The myth behind the Chinese zodiac - Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen

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Published 2017-01-26
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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.

All Comments (21)
  • @TEDEd
    Did you know TED-Ed now publishes animations in Mandarin? Check out and subscribe to our new channel: bit.ly/3izGgpo
  • @glide2408
    I’m half Chinese and seeing the Voice Actor able to pronounce everything in Mandarin correctly just proves how good this channel is.
  • Imagine if it was Australia who had invented the lunar zodiac, we'd have a Year of the Kangaroo, Year of the Koala, Year of the Platypus, Year of the Wombat....
  • @huifeng6
    My favorite story about the zodiac was not mentioned: The cat also got an invitation for the race. Because it is sleeping all day, it asked it´s friend the mouse to wake it up on time. The mouse, knowing that the cat would make it through the river faster than itself, said yes, but did not do it. The result: The cat got up too late and did not make it into the circle. Ever since then, it resents the mouse and catches it whenever it can.
  • The story I’ve heard was that there were 13 zodiacs the very last being the cat who didn’t make the top 12 because it got tricked by the mouse and almost drowned in the water. Thus explaining why cats hate mice and why they’re afraid of water
  • @katsu_papi
    Long ago, the twelve zodiacs lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Jade Emperor, master of all five elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished..
  • @_emmachong
    Anyone else remember hearing about how the mouse tricked the cat so that it could take place instead of the cat.
  • @yvettebyvexxi
    1:50 I loved that the monkey and the rooster gave the 8th place to the sheep “who had been the most comforting and harmonious of them.”
  • @catorui
    me a chinese person who already knows this story: mmm yes interesting
  • @adg0913
    Love how the dog just frolicked and doesn't seem to care about his or her place in the race.
  • @ericwang6826
    I thought the story was based around why the cat isn't one of the animals. The cat asked the rat to wake it up before the race started, but the rat didn't and he missed the race.
  • @HRfromJohn
    although really good, i remember a part about the cat, when told by my parents. the cat and mouse were best friends but half way the mouse pushed the cat off and he never made it to the finish line. thats why cats chase mice
  • @urmom90210
    these groups have better teamwork than every college course i’ve been in
  • @TheBluebird27
    Of course my sign comes in dead last from not even trying.
  • @thinksexy8285
    Your Chinese pronounciation in this video is prefect.
  • I have 6 siblings and growing up my mom would teach us about the Chinese zodiac( we’re Asian) . I find this method of understanding people to be very accurate. My family has 2 roosters, 2 dogs, one rabbit, one dragon, and one snake; also my parents are a tiger and a rabbit. I can confirm how accurate the zodiac is. It’s also very useful when dealing with one’s love life 🙏
  • I first read the Chinese zodiac when I was 24 (my second cycle) and was blown away by how accurate (at least for me) the strengths and vulnerabilities of the Tiger I possess. And knowing that in Western astrology, the sign directly across the wheel is your compliment, I was baffled by my tumultuous relationship with my Mom (Pisces-me, Virgo-her). Then I learned that in Eastern astrology, your 6-year cross-wheel sign is your immortal antagonist. My Mother, may she RIP, was the Monkey on this Tiger's back for 47 years!
  • @NikkisTarot
    Did anyone else say “AWWWW” when they told us about the sheep monkey and rooster lol, those 3 are BFF ! Lol
  • @jasondeng7677
    dragon: nice. big race, idc. help some little animals lol lmao
  • @diktrishabiswas
    Ted-ed : Gathering information, putting efforts on animation, perfect editing within limited amount of time People : Gosh the Chinese pronunciation of this lady 😍😍😍😍