What is the meaning of the twelve?

The twelve signs of the Chinese Zodiac, which are composed of eleven animals originating from nature, namely the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig and the legendary dragon, are used to keep track of the year in the order of the Zi Rat, the Ugly Ox, the Yin Tiger, the Mao Rabbit, the Cinnabar Dragon, the Sixth Serpent, the Afternoon Horse, the Undulating Sheep, the Shen Monkey, the You Chicken, the Hundred Days Dog, and the Hohai Pig. It is widely used in several countries and nations.

Source History

Introduction

The use of the 12 zodiacal signs to chronicle the year began in China at least during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the Northern History - Yuwenguo biography, recorded Yuwenguo's mother wrote him a letter, which says: "In the past in the town of Wuchuan was born your brothers, the eldest belongs to the rat, the second belongs to the rabbit, your body belongs to the snake." Indicates that the folk at that time has 12 zodiac usage. However, the origin of the 12 zodiac how? China's ancient records, China's ancient Central Plains, the initial use of the "Stem and Branch Chronology", that is, with 10 heavenly symbols A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, N, N, D and 12 Earthly Branches symbols Zi, U, C, M, C, F, Si, N, W, S, U, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H, H. In the northwest of China, a few nomadic people to animals to the year. The book of Tang" recorded: "Crafts country to twelve things to chronicle the year, such as the year in the c, is said to be the year of the tiger." In addition, "Song Shi - Tubo biography" also recorded that the Tubo chiefs in the narrative, to object chronicle, the so-called "Road to the old things, then dozens of two eons belonging to the day, the rabbit year so, the year of the horse so." Later, in the interactions between the Chinese and the ethnic minorities, the two chronological laws were in contact with each other to form the present 12 zodiac signs. Just like the Qing Dynasty Zhao Yi in the "new Yu Jung Kao" pointed out that, "cover the northern custom of the first no matter Zi Ushun Yin Mao of the twelve hours, but the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit and so on sub-division of chronological age, soak search circulated in China, and so along the ear is not abrogated." This explanation of the origin of the 12 Chinese zodiac, has been recognized by many people.

Additionally, on the origin of the 12 Chinese zodiac say there are: Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manlu" said that the 12 Earthly Branches in the odd-numbered, to the animal's fingers or hooves for the odd-numbered matches, such as the son of the first place, and it is compatible with the rat for the 5 fingers, Earthly Branches in the even-numbered place, is to take the even of the genus for the name, such as the bull and the ugly match for the 4 claws. Ye Shijie in the "grass and wood" in the origin of the 12 zodiac explained as follows: the artist to 12 Xiao with 12 eons, each Xiao has a lack of shape, such as the rat without teeth, cattle without teeth, tiger without spleen, rabbit without lips, dragon without ears, snake without feet, horse without gall, sheep without pupils, monkey without buttocks, chicken without kidneys, dogs without stomachs, pigs without sinews, and people have no insufficient."

There are various other sayings. Such as: the Yellow Emperor to select 12 kinds of animals in the sky on duty ...... through the competition and selected 12 kinds of animals, such as rats, cows, tigers; 12 zodiac signs from the primitive society of some clans of totem worship; 12 zodiac signs may be from the introduction of Tianzhu; or the 28 stars and lodges distribution of the circumference of the sky, in order to value the 12 hours. Each star is named after an animal. From the animals on duty at each hour to select a certain common for a year's pronouns, and so on, to name a few.

Although people can not be sure of the exact origin of the 12 zodiac signs, but because of its popularity, convenience and fun, so it has been used to this day, the ancients have left us a valuable legacy that still has practical value.

Myths and legends

The origin of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs circulates a myth and legend: said the Jade Emperor would like to elect 12 kinds of animals as a representative, and then he sent the gods and goddesses down to earth with the animals said this matter, and set the time in the d year, month, day, and time to the Palace of Heaven to campaign, the earlier the row of the more forward, behind the row can not be. And at that time the cat and the mouse were still good friends. The cat loved to sleep but he also wanted to be elected, so he told the mouse to call him at that time. But the mouse forgot as soon as he turned his head. The mouse went to the old cow and told him that he got up early and ran fast, and asked the cow to take him then. The ox promised. In those days the dragon had no horns, and the chicken had horns. The dragon told the chicken that the chicken was already very beautiful and didn't need any horns, so he asked the chicken to lend them to him. The chicken was so happy to hear the dragon's flattery that he lent him his horns and told the dragon to remember to return them to him on time after the campaign. The dragon promised to do so. At the hour of the day of the month in the year d, all the animals rushed to the Heavenly Palace, while the cat was still sleeping . The mouse sat on the back of the ox. When they arrived at the Heavenly Palace, the mouse jumped. The Jade Emperor said that the rat was the earliest to arrive, let the rat ranked first; the old steak second; the tiger also arrived later, ranked third; the rabbit also arrived, ranked fourth; the dragon was very late, but he was big, the Jade Emperor saw him at a glance, and look at him so beautiful, let him ranked fifth, and said that his son ranked sixth, but the dragon was very disappointed, because his son did not come today. At this time the snake behind him ran and said, "He is my godfather I rank sixth! I'm sixth!" Snake so ranked sixth; horse and sheep also arrived, the two you let me I let you: horse brother you first, sheep brother you first, they pushed and pushed, the Jade Emperor to see them so courteous, let them ranked seventh and eighth; the monkey would have been ranked thirty-some, but he jumped on his own, he pulled the clouds in the sky jumped in front of the row to the ninth; and then chickens, dogs, and pigs have also been selected. The cat woke up at the end of the race, and the mouse was chased by the cat all over the world. After the race was over the dragon came to the sea and saw that with his horns he was much prettier than before and was not going to return the chicken. In order to avoid the chicken, he has since disappeared from the earth, and the chicken is very angry so he has since then every day early in the morning to get up and shout at the sea: quickly return me! Give it back! The hen then shouted: Give it back! Give it back! The chickens also shouted: Give it back! I'm not going to be able to do that!

