What is the Chinese Zodiac?

The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac are Zi (rat), ugly (cow), Yin (tiger), Mao (rabbit), Chen (dragon), Si (snake), Wu (horse), not (sheep), Shen (monkey), You (chicken), Xu (dog), Oh (pig).

The Chinese zodiac take dozens of two, alluding to the ancient inductive understanding of natural phenomena.

Chinese ancestors felt the cycle of summer and cold, and the cycle of plant life and prosperity, and used it as "one year". The moon's cycle of waxing and waning is also related to the "year" - twelve full moons make a year. Using Jupiter as the yearly cycle, the "star of the year" circled around once in twelve years. Zhou Li - Chun Guan - Feng Xiang Shi" cloud: "ten have two years, ten have two months, ten have two hours", in addition to counting the years and months, twelve is also used as a measurement of the hour.

Rats, rats steal food, proving that the "hamster has food", indicating that the household rich, home rat symbolizes wealth.

Niu, because the ox plowing, the Chinese people on the ox feelings deepening, such as simple and hardworking, unrewarding and other good qualities attached to the ox, Lu Xun to "head down willing to be a child ox," the words of the will.

Tiger, is the king of beasts, c tiger match, oracle bone "c" word such as an arrow, the "Shawen" in the "c" means "Yang Qi rising, although there is a frozen soil on the The character "Yin" in the Shuo Wen means "Yang energy rises, even though there is frozen soil on top, it will break through the soil and come out", which is in line with the tiger's ferocious and masculine energy.

Rabbit, the legend of Chang'e running to the moon originated from "Huainanzi. The legend of Chang'e running to the moon originated from "Huai Nan Zi," in which Chang'e was accompanied by the Jade Rabbit in the moon. The rabbit is a symbol of the moon.

Dragon, the snake as a totem clan has merged with many other totem clans to form "a dragon totem with a big snake as the main body, with the head of a horse, the tail of a hyena, the horns of a deer, the claws of a dog, and the scales and whiskers of a fish mixed together".

Snake, the snake mostly appears in a negative image. "The heart is not enough for the snake to swallow the elephant" describes the snake's greed; "The Farmer and the Snake" describes the snake's cunning and cold-bloodedness; and the vicious person is described as "snake and scorpion heart".

The horse, as the first of the six animals, is not only used for transportation, but also a powerful military equipment. In the Warring States period, the number of horse-drawn chariots was used to describe the strength of the country, such as "the country of ten thousand horse-drawn chariots" and "the country of a thousand horse-drawn chariots".

Sheep, the ancients regarded sheep as the "moral animal", good flock, good benevolence, dead righteousness, and know manners. Good flock, sheep like to gather. Good benevolence means that sheep are kind and have horns but are not good at fighting. Deadly righteousness refers to the quietness of sheep when they are slaughtered, and they regard death as a homecoming, hence the story of King Xuan's "Sheep for Cattle". The story of King Xuan of China, who "exchanged a lamb for an ox", is also a symbol of filial piety.

Monkey, "Monkey is the ancestor of man" legend is quite a lot. In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, it is written, "Its shape is like a Yu and the arms of a man, a leopard and a tiger, and it is good at throwing, and its name is Lifu", which shows that the image of Kuafu (i.e., the father of Lifu) is actually a monkey.

Chicken , "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" summarizes the chicken's "five virtues", "the head wearing a crown, Wen; foot wrestling distance, martial arts; see the enemy dare to do, courage; see the food called out, righteousness; watch the night, not lose time, letter also. Therefore, the chicken has the elegant name of moral bird.

Dog , "Book of Han", the emperor Gaoxin's dog named Discus, take the head of General Wu of the Injun Rong was given to the maiden, "with the discus ascending the South Mountain spawned, men and women twelve, after the prosperous also". The book "Searching for God" expanded that Pan gourd is the queen's ear jumped out of the gold worm into. Miao, She, Yao, Li, Dong, Zhuang, Wa and other ethnic groups in the southwest, also legendary Pan gourd is the originator of the community. Ethnic minorities also have the legend of the dog taking the grain seeds. The Hani tribe believes that the daughter of the sky god brought the grains to earth and was relegated to the role of a dog.

Pig, the pig has the name of "Wujin", the patriarchal clan commune period, the pig is a symbol of wealth, Linxia Dahozhuang tomb with thirty-six pieces of pig bone burial. The pig was a commoner's sacrifice for the commoners below the commoner's level, with the pig as the sacrifice, and the pig was displayed in the room, and was sacrificed to the whole family, i.e., the character for "family".

The belief in the Chinese zodiac is a combination of traditional Chinese religious philosophy and numerology culture, supplemented by associations with the animal characters of the Chinese zodiac, forming an imaginative system of beliefs, which in turn influences people's perceptions and behaviors, the core of which is that the Chinese zodiac plays a decisive role in determining the people and events that are marked by the zodiac.

The above information comes from Baidu's entry - Zodiac Signs