Sheep *Snake *Rooster *Tiger *Rat *Rabbit*
*Dog *Dragon *Horse *Monkey *Pig *Ox
Years born : 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991
One autumn in the early days of humanity, the heavenly ram came down to earth. He saw that the people seemed depressed and sickly and soon realized that the cause was the lack of crops. In heaven, the gods were accustomed to vast fields of grain, but none grew on earth by decree of the Jade Emperor himself.
The ram thought this was unjust and decided to steal crops for humanity. When he went back to heaven, he sneaked into the fields and plucked up the grain seeds. Returning to earth, he gave the seeds to the people and explained how to sow them. The first planting reaped a bumper harvest; the people were ecstatic and thanked the ram for his generosity.
News of this drifted back to the Emperor and in a rage he ordered that if the ram wanted to feed the people so much he should be slain and his body fed to the humans. This was done, but the next year a new ram appeared on the same spot where the heavenly ram had been killed, the first of the rams as we see them today. When the people heard that the Emperor wanted to select twelve animal signs, the ram was one of the first to be suggested. Bowed by the people's will, the Emperor was forced to forgive the ram and offer him a place.
Famous Sheep
Jane Austen,
Anne Bancroft, Cilla Black, Elkie Brooks, Coco Chanel, Nat King"
Cole, Catherine Deneuve, John Denver, Ken Dodd, Douglas
Fairbanks, Mel Gibson, Paul Michael Glaser, Mikhail Gorbachev,
Larry Hagman, George Harrison, Hulk Hogan, Isabelle Huppert,
Julio Iglesias, Mick Jagger, Paul Keating, Ben Kingsley, Franz
Liszt, John Major, Michelangelo, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Nimoy,
Robert deNiro, Oliver North, Des O'conner, Michael Palin, Keith
Richards, William Shatner, Freddie Starr, Lana Turner, Mark
Twain, Rudolph Valentino, Vangelis, Terry Venables, Lech Walesa,
Barbara Walters, Andy Worhol, John Wayne, Tuesday Weld, Bruce
Willis, Debra Winger.
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Years born : 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989
A long time ago, the snake and the frog were very good friends. Then, however the snake had four legs and the frog had none, crawling on his belly as the snake does today. Ironically, the snake was lazy and relied on the frog to catch insects for him; in doing this, the frog also helped the people by getting rid of pests, so naturally the people liked the frog and distrusted the snake.
Angered by this, the snake began to bite humans and their animals, hurting & even killing many people. Although the snake was summoned before the Jade Emperor and asked to stop, he was an obstinate animal and he continued. As a punishment, his four legs were taken from him and given to the frog.
Ashamed by his past behavior, the snake turned his efforts towards helping the people in an attempt to redeem himself. He helped his relative, the dragon, to control the rains and he donated his bode to be made into medicine after his death. Impressed, the Emperor gave the snake a place just after the dragon in the animal signs. Although this pleased the snake, he couldn't help hating the frog for stealing his legs - which is why snakes still try to eat frogs today.
Famous Snakes
Muhammad Ali,
Ann-Margret, Kim Basinger, Tony Blair, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Conti,
Randy Crawford, Jim Davidson, Bob Dylan, Henry Fonda, Mahatma
Gandhi, Greta Garbo, Art Garfunkel, Dizzy Gillespie, Stacy Keach,
Howard Keel, J.F. Kennedy, Carole King, James Last, Dame Vera
Lynn, Linda McCartney, Mao Tse-tung, Nigel Mansell, Dean Martin,
Robert Mitchum, Bob Newhart, Ryan O'Neal, Dorothy Parker, Pablo
Picasso, Mary Pickford, Andre Previn, Helen Reddy, Griff Rhys-Jones,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mickey Rourke, Franz Schubert, Brooke
Shields, Paul Simon, Dionne Warwick, Charlie Watts, Ruby Wax,
Oprah Winfrey, Virginia Woolf, Victoria Wood, Susannah York.
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Years born : 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993
Originally, the rooster was a disruptive and aggressive animal. When the twelve signs were being chosen, he was not considered as a candidate. Disturbed, he spoke to his friend the horse, asking him how he'd been chosen. The horse replied that it was simple - he had helped the people by ploughing the land, bearing goods and fighting in wartime.
