When he heard about the Race to the Heavenly Gate, the Rat chuckled to himself and thought: “This is my opportunity”. This made the Rat very angry but he dared not say it out loud therefore, he sought revenge on the Cat. The story goes that although the Cat and Rat were neighbours, the Cat always bullied the Rat. These 12 animals became guards of the Heavenly Gate. What is your Zodiac sign based on your birth year? He’d stopped to eat something along the way and then fallen asleep, meaning that he came in last! The Emperor was about to end the race, when with an “oink” the Pig arrived. According to legend, the Dog didn’t want to admit this though and told the Emperor that he’d needed a good bath before he was in a fit state to appear in front of him. However he’d lost time by playing in the water. You would think that a dog who can both run and swim well, would have been far higher up the rankings. The Jade Emperor was so impressed with their teamwork that he ranked them eighth to tenth. The Rooster found a raft, and the Monkey and the Goat tugged and pulled, trying to get all the weeds out of the way. One alternative version tells how the Goat, Monkey and Rooster arrived at the river more or less together and were stuck as to how to cross. The Monkey had fallen well behind but by jumping between trees and stones, he caught up to be ninth. The alternative version of the story about the Goat is that he was rewarded for his teamwork for assisting the Monkey and the Rooster. The Jade Emperor saw how polite they were and ranked them seventh and eighth. However, as they were very kind and modest, each let the other go first. The other is that he arrived almost at the same time as the Goat. One version of how the Horse got his seventh rank is the tale above with the snake. The Snake slithered down and through the Gate into 6 th place. When the Horse realised he had a snake on his hoof, he shied with shock and fright. The other story is that the Snake had hidden himself on the Horse’s hoof. The Snake suddenly came forward and pretended the Dragon was his adoptive father thus gaining the sixth place. But the Dragon’s son didn’t come with him that day. The first is that the emperor wanted to reward the Dragon for his selflessness, saying his son could be sixth. There are 2 main variants as to how the Snake got his 6 th place in the Chinese Zodiac. The Dragon explained that he’d stopped off to bring rain to a village where the farmers’ crops were suffering from drought and had then spotted the Rabbit half drowning on a log, so he gave a puff of wind to steer him to shore, meaning he himself was late. The emperor was surprised that the Dragon didn’t arrive earlier as the river was no hindrance to him. The handsome flying Dragon arrived in fifth place and was immediately noticed by the Jade Emperor. The Rabbit explained to the Jade Emperor that he only managed to cross the river by hopping from stone to stone before clinging to a floating log. Although both are fast and competitive, the Tiger was faster. Third to arrive was the Tiger with the Rabbit coming in fourth. Competitive and Fast: the Tiger and the Rabbit The Rat jumped down from his back and dashed to the feet of the Emperor, thus arriving in first place.Ĭonsequently, the Rat is the first animal in the 12 year zodiac cycle and the Ox the second. After crossing the river, he continued plodding towards the palace of the Jade Emperor. The good-natured & diligent Ox did not mind at all (he was maybe a little naïve!) and simply continued. Being quick witted, he persuaded the Ox to allow him to jump on his back. After waiting a long time, the Rat noticed the Ox about to cross the river. On his way to the gate, he realised he needed to cross a river where he had to stop, owing to the swift current. The next morning, all the animals set off towards the Heavenly Gate. Early Risers: the Quick-Witted Rat and Diligent Ox He sent an immortal being into the world of humans to spread the message that the earlier an animal entered through the Heavenly Gate, the higher the rank it would be assigned. The Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. Long, long ago, there was no zodiac tradition. The Race for the Heavenly Gate – What are the Reasons for the Zodiac Rankings? There are many variations of the story and it also varies from country to country. The Jumping Monkey & Resourceful Roosterĭo you know why the 12 animals are in the sequence they are in the image above? The legend below tells the tale of how the order came about, as well as explaining some characteristics of the various animals.Competitive and Fast: the Tiger and the Rabbit.Early Risers: the Quick-Witted Rat and Diligent Ox.The Race for the Heavenly Gate – What are the Reasons for the Zodiac Rankings?.
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