The rat and the cat make strange bedfellows, and other Chinese idioms

A Chinese brush painting by Chan to illustrate the Chinese idiom, mao shu tong mian (cat and rat sleeping together). — Illustration: SIMON CHAN

The Rat may be small but, due to its quick-wittedness, it takes the No.1 spot in the 12-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Legend has it that it hitched a ride on the back of the Ox in the Great Race organised by the Jade Emperor. Near the finishing line, the Rat jumped off and reached the finish line before the Ox.