Animals of the Chinese New Year and Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

There are nine major types of Chinese dragons. These include the horned dragon, the winged dragon, the celestial dragon (which supports and protects the mansions of the gods), the spiritual dragon which generates wind and rain for the benefit of mankind), the dragon of hidden treasures (which keeps guard over concealed wealth), the coiling dragon (which lives in water), and the yellow dragon (which once emerged from water and presented the legendary Emperor Fu Shi with the elements of writing).

Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese lunar calendar dates back to the second millennium BC. Unlike our calendar, which numbers the years progressively from a given time (the birth of Christ), the Chinese calendar is cyclical. Each cycle is made up of 12 years; after the 12th year, the cycle is repeated. The Chinese associate each year of a 12-year cycle with an animal, and they refer to the years as “the year of the dragon,” “the year of the ox,” and so forth. The 12 animals and the years associated with them are often represented on a circular chart, and for this reason they are known as animals of the zodiac.

The use of the animal names in the calendar led to the development of Chinese astrology. Astrology can be defined as a pseudo-science linking human destinies to charts associated with heavenly bodies or the recording of time. The Chinese believed the characteristics of a given zodiac animal influenced the personality of every person born in that year. They used this information to create horoscopes, daily predictions based upon the year of one’s birth. Although the reading of horoscopes is popular in modern Chinese culture, few people take the predictions seriously.

Click Here to View a Large Image of the Chinese Zodiac Wheel

Chinese Zodiac Legend

Legend has it that once upon a time, the Heavenly God realized that there hadn’t been a system to keep track of time, so he decided to develop a calendar system. One day, he summoned the Earth God to hold a race for the animals inhabiting the earth. So the Earth God gathered all the animals, and announced that the first twelve animals to cross the river would be the signs in the zodiac calendar. What a great honor to be in the zodiac calendar!!! All the