The rooster said that he would also like to be a sign. "You will have to do something for humanity, then," replied the horse, "All the others do - the ox ploughs, the pig provides meat, the dragon controls the rain. You have a wonderful voice; why not use it?"
The rooster thought this over, and came to a decision. He began to use his voice to wake people in the morning so that they could get to work. Moved, the people asked the Jade Emperor to grant him a place in the competition. Although flying animals were not allowed to compete, the Emperor made and exception and placed a flower on the rooster's head to show he could take part. During the great race, the dog and the rooster were neck and neck until, as they were nearing the finish, the rooster resorted to flying to arrive before the dog to gain a place as the tenth sign. Since then, the dog has hated the rooster, which is why dogs chase roosters to this day.
Famous Roosters
Michael
Caine, Enrico Caruso, Jasper Carott, Christopher Cazenove, Eric
Clapton, Joan Collins, Rita Coolidge, Sasha, Distel, the Duke of
Edinburgh, Gloria Estefan, Bryan Ferry, Errol Flynn, Dawn French,
Stephen Fry, Steffi Graf, Melanie Griffith, Richard Harris,
Deborah Harry, Goldie Hawn, Katherine Hepburn, Diane Keaton, D.H.
Lawrence, David Livingstone, Jayne Mansfield, Steve Martin, James
Mason, Bette Middler, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Paul Nicholas,
Kim Novak, Yoko Ono, Donny Osmond, Dolly Parton, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Roman Polanski, Priscilla Presley, Nancy Reagan, Jenny
Seagrove, Carly Simon, Jayne Torvill, Sir Peter Ustinov, Neil
Young.
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Years born : 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998
Originally the tiger was an ordinary and harmless animal. It was through the his own dedication and toughness that he became the fearsome animal that he is today, learning the arts of pouncing, clutching and biting from his teacher, the cat. Consequently the Jade Emperor made him the guard of heaven.
Shortly after he became guard, the animals on earth began to hunt and eat humans. The people pleaded for protection and the Emperor sent the tiger to control the other animals. The tiger fought many great battles with the lion, horse and bear, and before long the other animals were behaving themselves. Soon afterwards, the great turtle of the sea began causing the sea to flood human lands, so the tiger defeated him in a battle and slew him. As a reward, the Emperor marked the tiger's skin with one stroke for every animal he defeated and made him king of all animals.
After causing
disturbances on earth, the lion - originally a member of the
twelve animal signs - was stripped of his place. The tiger was
immediately appointed his kingly successor, and became one of the
most prominent and powerful signs.
Famous Tigers
Sir David
Attenborough, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Beethoven, Tony
Bennett, Chuch Berry, Richard Branson, Garth Brooks, Mel Brooks,
Agatha Christie, Phil Collins, Jason Connery, Gemma Craven, Tom
Cruise, Emily Dickenson, Roberta Flack, Jodie Foster, Connie
Francis, Crystal Gayle, Susan George, Elliott Gould, Buddy Greco,
Willia Hurt, Derek Jacobi, Dorothy Lamour, Stan Laurel, Marilyn
Monroe, Demi Moore, The Queen, Oliver Reed, Lionel Richie, Diana
Rigg, Kenny Rogers, The Princess Royal, Sir Jimmy Saville,
Phillip Schoefield, Pamela Stephenson, Dame Joan Sutherland,
Dylan Thomas, Liv Ullman, John Voigt, Julie Walters, Oscar Wilde,
Tennessee Williams, Terry Wogan, Stevie Wonder.
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Years born : 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996
When the Jade Emperor first chose the animal signs, he worked out two basic criteria. Any animal that wanted to be accepted either had to be of use to humanity or be on of the first to arrive at the Heavenly Palace on the day when the animals where being chosen.
The rat desperately wanted to get in but realized he was of little use to humanity, so he decided to use his cunning to get into the palace first. He knew the ox was noted for reliability and would probably be the first to arrive, so early in the morning on the allocated day he jumped in to the ox's horn.
