Originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Yuanmingyuan in Beijing, it was designed by Italian missionary Lang Shining and made by craftsmen in the Qing court. Each animal capital has its unique symbolic significance. In 1860, when the British and French coalition burned down the Yuanmingyuan, it was stolen and lost overseas. The bronze statue of the rat's head represents the hour of Zi (23:00 to 1:00 the next day) and is one of the twelve zodiac bronze statues. It was auctioned at Christie's in France in 2009, but ultimately failed to sell. On April 26, 2013, the French Pinault family announced that they would donate rat and rabbit heads to China without compensation, and held a donation ceremony at the National Museum of China on June 28 of the same year.

It is an important component of traditional Chinese culture and represents one of the twelve zodiac animals. In the ancient Chinese calendar system of heavenly stems and earthly branches, each zodiac sign corresponds to a earthly branch, and the earthly branch corresponding to the rat is "zi", hence also known as "zi shu". In the legends of the twelve zodiac animals, the rat is known for its wit and agility. According to legend, when the Jade Emperor selected the zodiac animals, the rat, with its intelligence and wit, was the first to arrive at the Heavenly Palace and became the head of the zodiac. It embodies the agility and agility traits of mice. It is considered a symbol of wisdom and wealth because mice are good at accumulating food, symbolizing abundance and harvest. But sometimes it is also often associated with negative images.