What is Chinese zodiac? 什么是中国的十二生肖？

 Chinese zodiac is a scheme that relates each year to an animal ,according to a 12-year cycle.It have had many variants in Chinese history.and it has used in many countries.

Dragon totem worship in China has been around for the last 8,000 years. The ancients in China considered the dragon (or loong) a fetish that combines animals including the fish, snake, horse and ox with cloud, thunder, lightning and other natural celestial phenomena. The Chinese dragon was formed in accordance with the multicultural fusion process of the Chinese nation. To the Chinese, the dragon signifies innovation and cohesion.

Identifying this scheme using the term "zodiac" reflects several similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into 12 parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of attributing influence of a person's relationship to the cycle upon their personality and/or events in their life. Nevertheless, there are major differences: the "Chinese" 12-part cycle is divided into years rather than months; contrary to the association with animals implied in the Greek etymology of "zodiac", actually four of the Western "signs" or "houses" are represented by humans (one such sign being the twins "Gemini") and one is the inanimate balance scale "Libra"; the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations, let alone those spanned by the ecliptic plane.

all this mean that Chinese zodiac stand the ancients are full of knowledge and would be creative.

 Rat - 鼠(shǔ)
Ox - 牛(niú)
Tiger - 虎 (hǔ)
Rabbit - 兔 (tù)
Dragon – 龙 (lónɡ)
Snake - 蛇 (shé)
Horse or also Stallion – 马 (mǎ)
Goat, or Sheep or Ram - 羊(yánɡ)
Monkey - 猴 (hóu)
Rooster – 鸡 (jī)
Dog - 狗 (ɡǒu)
Pig - 猪 (zhū)

Chinese zodiac-十二生肖（shíèr shēnɡxiāo）