The origin of mice

The origin of the twelve-attribute mouse was originally said that someone held a sacrifice in the fairy palace to see who was the first to record the twelve zodiac signs.

It turned out that the old cow was the first to arrive. Later, the mouse asked the old cow to carry it, and the old cow helped him watch the road. The old cow runs fast.

Later, the mouse came down from its back, and the mouse ranked first.

The old steak ranks second.

Where do the mice in the zodiac come from? Among many folk stories and legends about the zodiac, the legend that the mouse is the first one is very lively and interesting. Or related to mice and cats; Or "the mouse borrows the power of the cow", and the mouse skillfully borrows the power of the cow to win the first prize in a certain competition; Or use mice to get into the trunk and drive away elephants to make meritorious deeds, ranking first among the 12 zodiac animals. In these legends, mice all achieve their goals by disgraceful means. However, there are also some legends that Rat Hai won the first place in the Zodiac with his own strength. For example, in the legends of Naxi, Kirgiz and Tibetan, the rat won a veritable champion in a swimming competition, ranking first among the 12 zodiac animals; In a story in Jinjiang, Fujian, Tang Yan, a mouse-assisted monk, found the Jiazijing in the library of Tathagata and stole it. It was Tang Yan who rewarded the mouse with the first zodiac sign. All these legends, though fictional, also show the infinite wisdom of the people.

Why rats are called the Zodiac of Rats corresponds to the earthly branches in heavenly stems and earthly branches. Yin Mao and Tatsumi didn't apply at noon. Rat is the first of the 12 zodiac animals, so it is called rat.

What is the origin of the zodiac mouse? The spread of folk customs; It turned out that the cow led the animals of the zodiac to see the Buddhist group. The mouse rode on the back of the cow and jumped forward smartly when worshipping the Buddha group. The first one was named after the interview. The mouse stole the first of the 12 Zodiac animals by means of oxtail. There is a story in Jinjiang, Fujian. Because the mouse helped Tang Priest find the Jiazi Sutra in the library of Tathagata and managed to steal it, Tang Priest awarded the mouse the first prize of the 12 Zodiac in order to express his gratitude. Rat, alias rat, Zishen, Shejun, Night Mill, Deer, Washer, Taifu Li. Zodiac rats refer to rats and mice. In zoological classification, mice belong to mammalian rodents. Rats breed quickly, have strong vitality, and have a wide variety. There are about 1800 species in the world, reaching billions. They can be transported far away by car and ship. Except Antarctica, there are more than 70 species of/kloc-0 in China. Rats are one of the few animal groups that keep close relationship with human beings and are very prolific, and have not changed much since ancient times. The biggest feature of mice is that they have no canine teeth, their front teeth are quite developed, and they have no roots. They have been growing all their lives. They must constantly chew and shorten their front teeth, otherwise they will open their mouths and starve to death without biting food. Rats are naturally very cunning, quick-sighted, can climb mountains and wade, can make holes in trees, and have diverse diets. Rats can eat whatever people like, sour, sweet, bitter and spicy. And he has a strong memory and hates food. If you find a slight change in the familiar environment, you will be alert immediately. If you are attacked, you will avoid this place for a long time. Rats are natural enemies of human beings, and grinding their teeth to dig holes is extremely harmful; Stealing seeds, grain and grain; A mouse eats 12 kg of grain a year, wasting 40 kg of grain. Rats gnaw at saplings, clothes, houses and furniture, dig holes in fields and dams, endanger agriculture, forestry and water conservancy facilities, pollute the environment, and spread about 70 diseases such as typhus, rat bite fever, dysentery and plague, among which plague is the most terrible. According to documents, the number of people who died of plague in history has exceeded the sum of all the deaths in wars, so people call the plague "the black demon". In the traditional culture of China, people's understanding of mice has always been contradictory. Although mice are natural enemies of human beings, people can say that they have love and hate, and love and hate. The story of rats biting the sky is a powerful proof of respect and worship for rats. According to legend, when the universe was in chaos, there was darkness everywhere. It was a mouse that bit a hole, which made the atmosphere unobstructed, and heaven and earth began to separate, and everything changed. Many ethnic minorities in southern China have similar legends. As a benefactor of human beings, mice can be said to have the power of re-creation, and naturally they should be at the top of the zodiac, so naturally they should eat the whole grains produced by human beings. Marrying a woman by a mouse, also known as marrying a woman by a mouse, is one of the topics that have great influence on traditional customs and culture. The version of the plot varies from place to place. It contains rich cultural connotations. It is generally believed that its purpose and taboo are essentially a rat worship activity. All kinds of rat marriage stories, ballads, New Year pictures, paper-cuts, folk handicrafts, etc. They all come from the myth that mice bite the sky and have feelings, and the worship of mice as totems by Yan surname in ancient times, which are the best explanations for the worship of mice; In addition, some people think that this is also a fear of rats, fear of rats, and want to eradicate rats. Providing food, turning off lights and banning light in rat worship activities are all flattering behaviors to cater to rats' habits to cover up the purpose of staying away from rats. The reason why people respect and fear mice also reveals their helplessness in the face of this extremely vital animal. In ancient times, it was very difficult for people to rely on the sky to eat, and food was the key factor that triggered the opposition between people and mice. Some Yi people in Guangxi regard the first day of the twelfth lunar month as "rat festival", while Maonan people in Guizhou regard it as "rat sending festival", as well as "drilling holes" in southern Zhejiang, "steaming blind rats" in Qinghai, "scattering ashes" and "discarding photos" in other areas, all of which are powerful proofs that people hate rats. Everyone hates the little mouse that came all the way from ancient times, but once it leaves the real world, it is like a thoroughly remoulded spirit, witty, childish, gentle and lovely, considerate, upright and kind, humorous and optimistic. From the United States to the world, Mickey Mouse, who is popular all over the world, is in Walter? Disney cartoon kingdom is the most popular and favorite cartoon image. I spent many happy times with countless children. Mickey Mouse has been 80 years old since he was born on 1928, but his charm remains undiminished. Mickey Mouse's cartoons are published in more than 30 languages all over the world, which is the most famous and won the most. > & gt

