The Myth Behind The Chinese Zodiac

What’s your sign? In Western astrology, it’s a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac (生肖), it’s your shuxiang, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year. Of the many myths explaining these animal signs and their arrangement, the most enduring one is that of The Great Race.

Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen recounts this classic myth.

Lesson by Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen, animation by Marta Prokopová.
View full lesson