Chinese Folktale: The 12 Celestial Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

The 12 Celestial Animals of the Chinese Zodiac are popular characters of Chinese children’s books.

The Chinese Zodiac is built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter (the Year Star). Following the orbit of Jupiter around the sun, Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections, and rounded it to 12 years, which are associated with 12 Celestial Animals: Rat (or Mouse on Mongoose), Ox (or Buffalo or Bull or Cow), Tiger, Rabbit (or Hare or Cat), Dragon, Snake (or Serpent), Horse, Goat (or Sheep or Ram), Monkey, Rooster (or Hen or Cock or Chicken or Phoenix), Dog and Pig (or Boar or Hog).

Each celestial animal has a different personality and different characteristics. The animal is believed to be the main factor in each person's life that gives them their traits, success, and happiness in their lifetime.

This story is a Chinese folktale about the origin of the 12 celestial animals. The book comes with Chinese characters and the Pinyin (phonetic transcriptions), making it an excellent means of learning elementary Chinese. The book ends with a Q & A, which helps parents engage their children in a discussion about the story.