What's your sign? In Western astrology, it's a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar. But according to the Chinese zodiac (生肖), it's your shuxiang, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year. And of the many myths explaining these animal signs and their arrangement, the most enduring one is that of The Great Race. Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen recount this classic myth. [Directed by Marta Prokopová, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen, music by WORKPLAYWORK and Cem Misirlioglu].

Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen: The myth behind the Chinese zodiac

The myth behind the Chinese zodiac

The Chinese zodiac's origin, a race decreed by the Jade Emperor, reveals how animals earned their celestial spots and cycles.

Combining the Twelve Earthly Branches with the Ten Heavenly Stems creates the Chinese zodiac's 60-year cycle, enriching its complexity.

In the Chinese zodiac, your birth year's animal reveals more than traits; it tells a tale of a mythical race shaping time itself.