What is the origin for the Chinese zodiac?

The Chinese calendar does not use a continuous year count! They used a 60 year cycle and a system of regional years (starting with each emperor, like Mao Zedong!). Before the 1911 revolution, Sun Yat-sen wanted to establish a republican alternative to the imperial reign cycles. According to Chinese tradition, the first year of the Yellow Emperor was 2698 B.C.E., so he introduced a counting system based on this. Under this system, 2000 is year 4698. An alternative system is to start with the first historical record of the 60-day cycle from March 8, 2637 B.C.E. Based on this system, 2000 is year 4637. -Harrison V. Thank me.