The ox was
indeed the first to arrive at the palace - so early that the
doors of the palace were still closed. The ox waited expectantly
outside while the gates where slowly opened, then suddenly the
rat jumped off and ran between the gates. The ox was furious at
being cheated; he had made the effort to arrive early and so
complained to the Jade Emperor. The Emperor listened but felt
that he could not go against his own words, and consequently the
cunning rat became the first animal sign.
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Years born : 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999
In ancient times the rabbit and the ox were friendly neighbors, but one day they fell into argument. The rabbit maintained that he was the champion runner of all the animals and that the ox could never equal him because the ox lacked his light body. Insulted, the ox began to train every day, determined to beat the rabbit.
When the time came for the animal signs to be chosen, all the animals wanted to be first at the palace in order to get a place. The ox and the rabbit decided to run together, but the rabbit broke his promise. Rising early, he dashed off at a great pace and, after a while, turned round to look for the other animals. To his delight not one was in sight, so he settled down for a nap, confident that he would be the first.
The rabbit
woke up suddenly to find the tiger overtaking him. Panicking, he
sprinted as fast as he could to the palace, arriving to find that
both the tiger and the ox had run faster then him, and that the
rat had snatched first place through his cunning. Consequently,
he was only fourth! Bitter at the ox, he moved his home
underground where his descendants still dwell today.
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Years born : 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994
When the animal signs were being selected, the cat and the dog were in fierce competition. Each tried to prove that they had done more to help humans. The cat argued that the dog ate too much and all he did was guard the door, while the dog argued that the cat ate all the best food and all he did was scare mice. The argument became so fierce that they turned to the Emperor for judgement.
The Emperor listened, then asked how much food the dog ate every day; the dog replied honestly that he had one bowl of food each meal. When the cat was asked the same question, he lied and claimed that he only had a small bowl of food every meal. Impressed, the Emperor ruled that the cat had greater claim but that both could take part in the competition.
When the day
of the race came, the dog got up early and secured a good place.
However, the cat was so scared of the dog attacking him for his
lies that he hung behind and came in just after the pig. He
thought he was in the first twelve, but the rat had cheated to
come first, meaning that the cat had not gained a place as an
animal sign. As a result, to this day cats chase rats because
they cheated and, in turn, dogs chase cats because they cheated.
Top
Years born: 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988
The dragon
was an ambitious animal, and wanted to take the tiger's place as
king of the animals. Consequently, fighting broke out between the
two, but neither had a clear advantage. The Jade Emperor decided
to judge between them. When the dragon heard this news he became
worried that he did not look impressive enough. At this time, the
dragon did not have a horn - it was, in fact, the rooster who
could boast this possession and so the centipede suggested that
the dragon borrow the rooster's horn. Although the rooster
refused at first, the centipede offered to guarantee the dragon's
honesty and the rooster, The centipede's friend, then agreed to
the request. When the dragon and the tiger came to be judged,
both looked awesome and ferocious. The Emperor decided to make
the dragon king of the water and the tiger king of the earth. As
the tiger was already an animal sign, the dragon was given the
same status. Angered, the rooster went after the centipede, who
hid underground.To this day, roosters love to eat centipedes, and
the noise they make is actually their loud cursing about the
dragon's theft all those years ago.
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Years born : 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990
When the horse first served the Jade Emperor in heaven he had a magnificent pair of wings. He could soar around the sky, swim in the sea and run to the par earth. Arrogant and haughty, by bullied the other animals.
One day he was asked to take a message to the Dragon King of the \par East Sea. Stopped by the King's guards on his way into the palace, he became furious and kicked an unfortunate guard to death. When the Emperor heard of this, he ordered that the horse's wings be cut off and the horse placed underneath a great mountain.
After two
hundred years of agony beneath the mountain, the ancestor of
humanity passed by. Hearing him, the horse cried out that he
wished to dedicate to serving humanity. The ancestor was moved by
this and used magic to free the horse. In thanks, the horse
dedicated himself to humans, ploughing the fields, transporting
goods and fighting bravely in battle. Consequently, when the
animal signs were being chosen, the horse was one of the first to
be recommended by the people, and was duly appointed by the Jade
Emperor in acknowledgement of their wishes.
