A tiger standing on a rock in front of a pine tree, this handmade paper cut features the Tiger, one of the animals in Chinese Zodiac signs. 

The Chinese animal signs are a 12-year cycle used for dating the years.They represent a cyclical concept of time, rather than the Western linear concept of time.  A cultural sidelight of the animal signs in Chinese folklore is that horoscopes have developed around the animal signs, much like monthly horoscopes in the West.  These horoscopes are amusing, but not regarded seriously by the Chinese people.