Legend of the origin of the zodiac

Legend has it that in the distant past, the sky was pure blue, the green hills were green, rivers flowed day and night, and human beings continued to multiply. ...

One morning, the Jade Emperor was sitting in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and in the early morning, he called a hundred civil and military officials. Before the ceremony was over, he saw Taibai Venus hurrying to the overture table: Long live, I came down to inspect, the world is peaceful and prosperous. However, without time control, human beings can't distinguish between seasonal cycles and young people. One day in the sky, one year underground, in the long run, there are many grievances in the world and the world is unstable. For this reason, the old priest thought it was time to educate the paradise on earth; Set a time for the mortal world and give mankind a place to belong.

Hearing this, the Jade Emperor was shocked: Well, that makes sense, but does Ai Qing have any ideas on how to remember the time and year of the earth and how to belong to mankind? Taibai Venus came forward and said: I think we should recruit twelve kinds of animals from the mortal world to the heaven, and take them as the genus and earthly branch, and record the time and year with the existing ten-day trunk; Then give the zodiac as the zodiac sign to human beings. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?

The voice of Taibai Venus just fell, and the gods in front of the temple nodded in praise. The Jade Emperor was overjoyed. He called his valet and sent a message: I asked you to be a Zodiac official, and immediately came down to earth with a message to strictly select and inspect all the animals in the world, and selected 12 animals as the Zodiac. Whoever reports to heaven first will be named the' Zodiac King'.

Being an official, I didn't dare to neglect, and I drove the colorful clouds in a hurry and flew to the world.

Our story begins here-

On this day, the greedy cat came to the river to fish. After a while, he began to yawn and kept stretching his arms and twisting his waist. The greedy cat put the fishing rod underground and dozed off by the river. The greedy cat's tail accidentally fell into the water, but a big fish thought it was something delicious and kept biting its tail.

The greedy cat jumped up in pain, sighed and brought the fish up. It was ecstatic when it found that a big fish was biting its tail.

The greedy cat is carrying a fish basket, a fishing rod and humming a tune, feeling smug about today's unexpected harvest.

At this time, a little magpie flew over the greedy cat's head and shouted: Be an animal sign and become a fairy! Become an animal symbol, become an immortal ...

The greedy cat waved to the little magpie and asked, what animal's constellation is it? Can being a zodiac become a fairy?

The little magpie replied: The Jade Emperor wants to gather all the animals in the world and choose twelve kinds of animals as the genus of human beings. All the animals chosen as animals are named immortals. ...

Hearing this, the greedy cat's eyes turned green. He quickly asked, Where should I go? Little Magpie A: Go to Temple Street and sign up!

Hearing this, the greedy cat ran home without even saying thank you.

In the yard, mouse, the servant of the greedy cat, is chopping wood with an axe.

The greedy cat shouted, Mouse! Rats! Go to Temple Street and sign me up. I want to be a Zodiac and become an immortal!

The mouse picked up another piece of wood and said timidly, "Let's go again when I've chopped the wood."

The greedy cat aimed at the mouse and kicked it, no! We have to go now. Let's go He kicked the mouse out of the yard.

The mouse absently ran to Temple Street and looked around, not knowing where to register. Temple street, which is usually deserted, has become lively because of the selection of animal signs. General summoning orders are posted everywhere in the streets, and all kinds of birds and girls are flying and shouting in the blue sky. ...

At this time, the mouse saw the monkey from a distance. This monkey is in the spring breeze because he has registered and whistled. The mouse quickly stepped forward and bowed: Brother Monkey, where should I apply for the zodiac?

How come? Do you want to sign up for the zodiac, too? Don't go! Don't go! The team that signed up can't see the end, and it's already not your turn! The monkeys coaxed each other.

The mouse stamped its foot anxiously: But … But I … I must go!

Are you really going? ! The monkey scratched his forehead and went to Xiande Temple. With that, he skipped away.

