The Chinese zodiac is a mathematical cycle of 12 animals. Each animal represents one year. People are associated with the zodiac animal for the year that they are born. The 12 animals in order are: Rat, Ox & Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster & Chicken, Dog, and Pig. Zodiac animals can also represent hours of the day and directions. Although it is called the Chinese zodiac, this system is also used in several other countries in Asia such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Personality
Some Chinese people believe that each zodiac animal has a personality, and people born in the same year may have similar personalities.

Rat
years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972,1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Honest, freedom, hard working, charming. Can be selfish, ruthless, controlling, scheming.

Ox
years: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Smart, calm, patient, inspiring, modest. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, demanding, rigid.

Tiger
years: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Aggressive, rebellious, strong, daring, generous. Can be restless, clumsy, hot-temper, impatient.

Rabbit
years: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Kind, sensitive, elegant, artistic, cautious. Can be moody, shy, lazy, opportunistic.

Dragon
years: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Strong, proud, direct, eccentric, show off. Can be arrogant, violent, brash, controlling.

Snake
years: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Wise, graceful, calm, mystic, shrewd. Can be a loner, bad communicator, possessive, distrustful.

Horse
years: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Cheerful, popular, talkative, witty, earthly, responsible. Can be fickle, rude, gullible, stubborn.

Goat
years:  1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Righteous, honest, shy, artistic, understanding. Can be moody, a worrier, a complainer, and soft.

Monkey
years: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Witty, curious, flexible, sociable, smart. Can be vain, clumsy, trickster, snobbish.

Rooster
years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Neat, organized, alert, scientific, responsible. Can be critical, egotistical, rough, opinionated.

Dog
years: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Honest, smart, loyal, sense of justice, affectionate. Can be lazy, cold, stubborn, quarrelsome.

Pig
years: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
Simple, hard working, strong, peace-loving, trusting. Can be naive, gullible, materialistic, clingy.

Hours
In the old days, China and Japan used a 12-hour system to tell the time of day and night (unlike the 24 hour system used today). The 12 hour system divides the day of 24 hours into 12 hours, each of which has a sign of the zodiac:
11:00 PM to 1:00 AM is the hour of the Rat.
1:00 AM to 3:00 AM is the hour of the Ox.
3:00 AM to 5:00 AM is the hour of the Tiger.
5:00 AM to 7:00 AM is the hour of the Rabbit.
7:00 AM to 9:00 AM is the hour of the Dragon.
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM is the hour of the Snake.
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM is the hour of the Horse.
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM is the hour of the Goat.
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM is the hour of the Monkey.
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM is the hour of the Rooster.
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM is the hour of the Dog.
9:00 PM to 11:00 PM is the hour of the Pig.

Directions
The Chinese and Japanese would call the different directions (North, Northeast, Northwest, East, South, Southeast, Southwest, West), based on the names of the zodiac animals.
 Rat (Water, North)
 Ox (Earth, North-Northeast)
 Tiger (Wood,  East-Northeast)
 Rabbit (Wood, East)
 Dragon (Earth, East-Southeast)
 Snake (Fire, South-Southeast)
 Horse (Fire, South)
 Goat (Earth, South-Southwest)
 Monkey (Metal, West-Southwest)
 Rooster (Metal, West)
 Dog (Earth, West-Northwest)
 Pig (Water, North-Northwest)

References

Other websites
Chinese Horoscope
Chinese Zodiac
Basic Chinese Zodiac 

Chinese culture
Asian mythology