12 Animals
The 12 animals (十二生肖 shí'èr shēngxiào, "twelve birth emblems" or colloquially 十二屬相 shí'èr shǔxiàng, "twelve signs of belonging") representing the 12 Earthly Branches are, in order, the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The legend of The Great Race explains the order of the animals.
Read more about this topic: Chinese Calendar
Famous quotes containing the word animals:
“Shall we never have done with that cliché, so stupid that it could only be human, about the sympathy of animals for man when he is unhappy? Animals love happiness almost as much as we do. A fit of crying disturbs them, they’ll sometimes imitate sobbing, and for a moment they’ll reflect our sadness. But they flee unhappiness as they flee fever, and I believe that in the long run they are capable of boycotting it.”
—Colette [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette] (1873–1954)