The story of the 12 animals zodiac in China

One day, Tian Di (The God Above) wanted to manage all animals on earth. He took out 12 chairs and told the cat to tell 11 other animals to go to the sky palace.

When the cat told the ox about it, the rat overheard the news. The rat was very angry and he ran as fast as he could to the palace. As a result he got there before the ox. Tian Di then let him sit on the first chair. The ox took the second seat. Then the tiger, the rabbit all came and settled on the chairs. From then onwards, the rat comes the first in the zodiac cycle. The cat was not in the cycle because he went to tell other animals. Ever since, the cat is not in the zodiac cycle.The truth is that cats are not originated from China but just imported from overseas. That is another reason why cats are not included in the animals zodiac.In fact, different countries consist of different animals. India has lions whilst Egypt has cats.In the Chinese animal zodiac, different animals have different characteristics. Rat - Though it has nature of stealing. It is smart and has good Ox - It is hard-working and ask for little.Tiger - It is brave, strong, and is the king of all animals. Rabbit - It is cute and loved by children. It runs very fast.Dragon - The only imaginary animal. Only kings can be referred to as dragon. After all these years, people have come up with this description of a dragon: deer horn, fish scales, snake body, chicken feet and phoenix tail. And all Chinese people are the offspring of dragon.Snake - Also known as little dragon. Snakes are known to be devilish because of its poisonous nature. However, snakes are very useful, particularly its gall bladder, which is a very healthy medicine in China.Horse - The fastest running animal. Before people invented vehicles, horses were the only transportation tool.Ram - An animal symbolizes submissiveness and good luck.Monkey - Clever, like humans. It is often used to describe smart and clever children.Cock - Hens are very protective to their chicks. Dog - Although dogs are highly respected in the west and loyal to their masters, in China, they are rude and not respectful. Chinese consider them not a cute animal.Pig - The last one in the cycle. It is slow and lazy though they are clever. It is believed that people born in different animal years would carry their characteristics and this would affect the person's life. That is why the year of the dragon is highly favoured since people want their children to be as respectful as a dragon.

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Here There Be Dragons – The Symbolism Of Dragon Lore In Western History

The first appearance of dragons in Western mythology was the Norse “worm,” a large scaled creature that was able to breathe fire and regenerate itself if vivisected. It didn’t have the arms, legs, or wings of later dragon stories, but was often pictured as an enormous snake. Because these multihued dragons were often seen streaking across the sky, many of these worm dragons sightings have been attributed to the natural ball lightening phenomena that occurs during some thunderstorms.

In the Bible, the serpent is the creature most often used to symbolize evil, so it makes sense that these early serpent-like dragons were incorporated into the legends of early Christianity. Dragon lore became parables of the triumph of Christianity over Paganism in early church lore.
One of the most famous stories of St. Peter (although the story originates in the 12th century, long after his death) was that of him slaying a dragon. Legend has it, that during Peter’s travels in Libya, a terrible dragon was terrorizing a small village, which had offered up a princess to appease the beast. St. Peter fought the dragon and saved the princess from her fate. During the battle, Peter was able to take respite under an enchanted orange tree that the dragon’s poison could not touch. The orange tree in the story is also very symbolically similar to Tree Of Life lore from the pagan tradition and Garden of Eden lore from the early bible.
Many other legends of saints include the slaying of dragons. St. Sampson (the Archbishop Of Dol) is told to have led a dragon out of his cave and over a cliff to his death. St. Philip is credited with the slaying of a dragon in Hierapolis in Phygia. St. Martha fell a dragon known as Tarasque at Aix, while St. Romain performed the same feat with the dragon known as La Gargouille.
St. Florent, St. Cado, St. Paul, St. Keyne, St. Michael, St. George, St. Clement, St. Margaret, Pope Sylvester, and St. Serf have all been documented as having slain dragons. Two gentler legends find saints Petroc and Carantoc leading dragons off to unpopulated areas, assuring the safety of the villages these dragons had originally overtook.
Dragons are replete in other early Western literature. Spencer’s epic poem, The Faerie Queen, features a dragon slain by the Redcrosse knight. Scholars believe that the dragon in this story has a two-fold symbolism. Besides representing Satan himself (in the form of the dragon-like beast from Revelations), as well as the corruption of the Catholic church as seen from the point of view of a 16th century Protestant.
The dragon also plays a vital role in Arthurian legend. While actual Arthurian dragon slaying tales are minimal, dragons are invoked for symbolic reasons in relation to key Arthurian figures. Arthur himself, along with his father Uther, was often referred to as the “head dragon” (using the more archaic term Pendragon). In this instance, dragons represent conflict, discord, and dissention. King Vortigen’s prophecy from Merlin uses the symbology of dragons to announce his imminent fall from power. Merlin tells Vortigen that his tower rests on two warring dragons, creating an unstable foundation for his future leadership.
For Tristan and Lancelot, the most famous dragon-slaying medieval Knights of the Round Table, dragons represent an all-consuming passion that lead to their downfall. Tristan is thought to have slain a dragon shortly before meeting Isuelt, who heals him from the wounds he obtained during battle. The love potion they drank together was listed as dragon blood in many accounts of the famous story. Lancelot’s dragon slaying is done in order to save Elaine, whom Lancelot has a torrid affair with, thinking she is Guinevere. Again, many of the accounts of this tale attribute Lancelot’s affair to the mind-altering affects of a dragon-blood potion.
While dragons are often used to symbolize evil itself (or the embodiment of evil in the form of the Devil), dragons also represented many of the byproducts of evil, including rage, power, passion, and strife. Ironically, these powerful images are in direct contrast to the role of the dragon in Eastern mythology, where the dragon invokes an almost Christ-like form as a benevolent creature that represents the son of heaven.

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