There are 12 animals that together form the Chinese zodiac, also known as the 12 Earthly Branches. The order of the 12 zodiac animals in Chinese culture is: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
According to legend, the lion was one of the 12 zodiac animals in China, and there was no tiger. However, because the lion was very ferocious, the Jade Emperor wanted to remove this animal from the zodiac. Nevertheless, the Jade Emperor could not do so because the lion is the king of all creatures, and if he wanted to remove the lion, he needed a new animal to lead all the other animals. At that moment, the Jade Emperor remembered the tiger.
The tiger replaced the lion in the Chinese zodiac. (Illustration: Getty Images).
At that time, the tiger was just an ordinary animal to humans. It learned various combat skills such as stalking, striking, biting, charging, and jumping, becoming a powerful warrior in the forest. All the animals that challenged the tiger either perished or were severely injured. Since then, the tiger became the king of the jungle.
The strength and courage of the tiger spread so widely that the Jade Emperor summoned it to the Heavenly Palace. Upon arriving at the Heavenly Palace, the tiger defeated the Jade Emperor’s guards and became the new protector.
However, shortly after, wild animals and birds began to attack humans and wreak havoc on Earth due to the absence of a ruler. The Jade Emperor then sent the tiger down to Earth to protect humanity. The tiger demanded a reward for each victory, and the Jade Emperor agreed to this condition.
After descending to Earth, the tiger realized that the lion, bear, and horse were the strongest animals at that time, so it challenged and defeated them with its extraordinary strength. Other wild beasts, upon hearing the news, hurriedly fled and hid in a desolate forest. Peace returned to Earth, and humans thanked the tiger for defeating the ferocious beasts.
When the tiger returned to the Heavenly Palace, having won three times, the Jade Emperor carved three horizontal lines on the tiger’s forehead.
Some time later, Earth was once again thrown into chaos by an evil turtle causing floods. The tiger was sent down to Earth once more to punish the turtle. After this victory, the Jade Emperor carved an additional straight line in the middle of the three horizontal lines on the tiger’s forehead, forming the character for “king” (王) in Chinese. From then on, the tiger became the king of all creatures. Today, we can still see this character on the foreheads of tigers.
Subsequently, the Jade Emperor decided to remove the lion’s position from the 12 zodiac animals and chose the tiger as its replacement.
The tiger is a fierce beast and is often considered dangerous to humans; however, according to traditional Chinese culture, the tiger is also a symbol of good fortune.