The origin of the Zodiac Mouse After the mouse, cattle, horses and sheep were selected as the Zodiac, the mouse said, I should be in the first place. 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. Let the mice come first.

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 ... >>

Legend has it that one day, the Jade Emperor will arrange the Zodiac, and he designated cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs and cats. The next day, the Jade Emperor ranked them. At that time, cats and mice were good friends. The cat said to the mouse, "You should wake me up early tomorrow. I am one of the 12 Zodiacs, and I will be ranked second in heaven tomorrow. " The mouse readily agreed. The next day, the mouse woke up early. He didn't wake the cat, but went to heaven by himself. At that time, it happened to be the second time. The Jade Emperor arranged the twelve zodiac animals in the order of ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig and cat. The jade emperor asked the animals if they had any opinions. The mouse objected: "I don't think cats should be chosen. He has no respect for you at all. " You see, he is still sleeping, and he doesn't care about your arrangement of the zodiac at all. "The jade emperor saw the cat really asleep! He broke out in a rage. In a rage, he decided never to allow cats to go to heaven again. At the same time, he replaced the cat with a mouse. The mouse spoke again: "I must be the first!" """why? Is your contribution greater than that of an ox? ""People think I'm much bigger than an ox. " The Jade Emperor had no choice but to let people judge him. People from the world to the clouds say, "Oh! What a big cow! " Then, they saw the mouse standing on the cow's head and said, "What a big mouse! It is even bigger than a cow! " The jade emperor had to put the mouse first. There are three main reasons why rats rank first in the zodiac: First, the arrangement of the zodiac in folklore stories. Han folktale says: In those days, Huangdi in Xuanyuan wanted to choose twelve kinds of animals as court guards, and the cat asked the mouse to sign up, but the mouse forgot. As a result, the cat didn't choose it, and since then, it has made enemies with the mouse. The elephant also came to the competition, and the mouse got into its nose and drove it away. The rest of the animals, originally headed by cows, were rushed to the backs of cows, and pigs also booed, so the mice came first and the pork chops came last. The tiger and the dragon refused to accept it, and were named king of the mountain and king of the sea, ranking behind the mouse and the cow. The rabbit refused to accept it again, raced with the dragon and finally reached the dragon. The dog was unfair and bit the rabbit in a rage, so he was punished from the bottom. Snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys and chickens have also gone through some contests and arranged their positions one by one. Finally, the order of rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs was formed. Although the legendary story is not a scientific explanation of the problem, it embodies people's explanation of the choice of the zodiac. Secondly, Chinese ancient scholars explained the relationship between earthly branches and Xiao beasts from the perspective of twelve o'clock in ancient times. There is chaos in the darkness. Rats come out in the middle of the night and bite the chaotic state between heaven and earth out of the gap. "Rats bite the sky", so they belong to rats. Thirdly, according to China people's belief in Yin and Yang, twelve kinds of animals are divided into Yin and Yang, and the Yin and Yang of animals are arranged according to the odd-even difference of toes. Animals generally have the same number of toes in front, back, left and right, and only mice have the first four feet and the last five feet, which are even and odd, so scarcity is the most expensive thing, so it is of course ranked in the first year of injecting mice, which is also called "the year without spring". The so-called "spring-free" year means that there is no beginning of spring in the Lunar New Year. For example, from February 7, 2008 to 65438+20091October 25, it is the Year of the Mouse. Beginning of spring in 2008 was on February 4th, which is still the Year of the Pig in the lunar calendar, and beginning of spring in 2009 was also on February 4th, but it is already the Year of the Ox in the lunar calendar. Therefore, there is no solar term "beginning of spring" in the Lunar Year of Rat.

