visit us at www abdopublishing com Published by Magic Wagon a division of the ABDO Group PO Box 398166 Edina MN 55439 Copyright 2014 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Short Tales is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 102013 012014 This book contains at least 10 recycled materials Adapted Text by Anita Yasuda Illustrations by Jok Edited by Stephanie Hedlund and Rochelle Baltzer Interior Layout by Renée LaViolette Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Yasuda Anita The Jade Emperor a Chinese zodiac myth adapted by Anita Yasuda illustrat ed by Jok pages cm Short tales Chinese myths ISBN 978 1 62402 031 5 1 Tales China Juvenile literature 2 Mythology Chinese Juvenile literature 3 Astrology Chinese Juvenile literature 4 Zodiac Folklore Juvenile literature I Jok Artist illustrator II Title GR335 Y3753 2014 398 20951 dc23 2013025310
MYTHICAL CREATURES JADE EMPEROR Ruler of Heaven Note The Chinese names in this book use the pinyin system to represent the Chinese language in English
INTRODUCTION The Chinese lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon This means that the beginning of the year can be anywhere from the end of January to the middle of February The lunar calendar has a twelve year cycle Each year is named after an animal The twelve animals are the rat ox tiger rabbit dragon snake horse goat monkey rooster dog and pig Each animal is associated with certain characteristics People born in that year's animal sign are thought to have these characteristics as well The twelve animal symbols are thousands of years old The earliest written version of the Chinese zodiac is from a historical document called the Lun Heng written in the third century BCE There are many different stories explaining the Chinese zodiac Some legends tell of Buddha naming the years after the animals In this adaptation of the story the Jade Emperor invites all the animals of the world to race The first twelve animals are rewarded by having a year named after them in the Chinese calendar
Gold invitations fluttered down from the sky Some blew into trees Others were lost in the waters But one fell by the home of two best friends They were Cat and Rat
