The Chinese Zodiac, or shengxiao (生肖), has twelve symbols, just like the western one (given to us by the ancient Greeks). And, even in this case, each sign is associated with particular character traits. The difference is that while in our Zodiac each symbol corresponds with a certain month, the Chinese Zodiac corresponds with a particular year, For example, 2015 is the year of the Goat!

Why does each sign correspond with an animal?

It is said that Buddha, when he was near to dying, gathered all animals of the earth. However, only twelve bothered to come say goodbye. So he – being magnanimous as few others could – decided to reward them by baptizing each lunar phase with the name of one of the animals that came. The first to show up was the mouse (never trust the rats). After that, arriving in order were the buffalo, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig (the usual latecomer). [Read more…]

Quite a broad and varied range of dog breeds have come to us from China, some of which are very well-known and others not so much. If you have one or are interested in these marvelous Chinese dog breeds, below, I’m going to explain their origins and most common features.

We have grouped them by size, as that is one of the features that people keep in mind the most when choosing which breed to take home:

Large (weighing more than 18 kg, and which can even reach 100):

• Tibetan Mastiff
• Shar-Pei

Medium (weighing more than 8 kg and up to 30):

• Chongqing
• Chow Chow
• Tibetan Terrier

Small (maximum weight of between 8 and 9 kg):

• Lhasa Apso
• Pekingese
• Chinese Crested Dog
• Shih Tzu
• Pug

[Read more…]