Is the zodiac calculated according to the lunar calendar or the solar calendar?

The zodiac is calculated according to the lunar calendar. Not according to the solar calendar.

The Zodiac, also known as the Zodiac, is twelve kinds of animals in China that match the twelve earthly branches according to the year of birth, including rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs.

The origin of the zodiac is related to animal worship. According to the Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmeng Shuihudi, Hubei Province and Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu Province, there was a relatively complete zodiac system in the pre-Qin period. The earliest handed down document that recorded the China Zodiac, which is the same as modern times, was Lun Heng written by Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The zodiac is an intuitive representation of the twelve earthly branches, namely, Zi (mouse), Ugly (ox), Yin (tiger), Mao (rabbit), Chen (dragon), Si (snake), Wu (horse), Wei (sheep), Shen (monkey), You (chicken) and Xu (chicken).

It is manifested in marriage, life, and annual luck. Each zodiac has rich legends, which form a conceptual interpretation system and become an image philosophy in folk culture, such as the zodiac in marriage, temple fair prayer, Year of the Animal and so on. In modern times, more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and become a symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.

As a long-standing symbol of folk culture, the zodiac has left a large number of poems, Spring Festival couplets, paintings, calligraphy and paintings and folk arts and crafts that depict the image and symbolic significance of the zodiac. Apart from China, many countries in the world issue stamps of the zodiac during the Spring Festival to express their wishes for the New Year in China.

Extended data:

12 Zodiac order

Zodiac animals have different properties, and ancient and modern scholars always put forward many views on their selection and arrangement, but each view is difficult to justify.

Folk story theory

Xuanyuan Huangdi wanted to choose twelve kinds of animals as court guards, and the cat asked the mouse to sign up. As a result, the mouse forgot, and from then on, the cat took revenge when it saw the mouse. Originally, the cow pushed first, and the mouse sneaked up the cow's back to take the lead. I don't believe that tigers and dragons are named mountain gods and sea gods, ranking behind cows. The rabbit refused to accept it and wanted to race the dragon. The rabbit ran in front of the dragon.

The dog didn't want to bite the rabbit and was finally punished. Snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys and chickens also went through some competitions, and finally the pig took the last seat.

This legend also explains why there are no cats in the zodiac. In fact, there were no cats in ancient China, and the zodiac was formed when domestic cats were introduced to China. This legend, which is similar to children's stories, is far from a scientific explanation of this problem.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia _ Zodiac