragon were不服 (unhappy), so they were appointed as the kings of the mountains and seas, respectively, coming after the rat and ox. The rabbit was不服 (unhappy) again and raced with the dragon, ending up before it. The dog, being angry, bit the rabbit, and as a result, was placed second to last. The snake, horse, sheep, monkey, and rooster also competed and took their positions, finally forming the order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Although these stories are not scientific explanations, they reflect people's desire to explain the selection of the twelve zodiac animals.
Second, according to the Chinese belief in yin and yang, the twelve animals are divided into yin and yang categories. The yin and yang of the animals are determined by the number of their claws. Normally, the number of claws on the front and back feet of animals is the same, but the rat has four claws on the front and five on the back, making it both yin and yang. As rarity is valued, it is placed first. Then comes the ox, with four claws (even, yin); the tiger, with five claws (odd, yang); the rabbit, with four claws (even, yin); the dragon, with five claws (odd, yang); the snake, with no claws (even, yin); the horse, with one claw (odd, yang); the sheep, with four claws (even, yin); the monkey, with five claws (odd, yang); the rooster, with four claws (even, yin); the dog, with five claws (odd, yang); and the pig, with four claws (even, yin). This theory was proposed by Hong Xun of the Song Dynasty, and later classified by the Ming scholar Lang Ying in his work "Qixiu Leigao · Twelve Zodiac Animals," stating that "the earthly branches are below," so the division of yin and yang should be based on the number of claws. The rat has four claws on the front (even, yin) and five on the back (odd, yang). The first half of the Zi hour (midnight) belongs to the previous night's yin, while the second half belongs to today's yang, hence the rat symbolizes Zi. The ox, sheep, and pig have hooves, the rooster has four claws, and the rabbit has a split lip and four claws, while the snake has a forked tongue. These six all correspond to even numbers and are yin, occupying six of the earthly branches. The tiger, monkey, and dog have five claws, the horse has a round hoof, and these six are odd numbers, corresponding to yang. Along with the rat, they occupy the remaining six earthly branches. Lang Ying's classification method is based on Hong Xun's, with only minor differences.
Third, ancient Chinese scholars explained the association between the twelve earthly branches and the zodiac animals based on the twelve hours of the day. In the darkness of night, the world was in chaos, and the rat, active near midnight, bit through the chaos, symbolizing "rat bites open the sky," hence the rat corresponds to the Zi hour. After the sky opened, the earth needed to be cultivated, and since the ox plows the land, the ox is associated with the Chou hour. The third hour, known as the Yin hour, is the time when humans are born, and death is inevitable. The tiger, feared for its power, is associated with the Yin hour. The fourth hour, the morning, represents the sun, which is associated with the Li hexagram (fire), containing a yin line representing the moon's essence, the jade rabbit, so the rabbit corresponds to the Mao hour. The fifth hour, the third month, is associated with the Chen hexagram, during which dragons bring rain, so the dragon is associated with the Chen hour. The sixth hour, the fourth month, is when spring grass grows lush, ideal for snakes, like fish in water, and since the snake is in its den at this time, the sixth hour is associated with the Si hour. The fifth hour, the afternoon, marks the peak of yang energy and the beginning of yin energy. The horse, which gallops and leaps, has hooves that touch the ground (yin) and move freely (yang), thus the horse corresponds to the Wu hour. Sheep eat grass best in the afternoon, making it the Wei hour, so the sheep corresponds to the Wei hour. The seventh hour, the time when the sun sets and monkeys stretch their arms, is the Shen hour, so the monkey is associated with Shen. The eighth hour, when the moon rises, is the You hour, and since the moon is associated with water, corresponding to the Kan hexagram, which contains yin lines and a yang line representing the sun's essence, the rooster corresponds to the You hour. When night falls, it is the Xu hour, and the dog, which guards the night, is associated with Xu. Finally, the tenth hour, the time when the world returns to chaos, like a fruit enclosing its core, is the Hai hour, and since pigs are simple creatures, they correspond to Hai. This view was held by the famous Song Dynasty philosopher Zhu Xi.
Below are the zodiac animals of other countries, which you can learn about.
The composition and order of the twelve zodiac animals vary among different ethnic groups or countries. Currently, the Han, Hui, Tibetan, She, Lahu, Hani, Naxi, and other Altaic language-speaking ethnic groups, as well as the Koreans, Japanese, and others, have identical zodiac animals and order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Some ethnic groups have different zodiac animals due to regional differences.
Vietnam: It has twelve zodiac animals, basically the same as China's, except that the second animal is the water buffalo instead of the domestic ox, and the fourth is the cat instead of the rabbit.
Japan: It has twelve zodiac animals, basically the same as China's, except that the last is the wild boar instead of the domestic pig.
Egypt: It has twelve zodiac animals, including: bull, goat, monkey, donkey, crab, snake, dog, cat, crocodile, flamingo, lion, and eagle.
Greece: It has twelve zodiac animals, similar to Egypt's, but Greeks have a "rat" instead of a "cat," while Egyptians have a "cat" instead of a "rat."
Mexico: It has twelve zodiac animals, composed of tigers, rabbits, dragons, monkeys, dogs, pigs, and six other animals unique to Mexico.
Thailand: It is basically the same as China's zodiac, except it has a "serpent demon" instead of a "dragon."
Myanmar: It has only eight zodiac animals, named after planets, ordered from Monday to Sunday. Those born on Monday belong to the Sun, those born on Tuesday belong to Mars, those born in the morning on Wednesday belong to Mercury, and those born in the afternoon belong to Venus. Thus, there are eight zodiac animals by Sunday.
India: It has twelve zodiac animals, basically the same as China's, except that India has a "lion" instead of a "tiger," while China has a "tiger" instead of a "lion."
Europe: The zodiac animals of European countries are basically the same, often based on astronomical constellations. For example, the French use the following twelve animals: Aquarius, Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.