Top
Years born :1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992
The monkey
and the tiger used to be the next-door neighbors and were very
good friends. The tiger was so fierce that all the other animals
where afraid to approach him, so he clung tightly to his only
friend, the monkey. One day the tiger became caught in a hunter's
net. Crying out for help he was heard by the monkey, who dashed
up the tree to untie the ropes of the net and free him. After
this, the tiger owed a great debt to the monkey. He was aware,
however, that if the monkey told the other animals what had
happened they would not take him seriously again. He thought
about killing the monkey to contain his secret, but realized that
if he did this he would be unbearably lonely. Consequently, he
decided to help the monkey instead, to pay off his debt. When it
came to the selection of the animal signs, the tiger was one of
the top prospects. The monkey's chances were not good, though, so
the tiger decided to speak up for him. In front of all the other
animals he praised the monkey's intelligence and ability, thereby
ensuring the monkey a place among the animal signs. In this way,
he paid off his debt to his friend.
Top
Years born : 1911 1923 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995
The pig
became an animal sign in a rather unusual way. In ancient times
there was a rich senior officer who had no sons. He was desperate
to carry on his family line and offered many prayers and
sacrifices to the gods. Finally, at the age of sixty, he had a
son. In celebration, he held a party and summoned fortunetellers,
who unanimously told him that his son had a promising future.
However, the boy's parents spoiled him and he grew selfish and
pampered, and after his father's death he sold off the family
fortune to support his lifestyle. Eventually he ran out of money,
his friends deserted him and he died in poverty and misery soon
afterwards. Upon arriving in hell after his death, the complained
to the Jade Emperor in heaven that he had been unfairly deprived
of his promising fate. After further inquiry, the Emperor
punished him by ordering that he be reborn as a pig, feeding upon
the chaff". However, the heavenly officer in charge misheard
this as "becoming an animal sign", which sounds very
similar in Chinese. As a result, the man was reborn not only as a
pig, but also as an animal sign.
Top
Years born : 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997
It may not be plain sailing for Oxen in the year ahead but most trials can be overcome with their characteristically strong will and patience. This is a good time for Oxen to take stock of their situation and refrain from doing anything rash.
The ox was one of the first servants of the Heavenly Palace, often acting as a messenger between heaven and earth. One year, the land was bleak and the herders begged the Jade Emperor to send new grass to feed their animals. The ox eagerly volunteered for the job and was instructed to sow a handful of seeds every three steps.
He set forth happily, but he was so pleased with himself that he stumbled over the gates of the palace and fell to earth unconscious, scattering the seeds everywhere. The following year, all the land was covered with grass and no grain could be planted.
Angrily, the Jade Emperor summoned the ox to him. The ox confessed meekly and the Jade Emperor ordered him to eat the grass and help the farmers himself. He was then bodily hauled out of heaven and landed on earth with a crack, knocking his upper teeth, which is why oxen today have peculiar front teeth.
The ox was a dedicated worker and keen to seek forgiveness, so he paid his debt to humanity ten times over. When the signs were being chosen, the farmers cheerfully recommended the animal that had once ruined their crops, and the Jade Emperor duly gave him a place among the twelve animal signs.
Famous Oxen
Johann Sebastian Bach, Warren Beatty, Jon Bon Jovi, Jeff Bridges, King Carlos of Spain, Barbara Cartland, Charlie Chaplin, Natalie Cole, Bill Cosby, Tom Courtenay, Tony curtis, Walt Disney, Patrick Duffy, Jane Fonda, Gerald Ford, Edward Fox, Michael J. Fox, Peter Gabriel, Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg, Mariel Hemingway, Robert Hardy, Nigel Havers, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, Billy Joel, Don Johnson, B.B. King, Mark Lemmon, Alison Moyet, Eddie Murphy, Napoleon, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Steiger, Meryl Streep, Elaine Stritch, Loretta Swit, Mary Tyler Moore, Lady Thatcher, Twiggy, Dick Van Dyke, the Princess of Wales, Zoe Wanamaker, Barbara Windsor.
The font i used is "Harrington"
