According to the Chinese astrological calendar, 2023 is the year of the Black Water Rabbit. However, this year there is another patron – the Cat. Why the symbols of 2023 are two animals at once, we understand at joy-pup.com.
The Year of the Rabbit doesn’t start on January 1st. New Year in China falls between January 21 and February 20, and the date of the holiday is constantly changing. In 2023, the furry animal will come into its own on January 22. The rabbit is the 4th of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac circle, in the East it is traditionally associated with the Moon and is a companion of the Moon Goddess. Why are two animals the patron of the year? There are several interesting legends about this.
According to one of them, the Jade Emperor (lord of heaven) announced that from all the animals living on earth, 12 animals will be selected to represent the signs of the Chinese zodiac. All animals must gather in the Great Hall of Heaven the next morning to be selected. Rat and Cat were two good friends living together. The cat asked the Rat to wake him up the next morning so they could go together. But the envious rodent, although he promised, left alone early in the morning. As a result, the Rat was chosen as the first of the signs of the zodiac, and the Cat, who slept all day, was late and did not make it to the calendar. Instead, the emperor chose a rabbit, which is similar to him in appearance and character. Angry at his former friend, he still holds a grudge. If you’ve ever wondered why cats hunt rats, now you know why. They are still upset by what happened that morning!
According to another version, the Jade Emperor initially chose 12 animals. The ruler ordered the cat to inform the other 11 animals about this, which were supposed to come to him personally. A rat, not included in this number, overheard the information that the cat told the bull. Then the cunning rodent secretly came to the heavenly palace before everyone else, and received the first place in the zodiac cycle, and the bull took the second position. When the cat alerted all the animals and returned to the palace, he saw that there was no more room for him. Since then, the cat and the rat have become enemies for life.
Of course, these are just folk tales. The real reason may be that domestic cats were not introduced to China when the Chinese zodiac signs were established. In China, initially there were no cats, at least domestic ones. The only felines in those ancient times were rare wild cats that could not be tamed. Fluffy purrs were brought to China from India around the third century, and only during the Tang Dynasty did they become famous. The establishment of the Chinese zodiac signs took place long before the popularization of cats, so it is not surprising that they are not one of the signs of the zodiac.
While many Asian countries celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, the Vietnamese celebrate the New Year under the sign of the Cat because there is no rabbit in their 12-character lunar calendar. When and why Vietnam banished the rabbit and adopted the cat in its version of the lunar zodiac is still a matter of debate.
There are various explanations for why the cat replaced the rabbit in the Vietnamese zodiac. The most plausible and popular theory suggests that this is due to the complexity of the translation. Vietnam is next to China, and their culture was influenced by the Celestial Empire a thousand years ago. It can be assumed that the Vietnamese learned about Chinese astrology and decided to borrow it. The word for “rabbit” in Chinese “mǎo tù” sounds the same as the word for “cat” in Vietnamese – “meo”. Because the two words sound the same, the Vietnamese may have accidentally spelled “cat” instead of “rabbit” when transcribing the Chinese zodiac.
Take a look at the Chinese ideogram 卯 for the Rabbit zodiac sign. Can you recognize which animal the ancient inventor of the zodiac depicted – a rabbit or a cat?
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