Happy Chinese New Year!
This year is the Year of the Rat, the first of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived at the finish line, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox, becoming first.
The Rat is also associated with the Earthly Branch (地支—dì zhī) Zi (子) and the midnight hours. In the terms of yin and yang (阴阳—yīn yáng), the Rat is yang and represents the beginning of a new day.
In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children.
Check out 12 of the best Chinese Zodiac tattoo we found on browsing the internet.
Rat years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020.
Years of the Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Years of the Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Years of the Rabbit: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Years of the Dragon: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse Years: 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Years of the Ram: 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Monkey years: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016,
Rooster years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Year of the dog: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Year of the Pig: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019