In Chinese Zodiac, 生肖 (SHĒNGXIÀO), the rat is the first animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle. According to one of the myths, there was a race held by the Jade Emperor to decide the cycle for years. Only twelve animals shown up for the race. The race result came out as the rat was in the first place and the pig was the last to finish the race. The final race result as the follow according to their places in order: Rat – Ox – Tiger – Rabbit – Dragon – Snake – Horse – Goat – Monkey – Rooster – Dog – Pig.
The 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac is based on the Chinese Lunar calendar. It is different from the Gregorian Calendar which was the most used in the world.
Here are the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac in their order:
1. RAT – 鼠 – SHǓ (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020)
Lucky Colors: blue, gold, green
2. OX – 牛 – NIÚ (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021)
Lucky Colors: white, yellow, and green
3.TIGER – 虎 – HǓ (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022)
Lucky Colors: blue, gray, orange
4. RABBIT – 兔 – TÙ (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023)
Lucky Colors: red, pink, purple, blue
5. DRAGON – 龍 – LÓNG (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024)
Lucky Colors: gold, silver, grayish white
6. SNAKE – 蛇 – SHÉ (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025)
Lucky Colors: black, red, and yellow
7. HORSE – 馬 – MǍ (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026)
Lucky Colors: yellow and green
8. GOAT – 羊 – YÁNG (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027)
Lucky Colors: brown, red, and purple
9.MONKEY – 猴 – HÓU (1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028)
Lucky Colors: white, blue, gold
10. ROOSTER – 雞 – JĪ (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029)
Lucky Colors: gold, brown, and yellow
11. DOG – 狗 – GǑU (1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030)
Lucky Colors: red, green, and purple
12. PIG – 豬 – zhū (1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031)
Lucky Colors: yellow, gray, brown, gold
