How did the 12 animals come to represent the 12 earthly branches?

Ancient Chinese people invented the 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches for chronological purposes. The 12 branches match the number of months in a year and hours in a day.? Although this was scientific, most people were illiterate and could not memorize or calculate easily. Thus the animals that influenced people's lives were chosen to symbolize the terrestrial branches: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

What are the legends about zodiac ?

There are a range of different versions surrounding this legend, but the most widespread and interesting legend that explains the full story behind the history and origin of the Chinese Zodiac is the one about Jade Emperor.
Jade Emperor decided to hold a swimming race in order to select the animals that were to be taken in the zodiac. Cat and rat were the worst swimmers amongst all the animals, as they hatched a plot and decided to cross the river on the back of the na?ve ox and, after the ox had agreed to carry them across the river. Just as they were about to reach the shore, rat, in order to ensure his victory, pushed the cat into the river. This is why the cat became a sworn enemy of the rat.

Later , a thumping sound was followed by the arrival of the rabbit. Rabbit explained that in the beginning, he tried to cross the river by jumping from one stone to another. Alas, the stones almost vanished in the midway and he was on the verge of losing the race. Suddenly a floating log came and by climbing on it, rabbit reached the shore.

After the rabbit got the fourth place in the zodiac cycle ,the fifth animal to reach the shore was the dragon. The dragon had stopped on the way to help all the people and creatures by making rain, which delayed him crossing the river himself. Pleased with the good deeds of the dragon, the Emperor granted him the fifth position in the zodiac.

The horse was the next animal to appear on the shore, although the snake had hidden himself on the hoof of the horse and suddenly emerged on shore. The appearance of the snake frightened the horse a little and he fell back, allowing for the snake to secure sixth place in the zodiac, leaving the horse to finish seventh place.

Moments later, ram, monkey and rooster reached the shore together, informing the Emperor that they had helped each other on the way to the shore. The rooster spotted a raft and took monkey and ram with him. Then, ram and monkey cleared the weeds and pulled the raft to the shore. Delighted with their combined efforts, the Emperor gave all of them a place in the zodiac. Ram was named as the eighth animal of the zodiac, monkey as the ninth and rooster as the tenth.

To restore order in the world , another myth named ?‘Buddha’, ?convened the animal kingdom on the Chinese New Year; however, only 12 animals showed up. Thus the 12 animals came to represent the Chinese zodiac cycle, each presiding over one year .Based on the chronology of the animals’ arrival to the meeting Buddha arranged the order of the 12 sign and gave each animal a zodiacal position, bestowing the nature and characteristics of each animal on people born on the corresponding year.