The Asian Animal Zodiac

by Ruth Q. Sun, Norman Sun (Illustrator)

In much the same way that Westerners analyze their personalities and predict their futures by studying the positions of the stars under which they were born, Asians use the ancient animal zodiac to explain individual personalities and predict their futures. According to legend, the twelve years in the Asian animal cycles were named for the twelve animals who visited Buddha on his the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, cock, dog, and boar.
This informative and delightful book examines each animal of the zodiacal cycle and describes its history, its virtues and flaws, its "all-too-human characteristics." Traditional tales from China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam illustrate each animal's personality as the people of those nations see it.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

Reviews

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lucky find! I saw it at Bookman's one day and started reading. It's perfect research and inspiration for my current WIP! I had a lot of fun reading the fables. How the Rooster lost his horns is probably one of my favorites. There's a few darker fables, but all have nuggets of Asian wisdom. I loved that it told me at the end of each short story which region or culture the story came from.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sudah sepuluh tahun buku ini tergeletak di tumpukan buku koleksi papa Owen. Dia sudah punya buku ini sejak sebelum nikah. Selama ini aku gak tertarik karena well aku kenyang baca buku tentang shio dan zodiak. Tapi siapa sangka buku ini menawarkan hal yang beda dari buku pintar shio yang banyak menggambarkan personality dan forecast nasib, harta, cinta dll.

Di buku ini kita banyak mendapatkan fabel-fabel cute. Bebetapa personality traits dan dllnya dapet juga tapi narasinya lebih banyak seperti cerita bukan seperti literature ala textbook. Gak heran aku sering lihat Owen juga suka baca-baca buku ini.

[Mammu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this book so I can read a short history of how the Chinese zodiac calendar came into existence; how the animals came to be ranked as 1st, 2nd, etc.; the relevance of the animals and their characteristics, why they were chosen; and legends behind the animals. A fast read, simple and not necessarily lengthy or scholarly, this book also has anecdotes and fables about the animals in the Chinese zodiac. Light reading for a slow afternoon.