Historical Records

About the origin of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, it is historically recorded that since the time of Emperor Shun, our country has been using the "Stem and Branch Chronology", which is a method of dating the year that matches the ten symbols of the Heavenly Stem and the twelve symbols of the Earthly Branches. The method of animal dating originally originated among the nomadic minorities in the western and northern parts of China in ancient times.

Tang Book: "Crafty country to twelve things chronicle, such as the year in the Yin, then said the tiger year." The famous Qing dynasty scholar Zhao Yi in the "new series of exams" in the test cloud: "benefit of the North Dixie common no matter what the first child, ugly, c, d of the twelve eons, but to the rat, cow, tiger, rabbit and so on sub-division of chronological age, to the Han Dynasty Hohanxie (mono) section of the Sai Habitat Wuhuan, mixed with the Qi people, Baptist circulated in China, and then along the abolition of the ear." The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac were first mentioned in the world's first collection of poetry, the Book of Poetry (诗经). The book of poems, Xiao Ya - Car Attack, says: "On the auspicious day of gengwu, both sent my horse.

The twelve zodiac signs of the tiger

"Also in the Book of Rituals-Monthly Orders-Seasonal Winter: "Out of the earth oxen, to send the cold." Twelve Chinese Zodiac, when did it actually arise? Some historical data cloud: it should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. Its basis is the Eastern Han Dynasty Wang Chong "on the balance - the potential of the article" cloud: "Yin, wood, its birds, the tiger. Hundred and eleventh, earth, its birds, dogs." Another cloud: "Wu, horse. Zi, the rat. You, chicken. ...... Shen, monkey also." *** Proposed eleven zodiac names. Together with the Eastern Han Zhao Ye "Wu Yue Spring and Autumn Annals" in the "Wu in the Chen, the position of the dragon." Happen to make up for the "Dragon", and complete the twelve zodiac signs. Visible in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac have been formed. As for the use of the twelve signs of the zodiac, at least in the era of the North and South Dynasties has already appeared.

The Northern History "Yuwen Gu Biography" recorded Yuwen Gu's mother wrote him a letter, which reads: "In the past in the town of Wuchuan born your brothers, the eldest is a rat, the second is a rabbit, your body is a snake." This shows that at that time the folk have been common use of twelve zodiac signs to record the birth year of people. However, in the mid-1970s, that is, during December 1975, thousands of bamboo slips were found in the unearthed artifacts of the 11th Qin Tomb in Sleeping Tiger Land, Yunmeng, Hubei. One of them, "Sunrise-The Thief," clearly recorded the text of divining the appearance and characteristics of thieves using the Chinese zodiac. The appearance of this miracle proves that the zodiac was used in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. For the 11th Qin Tomb, it is proved that it was buried in the 30th year of Shih Huangdi, i.e. 217 BC. Some people say: our ancestors used the Chinese Zodiac to chronicle their lives long before Qin Shi Huang became emperor, and it is specifically pointed out that "it began in the Xia Dynasty, and was passed down in the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty." But how to cite, I am afraid to wait for history and cultural relics scholars to further explore. China's ancient north and south dynasties not only use twelve zodiac chronology, and appeared Shen Jiong created the "twelve genus poem": mouse traces of dust case, cattle and sheep down in the twilight. The tiger whistles in the empty valley, the rabbit moon opens to the window. Dragon shade far verdant, snake willow near wandering. The horse's orchid is picked far away, and the sheep's negative is planted in spring. The monkey's chestnut is shy of fragrant fruits, and the chicken's anvil attracts clear thoughts. The dog's mind is outside the house, the pig's window is relaxed. The poem embeds the names of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs in the first word in order, and highlights the characteristics of each animal's nature, which serves as a finishing touch to the poem.

