Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar; thus, new year day is usually in late January or early February and it is on a day with a new moon (no moon). No one knows when the Chinese calendar officially began, but it is generally accepted that Year One corresponds to the time when Emperor Huang Di began ruling China (equivalent to 2697 BC). Thus, 2023 (after Jan 22) corresponds to the Chinese year 4721.

Januray 22, 2023 also begins the year of the Rabbit. In Chinese astrology, the zodiac is represented by a 12-year cycle of 12 animals (see below for list of animals).

Of all the animals in the world, why were these 12 chosen? There are many stories explaining this and they all share a similar theme: there was a race and the first 12 animals who arrived at the finish line were chosen.

Rat is small but he is clever. He convinces Ox to give him a ride, but just as Ox approaches the finish line, Rat jumps ahead of Ox making Rat 1^st on the list and Ox 2^nd.

One story says that Snake was curled around Horse’s leg, as Horse approached the finish line, Snake quickly sprang forward and arrived before Horse. That is why Snake is 6^th on the list and Horse is 7^th. See more about Chinese zodiac from wikipedia.com’s Chinese astrology.

Chinese astrology is a 60-year cycle because it involves 12 zodiac animals and 5 Earthly elements (5 x 12 = 60). In fact, your horoscope is determined by many aspects related to when you were born:

• odd-numbered years are “Yin” while even-numbered years are “Yang”
  
• 5 elements (metal, water, wood, fire, earth)
• 12 animals represent the year you were born
• the same 12 animals represent the month you were born
• and the same 12 animals represent the hour you were born
  (2 hours per animal: 2 x 12 = 24 hours).

Thus, two people born in the same year do not share the same fate because their fortune is also determined by the month and hour in which they were born.

Chinese Zodiac Origami Diagrams:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rooster

• Rooster (TP Kong)
• Rooster (E Binzinger)
• Rooster (M Vigo)
• Easy Rooster (RHC Bristle)
• Gallo/Rooster (P Gallo)
• Good Morning Rooster (L Stringer)
• Le Coq/Rooster (C Boudias)
• Cock of Dresden (von KD Ennen)
• Chicken (origami-club.com)
• Chicken 2 (origami-club.com)

 

 
Years of the Rooster
…1909, 1921, 1933, 1945,
1957, 1969, 1981, 1993,
2005, 2017, 2029,…

 

Dog

• Dog (J Casoblanco)
• Dog (P Jackson)
• Dog (CY Hung)
• Doggie/perrito (V Dolz)
• Doggie/perrito (pg 10-15) (E Santos)
• Barking Dog (P Jackson)
• Basset Dog (FH Rojas)
• Begging Dog (E Corrie)
• Boxer (P Forcher)
• Dachshund (E Corrie)
• German Shepherd (P Forcher)
• Little Dog (B Dunkan)
• Little Terrier Dog (FJ Caboblanco)
• Nodding Dog (P Jackson)
• Nodding Dog (J Smith)
• Nodding Dog (N Robinson)
• Origami Dog Head (activityVillage)
• Scottish Terrier (P Forcher)
• Sitting Dog (J Villemaire)
• Simple Dog (B Dunkan)
• Husky (M Jackson)
• Puppy (M Case)
• Puppy/Cachorro (jj.supaman09)
• Puppy Dog (E Corrie)
• Puppy Pounce (P Bailey)
• Business Card Puppy (L Stevens)
• Postcard Pup (A Barbour)
• Pureland Pup (JC Nolan)
• Yet Another Dog (V Anglada)

 

 
Years of the Dog
…1910, 1922, 1934, 1946,
1958, 1970, 1982, 1994,
2006, 2018, 2030,…

 

Pig

• Pig (D Petty)
• Pig (CY Hung)
• Pig (S O’Hanlon)
• Pig (TP Kong)
• Pig/Schwein (S Weber)
• Pig: pg 1, 2, 3 (NG Cuong)
• Pig: pg 1, 2, 3, (HM Tai)
• Business Card Pig (Macgyver)
• Origami Pig (M Case)
• Little Piggy… (R Katz)
• Spotted Pig (H Birkeland)
• World’s Largest Origami Pig (Zmolek-Smith)

 

 
Years of the Pig
…1911, 1923, 1935, 1947,
1959,1971, 1983, 1995,
2007, 2019, 2031,…

 

– Chinese Paper Lantern (left) – Paper Lantern: here and here (shown on right) – make Ying & Yang symbol – get free origami diagrams – go to Home Page – go to Site Map

• ---

   

  Books about Chinese Zodiac Origami

  • Mythological Creatures and the Chinese Zodiac in Origami by John Montroll
  • Mythological Creatures and the Chinese Zodiac in Origami by John Montroll
  • Perfectly Mindful Origami – Origami Zodiac East and West by Mark Bolitho
  • Chinese Origami for Children: Fold Zodiac Animals, Festival Decorations and Other Creations by Hu Yue and Lin Xin
  • Hsi Min Tai’s Origami Masks of Chinese zodiac animal by Hsi Min Tai

   
  Books about Chinese Zodiac Origami

• ---

  
  

  Please Help

  Please help by reporting broken links so that we can fix them. One easy message from you can save us hours and hours of clicking. Thanks!

•  

  More Origami Diagrams and Instructions…

  • 
    Animals
  • 
    Birds
  • 
    Boxes
  • 
    Butterflies
  • 
    Dinosaurs
  • 
    Holiday
  • 
    Dollar Bill
  • 
    Easy Origami
  • 
    Fish & Sea Life
  • 
    Flowers
  • 
    Hearts
  • 
    Insects
  • 
    Modular
  • 
    Paper Airplane
  • 
    Paper Cranes
  • 
    Polyhedra
  • 
    Reptile
  • 
    Star Wars
  • 
    Stars
  • 
    Vehicles
• These free origami instructions are made available to you by the paper folding community at large. If you have a diagram you would like to share, or if your diagram is listed here and you wish to have it removed, please Contact Us. Diagrams are intended for personal use. Copyright of the models lie with the origami creators and designers. Please contact the designer and/or creator directly for non-private usage of a model and/or artwork.
   
• Search…