The mice have been talking ... >>

The legend of the zodiac comes from the fact that mice and cows, horses and sheep were selected into the zodiac. The mouse said, I should be the first. Cattle, horses and sheep said unconvinced, why do you rank first? The mouse said: I am old, so I want to be the first. Niu Ma and others couldn't help laughing: Are you as old as us? The mouse said, we don't count when we argue. Let others speak. Cattle, horses, sheep, etc. Everyone agrees to let people comment. So they discussed ways: led by cows, horses, sheep and mice, they walked through the streets one by one to see what people said.

In the street, a cow came and people said that this cow is very strong. The horse is coming, people say, this horse is really tall. Here comes the sheep. People say that this sheep is very fat. Finally, the mouse swaggered over. People saw a big mouse suddenly appearing in the street, and everyone chased it and shouted, What a big mouse! What a big mouse! In this way, cows, horses and sheep have nothing to say, and mice rank first.

In addition, there is a similar story about the ranking of the twelve genera among the people.

There is an interesting story about how the zodiac is arranged:

At the beginning of chaos, just after heavenly stems and earthly branches timed it, the Jade Emperor ordered the gathering of all the animals in the world, and selected the twelve zodiac signs according to the twelve branches: Zi, Ugly, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai.

After the news came out, it alarmed two good friends, Flower Cat and Mouse. The cat said to the mouse, I'm going to heaven at five o'clock tomorrow. I have a problem with sleepiness. You should call me! The mouse repeatedly said, OK, OK!

But the next morning, the dishonest mouse got up secretly and left without saying goodbye.

On this day, Yunnan, the beast in Lingxiao Hall, began to be selected. According to the difference between heaven and earth, the Jade Emperor selected twelve kinds of land and water animals, including dragon, tiger, ox, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig, rabbit, snake and mouse, as the zodiac. The rooster had two beautiful horns at that time and was also included in the beast.

The Jade Emperor was about to arrange their seats when the black raccoon pig flashed out. Although it is stupid, it only likes to make trouble. It says: Now that the Jade Emperor has chosen a leader, I am willing to share your worries, be a fair man and arrange my brothers in turn. The Jade Emperor was overjoyed. He told the pig to be selfless and cut off contacts, so he retired from the DPRK.

As soon as the Jade Emperor left, the zodiac became a pot of porridge.

At the beginning, everyone unanimously elected a gentle and generous workhorse to sit in the first place. Even the mighty tiger and black dragon respected it and agreed. However, the mouse in the corner appeared and proposed * * *. It said: in terms of numbers, I am big. If you don't believe me, let's have a game on earth and listen to people's comments. So, the cow and the mouse came to the street in the city center.

When the cow passed through the crowd, people didn't respond. At this time, the mouse suddenly climbed onto the cow's back and set up a pile. People in the street shouted: What a big mouse! By the time people took out sticks to hit them, the mouse had run away.

When the mouse came back to brag, all the animals were keen on cows. Only the black pig is secretly happy. It feels that only in this way, no matter how big or small, it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad, so it may be an impostor and it also benefits from it. So, with a stroke of a pen, it picked the mouse first and put the old cow behind.

This annoyed the tiger and the black dragon. They shouted loudly and made all the animals tremble. All the animals are busy worshipping dragons and tigers, unanimously electing tigers as mountain kings and black dragons as fish kings to rule the world. The monkey wrote a gold plaque for the tiger and hung it on the tiger's forehead. The rooster gave the black dragon two horns. Since then, the black dragon has been crowned. Tigers and black dragons have power in the world, so they are only behind rats and bulls. At this moment, another disruptive hare jumped out, sneering and saying, Hey, hey! I am almost like a mouse in appearance, but I am bigger than a mouse in height. I am the guardian of the mountain king, and I should be in front of the sea king.

Hearing this, the black dragon was furious. He said, don't force it. If you don't believe me, let's have a try. The black pig listened to his request and said, It's a deal. Let's race and let the hounds be your judges ... >>

There is a myth about the origin of the zodiac:

It is said that the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 kinds of animals as representatives, and then sent immortals to tell the animals about it, and set a time to come to the Tiangong in Maoli during the reign of Taizu. The sooner he came, the more he swallowed it, but the later one could not. At that time, cats and mice were still good friends. The cat loves to sleep, but he also wants to be chosen, so he asks the mouse to call him. But the mouse forgot as soon as it turned its head. The mouse went to the old cow and said that he got up early and ran fast, so the cow could take him. The old cow agreed

At that time, dragons had no horns and chickens had horns. The dragon told the chicken that the chicken was already very beautiful and didn't need horns, so he let the chicken lend it to him. The chicken was very happy when he heard the flattery of the dragon, so he lent his horn to the dragon and told him to pay back the money on time after the election. Long readily agreed.

In the year of Mao Mao, Uzuki, when the cat was still sleeping, many animals rushed to the Heavenly Palace.

The mouse sits on the cow's back. After reaching heaven, the mouse jumped up. The Jade Emperor said that the mice arrived first, which made them the first. Old steak is second; The tiger also arrived late, ranking third; The rabbit also arrived, ranking fourth; The dragon came late, but he was very big. The Jade Emperor saw him at a glance. Seeing that he was so beautiful, he ranked fifth. He also said that his son ranked sixth, but Long was disappointed because his son didn't come today. At this time, the snake at the back ran over and said, "He * * * Dad, I'm in the sixth place! I am ranked sixth! " Snakes rank sixth; Horses and sheep have arrived, too. They asked me to ask you: Brother Ma first, Brother Yang first, and they pushed them around. Seeing that they were so polite, the Jade Emperor let them rank seventh and eighth. The monkey was in his thirties, but he jumped ahead with the clouds in the sky because he could jump, ranking ninth; Then chickens, dogs and pigs were also selected.

The cat didn't wake up until the end of the game, and the mouse was chased all over the world as soon as he got home. ...

After the game, the dragon came to the seaside and saw that he had horns much more beautiful than before, so he didn't plan to return the chicken. In order to avoid the chicken, he disappeared from the world. The chicken was very angry, so he got up early every morning and shouted at the sea: Give it back quickly! Give it back! The hen shouted, give him back quickly! Give him back to me! The chicken also crows: Come back! And!

With regard to the origin of the zodiac, historical records show that China began to use the "chronology of branches and leaves" which combines the ten heavenly stems with the twelve earthly branches from the Shun Di era. The method of zoological chronology originated from nomadic people in the west and north of ancient China. The Book of the Tang Dynasty records: "The Year of the Tiger is bounded by twelve events. If the year is cloudy, it is called the year of the tiger. " Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in the Qing Dynasty, made a textual research in Yu Yu Congkao: "In the early days, the custom of benefiting the north was childless, ugly, yin and hairy, but when rats, cows, tigers and rabbits were divided into years, by the end of the Han Dynasty, it was said that (Khan) money lived in Wuyuan, mixed with Qi people, and spread in China, so it was not abandoned.

The zodiac was first seen in The Book of Songs, the world's first collection of poems. The Book of Songs? Xiaoya? "Car Attack" said: "Today is the auspicious day of the ecliptic, and it is noon. I am short of horses. "See also the Book of Rites? Monthly order? Ji Dong: "Digging cows to send cold. "When did the zodiac theory come into being? There is a historical cloud: it should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. Is it based on Wang Chong's Lun Heng? The article "Things Potential" says: "Yin, wood, birds and tigers. Hey, Tuye, its birds and dogs are also. " Another cloud said, "Good afternoon, Ma Ye. Son, mouse also. Unitary, chicken also. ..... Shen, Qitian also. "* * * put forward eleven zodiac names. In addition, in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu Yue written by Zhao Ye in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Wu Zaichen is a dragon. "Just added' Chen Long', and completed the zodiac. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs were formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the use of the Chinese zodiac, it appeared at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Biography of Northern History Yuwen Hu records a letter written to him by Yuwen Hu's mother, which reads: "Your brother was born in Wuchuan Town, the eldest is a mouse, the second is a rabbit, and you are a snake. "It can be seen that the Chinese zodiac was widely used by the people at that time to record the date of birth.

However, in the mid-1970s, from 1975 to 12, thousands of bamboo slips were found in the cultural relics unearthed from Qin TombNo. 1 1 in Yunmeng, Hubei Province. Among them, sunrise? The thief clearly recorded the words used to predict the thief's appearance characteristics in the zodiac. The appearance of this miracle proves that the Chinese zodiac has been used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because Qin Tomb No.11 was built in the thirty years of the first emperor, that is, 2 17 BC. Some people say that long before Qin Shihuang proclaimed himself emperor, our ancestors used the zodiac to record the year, and especially pointed out that "it began in summer and spread in Shang and Zhou Dynasties." But how to quote it remains to be understood by historians and cultural relics scholars ... >>

The Origin of the Zodiac How did the legend of the China Zodiac come from? The origin of the zodiac: The zodiac is also called the zodiac. In China's calendar, animals take turns to be on duty for twelve years, so our China Year has been applied to the calendars of rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs. So how did the zodiac come from?

The zodiac began in the sixth century BC, and was originally used with earthly numerals, and later became the year number of the year.

In fact, a story about this N has been circulating among the people: In that year, the Buddha called all the animals to attend the gathering of animals, and the first twelve animals were counted as the number of twelve years. On the day of the herding meeting, the mouse arrived first, so it aged the most in the animal year, followed by cattle, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens and dogs. The pig was the last to arrive, so it was the last of the twelve animals.

Another chapter of this story tells why cats and mice become enemies. At that time, cats and mice were good friends. Before going to the National People's Congress, they slept together and agreed that whoever woke up first would wake up.

I'm afraid that mice will get up early the next day, and even go to the meeting silently, ignoring the cat. By the time the cat woke up and rushed to Congress, the Buddha had allocated the number for twelve years. Since then, the cat and the mouse have formed a deep hatred. Since Shun Di's time, the "chronology of branches and leaves" has been applied. The method of zoological chronology originated from nomadic people in the west and north of ancient China. The Book of the Tang Dynasty records: "The Year of the Tiger is bounded by twelve events. If the year is cloudy, it is called the year of the tiger. " Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in Qing Dynasty, took part in the Yu Yu Congkao. According to the cloud, "At the beginning of Di custom, there was no saying that a child was ugly at the age of twelve, but when rats, cows, tigers and rabbits were divided into different ages, they were called (Khan) in the Han Dynasty, which was mixed with Qi people and spread in China, so it was not abolished.

What is the origin and significance of the zodiac? The Origin and Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

In China, everyone has their own zodiac sign, you are a tiger, he is a rabbit, I am a dragon and so on. To know a person's age geometry, just ask his zodiac sign. It is said that when former Japanese Prime Minister tanaka kakuei visited China for the first time, he gave Zhou Enlai, then Prime Minister of the State Council, a riddle: There are only twelve China, but everyone has one, which is rare in foreign countries. What is the answer? Premier Zhou couldn't help laughing after listening, and blurted out: Zodiac. This anecdote became a beautiful talk to show Premier Zhou's agile thinking and was widely circulated.

Whenever the Spring Festival comes, people like to say that this year is the Year of the Loong because of the traditional habits of the Chinese nation. Next year is year of the snake, and the year after next is the Year of the Horse. Tracing back to its historical origin and cultural background, naturally leads to the following topics.

Ancient Records of the Zodiac

Since Shun Di's time, China has started to use the "chronology of trunk and branch" which combines ten phenomena of heavenly stem and twelve phenomena of earthly branch. The method of zoological chronology originated from nomadic people in the west and north of ancient China. The Book of the Tang Dynasty records: "The Year of the Tiger is bounded by twelve events. If the year is cloudy, it is called the year of the tiger. " Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in the Qing Dynasty, made a textual research in Yu Yu Congkao: "In the early days, the custom of benefiting the north was childless, ugly, yin and hairy, but when rats, cows, tigers and rabbits were divided into years, by the end of the Han Dynasty, it was said that (Khan) money lived in Wuyuan, mixed with Qi people, and spread in China, so it was not abandoned.

The zodiac was first seen in The Book of Songs, the world's first collection of poems. The Book of Songs? Xiaoya? "Car Attack" said: "Today is the auspicious day of the ecliptic, and it is noon. I am short of horses. "See also the Book of Rites? Monthly order? Ji Dong: "Digging cows to send cold. "When did the zodiac theory come into being? There is a historical cloud: it should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. Is it based on Wang Chong's Lun Heng? The article "Things Potential" says: "Yin, wood, birds and tigers. Hey, Tuye, its birds and dogs are also. " Another cloud said, "Good afternoon, Ma Ye. Son, mouse also. Unitary, chicken also. ..... Shen, Qitian also. "* * * put forward eleven zodiac names. In addition, in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu Yue written by Zhao Ye in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Wu Zaichen is a dragon. "Just added' Chen Long', and completed the zodiac. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs were formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the use of the Chinese zodiac, it appeared at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Biography of Northern History Yuwen Hu records a letter written to him by Yuwen Hu's mother, which reads: "Your brother was born in Wuchuan Town, the eldest is a mouse, the second is a rabbit, and you are a snake. "It can be seen that the Chinese zodiac was widely used by the people at that time to record the date of birth.

However, in the mid-1970s, from 1975 to 12, thousands of bamboo slips were found in the cultural relics unearthed from Qin TombNo. 1 1 in Yunmeng, Hubei Province. Among them, sunrise? The thief clearly recorded the words used to predict the thief's appearance characteristics in the zodiac. The appearance of this miracle proves that the Chinese zodiac has been used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because Qin Tomb No.11 was built in the thirty years of the first emperor, that is, 2 17 BC. Some people say that long before Qin Shihuang proclaimed himself emperor, our ancestors used the zodiac to record the year, and especially pointed out that "it began in summer and spread in Shang and Zhou Dynasties." However, how to quote it remains to be further explored by historians and cultural relics scholars.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties in ancient China, not only the zodiac chronology was used, but also the twelve zodiac poems written by Shen Jiong appeared:

In the case of mice and dust, cattle and sheep came down at dusk.

Tigers roared in the empty valley, and rabbits opened their windows.

The dragon shadow is far green, and the snake willow lingers near.

Bones are harvested far away, and sheep breed spring.

The monkey chestnut shames the fragrant fruit, and the chicken anvil attracts the clear bosom.

The dog is outside, and the pig's window is leisurely.

This poem embeds the names of the animals of the 12 Zodiac in the first letter in order, highlighting the natural characteristics of each animal and playing the role of finishing touch.

The zodiac poems written by Hu Yan, a great scholar in the Ming Dynasty, are not only embedded in the names of the zodiac in turn, but also have a code name for each name, which is quite interesting. Poetry cloud:

Cows and girls have hardly seen each other for years.

The rabbit grows longer in the middle of the month.

Dragons with beads often don't sleep, and drawing snakes is very tiring.

Has the old horse ever had horns, and the sheep angered the princes?

Don't laugh at the Chu people's crown bathing monkeys, but wish the chickens were empty nests.

Wuyang slaughtered dogs in Langzhong, and Ping Jin let Gou Haidong's head go.

The first sentence "Zokor" is the water rat. The "cowgirl" in the second sentence is the legend of the folk cowherd and weaver girl. The five "jackals" are a kind of dragons, and there is a treasure under the chin, so they are called jackals. In the eight sentences, "lick the sheep" is a ram, and "touch the fan" is a corner touching the fence. Eleven sentences >>

Legends and stories about the origin of the zodiac for a long time, the sky was pure blue, the green hills were green, the rivers flowed day and night, and human beings continued to multiply. ...

One morning, the Jade Emperor was sitting in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and in the early morning, he called a hundred civil and military officials. Before the ceremony was over, he saw Taibai Venus hurrying to the overture table: Long live, I came down to inspect, the world is peaceful and prosperous. However, without time control, human beings can't distinguish between seasonal cycles and young people. One day in the sky, one year underground, in the long run, there are many grievances in the world and the world is unstable. For this reason, the old priest thought it was time to educate the paradise on earth; Set a time for the mortal world and give mankind a place to belong.

Hearing this, the Jade Emperor was shocked: Well, that makes sense, but does Ai Qing have any ideas on how to remember the time and year of the earth and how to belong to mankind? Taibai Venus came forward and said: I think we should recruit twelve kinds of animals from the mortal world to the heaven, and take them as the genus and earthly branch, and record the time and year with the existing ten-day trunk; Then give the zodiac as the zodiac sign to human beings. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?

The voice of Taibai Venus just fell, and the gods in front of the temple nodded in praise. The Jade Emperor was overjoyed. He called his valet and sent a message: I asked you to be a Zodiac official, and immediately came down to earth with a message to strictly select and inspect all the animals in the world, and selected 12 animals as the Zodiac. Whoever reports to heaven first will be named the' Zodiac King'.

Being an official, I didn't dare to neglect, and I drove the colorful clouds in a hurry and flew to the world.

Our story begins here-

On this day, the greedy cat came to the river to fish. After a while, he began to yawn and kept stretching his arms and twisting his waist. The greedy cat put the fishing rod underground and dozed off by the river. The greedy cat's tail accidentally fell into the water, but a big fish thought it was something delicious and kept biting its tail.

The greedy cat jumped up in pain, sighed and brought the fish up. It was ecstatic when it found that a big fish was biting its tail.

The greedy cat is carrying a fish basket, a fishing rod and humming a tune, feeling smug about today's unexpected harvest.

At this time, a little magpie flew over the greedy cat's head and shouted: Be an animal sign and become a fairy! Become an animal symbol, become an immortal ...

The greedy cat waved to the little magpie and asked, what animal's constellation is it? Can being a zodiac become a fairy?

The little magpie replied: The Jade Emperor wants to gather all the animals in the world and choose twelve kinds of animals as the genus of human beings. All the animals chosen as animals are named immortals. ...

Hearing this, the greedy cat's eyes turned green. He quickly asked, Where should I go? Little Magpie A: Go to Temple Street and sign up!

Hearing this, the greedy cat ran home without even saying thank you.

In the yard, mouse, the servant of the greedy cat, is chopping wood with an axe.

The greedy cat shouted, Mouse! Rats! Go to Temple Street and sign me up. I want to be a Zodiac and become an immortal!

The mouse picked up another piece of wood and said timidly, "Let's go again when I've chopped the wood."

The greedy cat aimed at the mouse and kicked it, no! We have to go now. Let's go He kicked the mouse out of the yard.

The mouse absently ran to Temple Street and looked around, not knowing where to register. Temple street, which is usually deserted, has become lively because of the selection of animal signs. General summoning orders are posted everywhere in the streets, and all kinds of birds and girls are flying and shouting in the blue sky. ...

At this time, the mouse saw the monkey from a distance. This monkey is in the spring breeze because he has registered and whistled. The mouse quickly stepped forward and bowed: Brother Monkey, where should I apply for the zodiac?

How come? Do you want to sign up for the zodiac, too? Don't go! Don't go! The team that signed up can't see the end, and it's already not your turn! The monkeys coaxed each other.

The mouse stamped its foot anxiously: But … But I … I must go!

Are you really going? ! The monkey scratched his forehead and went to Xiande Temple. With that, he skipped away.

The mice have been talking ... >>

The myth and legend of the origin of the zodiac, the brief story content, the zodiac is also called the zodiac. In China's calendar, there are twelve kinds of animals on duty in turn, so in our China year, rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs are used in the calendar?

The zodiac began in the sixth century BC, and the number of earthly branches was first used, and later it became the year number of the year.

In fact, there has always been a story among the people: in those days, the Buddha called all animals to attend the meeting of all animals, and the twelve animals that arrived first would be regarded as the twelfth year number.

On the day of the herding party, the mouse arrived first, so it ranked the largest in the Year of Animals, followed by cattle, tigers, rabbits, dragons and snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens and dogs. The pig arrived last, so it ranked last among the twelve animals.

Another chapter of this story tells why cats and mice become enemies. At that time, cats and mice were good friends. Before going to the mass meeting, they slept together and agreed that whoever woke up first would wake up.

I'm afraid that the mouse will get up early the next day and go to the meeting quietly, ignoring the cat. By the time the cat woke up and rushed to Congress, the Buddha had allocated the number for twelve years. Since then, the cat and the mouse have formed a deep hatred.