Why do you want to call the mouse ugly cow Yin Rabbit ... What is the zodiac? The zodiac consists of eleven kinds of animals from nature, namely, rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs and legendary dragons. Used to record the year, the order is mouse, ugly cow, yin tiger, hairy rabbit, dragon, snake and afternoon horse. The origin of the zodiac is very long. Many people regard Lun Heng, a famous work by Wang Chong, a materialist thinker in the Eastern Han Dynasty, as the earliest document to record the zodiac. "On the whole?" "Things" contains: "Yin, wood, its birds, tigers. Soil, its birds and dogs are also. ..... At noon, the horse also arrived. Son, mouse also. Unitary, chicken also. Hair, rabbits, too. ..... hey, tapir. No, so are sheep. Ugly, cattle also. ..... Third, snakes are also. Shen, Qi Tian also. "There are only eleven zodiac signs in the above quotation, and what is missing is the dragon. The book "Poisonous Words" also said: "Chen Weilong, Si is a snake, and Chen and Si are in the southeast. In this way, the zodiac is completed. "Zhou Li? Guan Chun? " Feng Shixiang wrote: "Ten palms are two years old, ten palms are in February, two palms are in the position of two stars, and twenty-eight palms are in the position of twenty-eight. Its narrative can distinguish the position of heaven. "The division of time is gradual, with twelve years, twelve months a year and twelve o'clock a day." Mandarin? "Yu Jin Si" contains: "The Yellow Emperor has twenty-five sons, and fourteen sons have surnames, which are twelve surnames." Even the wives and concubines of the son of heaven are called "twelve women". "Once"? Xun Shuang biography: "Therefore, the son of heaven married twelve women, and the number of days was also; There is an equal difference below the princes, and things have fallen. " In recent years, the creation epic Dark Biography of the Han nationality has been discovered in Shennongjia area, in which there is a story about the origin of the main branch: "At the beginning of creation, Huang Xuan rode chaos beast and met Nuwa. There are two meat buns beside Nu Wa. There are ten men in the big one and twelve women in the small one. Huang Xuan said: "This is a heavenly revolution to support God to govern Gankun." So, they were named respectively, and the husband and wife were matched, which became yin and yang. Men are collectively called heavenly stems and women are earthly branches. "This creation myth story tells the story of Ganzhi, the mysterious god, the god of Nuwa, and the story of Ganzhi Yin and Yang Kun, dating back to the" life experience "of Ganzhi a long time ago. In ancient times, the sky has always been the master and the earth has always been the subordinate. Ten heavenly stems are also called ten mothers, and the corresponding twelve branches are called twelve sons. Cai Yong's "Moon Order" in Han Dynasty: "The love of the five elements is great, occupying the program of fighting, so A and B became famous at the beginning, which is called dry; Making a child ugly in the name of the moon is a branch. Branches match branches to make sixty years old. " Da Rao was a minister in the era of the Yellow Emperor, and the match here is sixty years, that is, sixty jiazi, taking the least common multiple of ten days' work and twelve earthly branches. The trunk and branches are matched in order, from Jiazi to Ugly ... until Guihai is the 60th pair, which happens to be the last pair of trunk and branches, and then defecation starts from Jiazi. This cycle is called Jiazi. Among them, each aerial stem appeared 6 times and each aerial branch appeared 5 times. The birth of the zodiac has an astronomical background. In primitive times, our ancestors experienced a cycle of alternating cold and summer. Hong Hao's Biography at the End of Song Dynasty in Song Dynasty said: "Jurchen is very small, just after the new moon, and the person doesn't know the date. When asked, they will say, "How many times have I seen grass?" "It is also recorded in Meng Gong's Record of Monks and Tartars in the Song Dynasty:" When a grass is one year old, someone asks its age and says how many grasses it is. "Later, some astronomical observers found that the moon's profit and loss cycle can be used to measure the length of years, and found that all twelve full moons are one year old. This discovery is one of the most accurate achievements of the early calendar, and "Twelve" is regarded as "days" to convey God's will. Heavenly stems and earthly branches, the sun and the moon are opposite, and heaven and earth are opposite. This is the "Twelve". A mouse and an ugly cow ... a dog and a pig. There are many animals in the world. Why did the ancients choose these twelve animals as their zodiac signs? Liu Xian's Yang Guang Miscellaneous Notes in Qing Dynasty quoted Li Changqing's superficial remarks about Matsushita Pavilion: "Why is A Zi a mouse?" Yue: Born in the child, it will not open until it dies. Rats eat insects. Therefore, in night is still young, positive mice have to wait, so children belong to mice. The ground is ugly, and the cow opens the ground, so ugliness belongs to the cow. Life is endless, life is endless. Murderer, tiger, Yin people, fear. If you are awesome, you are a tiger, then Yin is a tiger. Offender, sunrise. In vitro, it contains the essence of Taiyin Jade Rabbit, so it is a rabbit. The morning of divination in March is when the dragon rains, so the morning belongs to the dragon. The last person, divination in April, was lush and the snake was in its place. Also, when a snake is not on the road, it is a snake. At noon, the sun is born, and the sun is born. Horses are healthy, never leave the ground, and belong to the shade, so they belong to horses in the afternoon. Sheep are not sheep, because they grow by biting untimely grass. When applying, the ape crowed in the sunset, and his arms were stretched out. By analogy, chaos runs rampant, so the application belongs to monkeys. The moon rises to be a chicken, because it contains the essence of the golden rooster. In the ocean season, pigs have nothing to eat ... >>

