| Horse | |
|---|---|
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Real Name |
Horse |
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First Appearance |
Chinese Mythology |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The Horse is the seventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese Zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. There is a long tradition of the Horse in Chinese mythology. Certain characteristics of the Horse nature are supposed to be typical of or to be associated with either a year of the Horse and its events, or in regard to the personality of someone born in such a year. Horse aspects can also enter by other chronomantic factors or measures, such as hourly. The year of the horse is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 午.
An ancient folktale called "The Great Race" tells of the Jade Emperor's decree that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river.
After the Dragon arrived, there came a galloping sound, and the Horse appeared. Hidden on the Horse's hoof was the Snake, whose sudden appearance gave the Horse a fright, thus making it fall back and giving the Snake the sixth spot while the Horse placed seventh.
In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to them in the order they had arrived.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Horse of Chinese Zodiac from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- Ancient Calendars and Constellations (1903)
- Things Japanese (1905)
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica