Chinese years are named after animals. They are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. There are many different stories about the of the twelve animals. One of them says: the Jade Emperor held a swimming race to animals for the names of the years. The rat was the , and the other eleven animals followed him. So the Jade Emperor named the years in the order they the race.