The story of the mouse comes from the explanation of "mouse" in general reference books, ending with "mouse is mouse" or "mouse is called" mouse "in some areas", but no reason is given. In fact, there is a "historical reason" for calling a mouse a mouse. During the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), feudal warlords became independent and fought frequently. For the sake of their own luxury, the rulers have intensified their efforts to search for the people's fat and paste, and made many strange names for exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees. According to the history of the old Five Dynasties? According to food records, in addition to the positive items, there are many additional taxes, such as salt tax for farmers to eat salt, wine tax for brewing, and silkworm tax for sericulture. Not only that, but there is also an additional tax called "sparrow and mouse consumption". According to official regulations, for every stone of grain, two buckets will be lost. Even the silk, cotton, silk, thread, hemp and leather that finches don't eat at all should be added with "finches' food", which costs half a cent for every twelve taels of silver. By the time of Yin Di in the later Han Dynasty, the consumption of birds and mice had increased from two to four, and the people were even more miserable, but they dared not publicly complain about the emperor, so they vented their grievances on the mice and called them "mice". This statement has been circulated to this day. According to Liang Shu? According to Zhang Luchuan, Zhang Luchuan, a writer in the Southern Dynasties, was generous. Once, he asked a boy to deliver 3000 meters of rice to his family, and when he got home, he didn't even get half of it! Zhang asked why there were so few servants, and the servant replied, "Sparrows and mice eat too much." Zhang laughed: "What a sparrow and mouse! "These sparrows and mice are so powerful that they can consume more than 1000 stone meters! However, after Zhang Xiaoxiao, he did not pursue the children's corruption. Later, people called the money and food added to the ordinary tax "the consumption of birds and mice." The "consumption" in the title of "Mouse" comes from this. People hate exorbitant taxes, so they call rats "rats". I hope they will show mercy, don't "consume" too much, and don't pass on all the "bird and mouse consumption" to the people. In Taoism, there is a kind of star that consumes a lot. Therefore, the ancient people offered sacrifices to Xing Jun on the 25th day of the first month every year, praying that he would not consume too much food stored in the granary. This festival is called "Filling the Granary". Daxingjun is the god of heaven. The Qing Dynasty's "Old Customs of Yanjing" contains: "According to legend, Cang is Han Xin, the founding father of the Western Han Dynasty, commonly known as Han Zhu ... There are four gods worthy of it: an old man and two strong men, who are said to be the gods in charge of ascension; Another evil-looking person is the star-consuming emperor among fleeting stars, so the person worthy of this emperor is said to be the mouse in charge of the warehouse. "Therefore, it is the duty of the great star-consuming king to be in charge of the mouse in the granary, so people will sacrifice it as the granary goddess.

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 >>