Chinese Language Week - Day 4

 Ni Hao Ma,

I know, I should have done days two and three, but, on day 3, I went on a walk and completely forgot about blogging. On day two, I was too lazy to blog. I'm really sorry for no blogs!

 Anyway, Chinese Language week Day 4. We had to do this challenge where we had to draw our Chinese animal and write something about it. The Chinese animals are kind of like the Chinese version of Zodiac signs. Like, 2021 is the year of the Ox. I was born in 2010. So I am year of the Tiger. Most of my class are Dragons, Rabbits and Tigers. My teacher is A dog.

 Now I am going to tell you all of the Chinese animal birth years. If you don't know your one, you can find out by reading this blog! The Year of the Ox is for people who are born in 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, and 2021.  

The year of the Rat is for people who are born in 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2020. 

The year of the Tiger is for people who are born in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022. 

The year of the Rabbit is for people who are born in 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023. 

The year of the Dragon is for people who are born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024. 

The year of the Snake is for people who are born in 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025. 

The year of the Horse is for people who are born in 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, and 2026. 

The year of the Goat is for people who are born in 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, and 2027. 

The year of the Monkey is for people who are born in 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, and 2028. 

The year of the Rooster is for people who were born in 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029. 

The year of the Dog is for people who were born in 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, and 2030. 

And last but not least, the year of the Pig is for people who were born in  1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2031.

There is actually A legend behind all of the Chinese animals. According to myths, the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race. This race is meant to create a time measurement for the people. There could only be twelve winners and in order to win, the animals had to cross a rapid current river and reach the finish line on the shore.

Originally, there was a cat and a rat, who hated each other with a passion. It’s hard to believe that they were once friends. These two were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom, but they were both smart. They discovered that the fastest way to the river is to hop on top of the ox. The generous ox agreed to carry them across the river. However, the rat was so eager to win that he pushed the cat into the water; thus the cat never forgave the rat, and wasn't included in the race. Other variations of the story say that the rat just never told the cat about the race and did not even compete at all.

Afterwards the ox and the rat made it to shore. The rat jumped in front of the ox and came first in the race. The ox came in second and the tiger finished in third. All of a sudden, a loud thumping sound came: it was the rabbit. It jumped from one stone to another and was doing well until it slipped. Fortunately, there was a log floating by and it grabbed onto that log and floated to the finish line earning the fourth place in the race. In fifth place was the dragon, but everyone thought that it would come in first because it could fly. It told Jade Emperor that it had to stop a couple of times to help some villagers. And on its way to the finish line, it saw a little rabbit on a log and decided to give a little puff of air to help it get to shore. After the dragon, the horse came galloping towards the finish line. The sneaky snake was hidden behind the horse’s foot. It suddenly appeared and the horse was scared. The snake took advantage of this and landed itself in sixth place, and the horse landed in seventh.

Soon after, the monkey, the rooster, and the sheep landed onto shore. Unlike some of the previous animals, these three actually helped each other to get to the finish line. The rooster found a raft, and the monkey and sheep hopped on. Working hard together through the water currents and the weeds, they reached shore: the sheep came in eighth place, the monkey in ninth place, and the rooster in tenth place. In eleventh place was the dog. Even though it was a great swimmer, it was late. It told the emperor that it needed a bath, and the fresh water from the river was too tempting. Right when the emperor was going to close the race, an “oink” sound was heard: it was the pig. “Lazy little pig” originated from this story. The pig felt hungry in the middle of the race, so it stopped, ate something, and then fell asleep. After it awoke, it finished the race in twelfth place and became the last animal to arrive.

The order of the lunar calendar follows the outcome of the race, where the rat is the first animal to start the sequence, and the pig is the last. After the pig, the sequence starts over again. The lunar calendar has been a significant calendar for China and the Chinese zodiac. Many parts of the world are also familiar with this calendar. 

Wow! That was A long blog post! I have been working on this blog since 12:00! Now it's 1:39! I guess this will cover missing two days of blog posts? Hopefully! I'd never expect to make A blog post this long! Bye!