The cat was so angry that he ate the rat. Since then, cat and rat became enemies for generations. That’s why cat is not included in the Chinese zodiac. Another folktale goes, that the Jade Emperor selected the 12 animals, including cat other than rat. The Jade Emperor appointed the cat to notify the other 11 animals.
So, why is there no cat in the chinese zodiac?
There is no sign for the cat in the Chinese Zodiac . This is because according to the legend, the rat pushed the cat off the ox while the ox was carrying both of them across the river. Since then, cats have sought revenge by going after rats.
Although there is no cat in the Chinese zodiac, the animal is still quite popular among people. Tiger, ranking the third in the Chinese zodiac, is a big cat which comforts the cat slaves to some extent!
When we were researching we ran into the query “Why are there no domesticated cats in the Chinese zodiac?”.
It is possible domesticated cats had not proliferated through China at the zodiac’s induction . Another legend known as “The Great Race” tells that all the animals in the zodiac were headed to the Jade Emperor. The Cat and Rat were the most intelligent of the animals, however they were both also poor swimmers and came across a river.
Then, what animal is the cat in the Chinese zodiac?
Cat (zodiac) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Cat is the fourth animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac and Gurung zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. As such, the traits associated with the Rabbit are attributed to the Cat.
You may be asking “Was there ever a cat in ancient China?”
However, the truth is not a myth as there was no cat in ancient China. As a creature native to Egypt, cat was brought to China in the era of Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty (57 AD -75 AD), which was about 1,000 years later than the formation of Chinese zodiac.
Why was the cat not included in the twelve zodiac signs?
Legends relating to the order of the Chinese zodiac often include stories as to why the cat was not included among the twelve. Because the Rat tricked the cat into missing the banquet with the Jade Emperor, the cat was not included and was not aware that the banquet was going on and was not given a year ,.
How many animals are in the Chinese zodiac?
Chinese zodiac is consisted of twelve animals which are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Except the legendary creature Dragon, all the other 11 animals are quite familiar to us in daily life.
Chinese zodiac, or shengxiao (/shnng-sshyao/ ‘born resembling’), is represented by 12 zodiac animals. Chinese zodiac years begin/end at Chinese New Year (in January/February).
These animal signs are exactly the same in South Korea, North Korea, Singapore, and Cambodia .
Vietnamese zodiac is similar with Chinese zodiac but it replaces rabbit with cat . Although there is no cat in the Chinese zodiac, the animal is still quite popular among people.
While we were researching we ran into the question “How many times are Chinese characters written in the Chinese zodiac?”.
If the Simplified and Traditional China characters are identical, they are written only once . The Chinese zodiac is a classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle.
As there are twelve zodiac signs, the Chinese calendar assigns one animal to each month, with the year beginning with a Year of the Rat, and ending with a Year of the Pig. Here is a 24 year cycle showing how the Zodiac animals rotate in dominating a year: Why is the Chinese New Year Date Different Every Year.