Of course, legend belongs to legend, and the view of folklore scholar Guo Licheng is proved by historical books. People call their twelfth birthday heavenly stems and earthly branches's animal, so that it is easy to remember his famous age.

The Origin of China Zodiac How did the legend of China Zodiac come from?

Zodiac Wutai

The ancients divided the stars near the ecliptic and equator into "28 stars". Twenty-eight nights also represent an animal In ancient times, Sunday was divided into twelve parts, represented by twelve branches. Twelve branches belonged to the zodiac, and the zodiac had a corresponding relationship with twenty-eight stars. [5] Wang Hao, a great scholar in the Ming Dynasty, believed that 28 species of animals belonged to 28 stars, and they were "unified by the seven demons" and became the pattern of "mother-soil bats, imaginary sun mice, dangerous moon swallows and sons". [5] In the Qing Dynasty, Li Changqing thought in "Panasonic Guan Yanyu" that twenty-eight lodging animals "doubled the first twelve genera" and "attached Kang Jinlong, Chen Guan and Jiao Mujiao. Jiao and Long are also ",which reflects the gathering of 28 kinds of stellar animals based on the zodiac. "[5] But there must be collateral encounters, and the records of the 28 constellations are later than those of the zodiac.

Casual theory

Fang Xiongchu of the Zodiac

Jupiter runs once a week for twelve years, and the annual branching order can be determined from Jupiter's position. Yu Han, Fang Shan and Ji Shu thought that every twelve years, "three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old, three years old and three years old". [4] There is a cycle between the rise and fall of plants and the living environment of animals. The living conditions of herbivores (rats, cows, horses and sheep) and carnivorous omnivores are very different in different years. If people born in different years can imitate the animals that flourished in that year, they will form the Zodiac animals, and it is speculated that the rise and fall of animals are related to the year of Jupiter, and the zodiac is unified with the twelve days. [6]

Totem theory

Zodiac ceramics

The ancestors of primitive society often used some animals, inanimate objects or graphics of natural phenomena as protectors and symbols of their clans, that is, totems. The mixed image of man and beast in Shan Hai Jing is an ancient totem god. [7] The totem of Xia nationality is bear or fish, the totem of Shang nationality is blackbird, and the totem of Zhou nationality is dragon, bird, turtle, dog and tiger. [8] Zodiac animals are illusory except dragons, and the rest are daily visible. It can be divided into two categories, namely "six animals" (horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs) and "six animals" (rats, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes and monkeys). The former was domesticated by people for economic purposes, while the latter disturbed human life to a certain extent, and ancestors were afraid of it. [9] Therefore, these animals are worshipped as the name symbols of this clan.

Ethnologist Liu Yaohan inferred the origin of the calendar of the zodiac from the totem relics of the Yi people. The zodiac calendar of the Yi people in western Guangxi and the Mao people list people in the calendar with the zodiac, which is "the legacy of primitive human thought in reality". Up to now, the Yi people still use the Chinese zodiac to mark the date and use it as the name of the market (such as Tiger Street and Rabbit Street). [10] History? The Chronicle of the Five Emperors describes that the Yellow Emperor "taught Xiong Yonghu in order to fight against Emperor Yan in the wild of Hanquan", which is the totem of various tribes, and it is by no means a real way to lure tigers. Zodiac originated from totem worship in primitive society and became a convincing theory.

Singularity theory

White marble sculpture of the zodiac

"Ugly children are ugly, but it doesn't matter at the beginning of the northern customs. They spread to China by soaking and searching in different ages, so they don't waste their ears," written by Zhao Yi in the Qing Dynasty, which confirms the exotic nature of the zodiac.

In Shi Ganzhi, Guo Moruo believes that the zodiac originated from the Babylonian zodiac, and the western countries formulated the zodiac in the Han Dynasty after imitating the zodiac. [1 1] Ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Babylon and other countries have similar zodiac signs, but the animals are different, so China's zodiac sign may not be the first one. However, the excavation of Qin bamboo slips overturns this theory, and all countries in the world have similar animal worship, which strengthens the rationality of totem theory. [ 12]