The zodiacal ox may be construed as male, female, neutered, intersex (formerly referred to as hermaphroditic), and either singular or plural.

The term "zodiacal" refers to the classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle.

Originating from China, this form of the zodiac (with some variations) has been popular for a long time in many East Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

The zodiacal ox may be construed as male, female, neutered, hermaphroditic, and either singular or plural.

A major difference between the two is that the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane (that is, the part of the sky through which the Sun appears to move from the perspective of Earth).

In Chinese mythology, many myths about oxen or ox-like entities include celestial and earthly beings.

In some cases, Chinese myths focus on oxen-related subjects, such as plowing and agriculture or ox-powered carriage.

According to some old mythological traditions there was a race held by a great deity to determine which creatures, in which order, would be the namesakes of the twelve-year cycle.

Each of these double-hours corresponds with one of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, with similar symbolic motif and astrological significance.