Hu Yan, a great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a poem on the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, which not only embeds the names of the zodiac signs in order, but also a dictionary, which is quite interesting. Poetry: chevrotains drinking river river not dry, cattle and women long years to see each other difficult. The ox and the daughter have a hard time meeting each other for many years. The tiger is tied up in the south mountain with his bare hands, and the rabbit is taken in the middle of the moon. The LIXIL dragon has a pearl and often does not sleep, and the drawing of the snake is a tired one. The old horse has never had horns, and the dilemma of the billy goat is just a sneeze. Don't laugh at the Chu people who are crowned with monkeys, and wish the chickens to grow old in the forest. In the city of Maiyang, the dogs were slaughtered, and in Pingjin, the rags were let loose in the eastern part of the sea. In the first line, "chevrotains" means water rats. The "cow maiden" in the second line refers to the folk legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden. The "black dragon" in the fifth line is a type of dragon, which has a pearl under its chin, so it is called the black dragon. In the eighth line, "billy goat" means a ram, and "touching the fence" means that the ram's horn touches the fence. In the eleventh sentence, "Maoyang" refers to the fact that Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, appointed Fan Kuai, a famous general, as the Marquis of Maoyang, who used to make a living by slaughtering dogs in Pei County, Jiangsu Province. The last sentence refers to Gong Sun Hong, the prime minister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who used to slaughter pigs in the East China Sea. The Origin and Legend of the Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs From the documentary records, there were twelve earthly branches in the era of the Yellow Emperor, which were related to the twelve signs of the zodiac such as the Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, etc. The earliest twelve earthly branches and the twelve signs of the zodiac all represented the twelve different months and festivals of the year. During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, ten characters were invented to calculate and record numbers, such as A, B, C and D. Later on, people who studied numerology called it Tian Gan (Heavenly Stem) and combined it with the Earthly Branches, such as A Zi, B Chou, etc., which were used for counting the year, month, day and hour. It is rumored that replacing the twelve Earthly Branches with twelve animals to represent the twelve lunar seasons was the work of Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty. There is a clear record of the names of the twelve animals mentioned in the "Chapter of Words and Poisons" in the "Lun Heng" written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The use of the twelve zodiac signs to count the year also started in the Eastern Han Dynasty. This historical fact was also pointed out in the New Yu from Kao ("陔余從考") written by Zhao Yi (赵翼), a scholar of the Qing Dynasty. As to why twelve animals were chosen as symbols, the earliest may be related to totems. In ancient times, all tribes chose an animal that they particularly feared or loved

The Twelve Dragons of the Chinese Zodiac

, and used its pattern as the symbol of their tribe.

This is explained in Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manquan" of the Song Dynasty and Lang Ying's "Qixiu Class Draft" of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the Buddhist scripture "The Great Collection of Sutras" recorded the story of the twelve zodiac signs parade in turn, but there is a lion instead of a tiger, so some people believe that the twelve zodiac signs were imported into China from ancient India, and that replacing the lion with a tiger may have something to do with the fact that lions were not produced in the Central Plains. It is also believed that the twelve zodiac signs first appeared in the timekeeping. A day and night is twenty-four hours, ancient astronomers will be divided into twelve hours of day and night. At the same time they were watching the sky, in accordance with the habits of the twelve animals and activities of the hour, to determine the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. Eleven o'clock at night to one o'clock in the morning of the next day, is the son of time, it is the rats to take advantage of the dead of night, frequent activities, called "son of the rat". One o'clock in the morning to three o'clock in the morning, is the ugly time. Cattle are used to eating grass at night, farmers often get up late at night to pick a lamp to feed the cattle, so it is called "ugly cattle". From 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., it is the c time. At this time, the tiger that walks by day and by night is the most ferocious, and the ancients often heard the sound of the tiger whistling at this time, so it is called "Yin Tiger". From 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., it is the dawning of the year. At dawn, rabbits come out of their nests and like to eat grass with morning dew, so they are called "d-rabbits". Between seven and nine in the morning, it is the hour of the eons. This time is generally prone to fog, legend has it that dragons like clouds and fog, but also at the time of the rising sun, steam, so it is called "Dragon". Nine o'clock in the morning to eleven o'clock, is the sixth hour. Fog dispersed, the sun shines brightly, snakes out of their holes to feed, so the "Snake". Eleven to one at noon, is the noon. In ancient times, wild horses were not tamed by humans, when the noon, running around neighing, so called "noon horse". One to three o'clock in the afternoon, is not time. Some places tube at this time for the "sheep out of the slope", meaning a good time to let go of sheep, so it is called "not sheep". Three to five o'clock in the afternoon, belongs to the Shen time. The sun is in the west, and monkeys like to crow at this time, so it is called "Shen Monkey". From 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., it is the time of the year "You". When the sun goes down, the chickens are circling in front of their nests, so it is called "You Ji". Between seven and nine o'clock in the evening, it is the eleventh hour. People are ready to rest after a long day's labor and bolt the door. The dog lying in front of the door to guard, a movement, barking, so "Hundred Days". At night from nine to eleven o'clock, belongs to the Ohio time. Late at night, you can hear the sound of the pig arching trough, so called "Ohio pig". In this way, the hours of the day and animal collocation is arranged down: sub-mouse, ugly cattle, c tiger, rabbit, chenlong, snakes, afternoon horse, ungoat, Shen monkey, you chicken, Hundred Days Dog, Ohio pig. Later, people used this chronology for the year, the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. Twelve animals with twelve hours, there is a similar argument. It is said that heaven and earth generated in the son of time, the birth of the beginning, there is no gap, the gas can not run out, the material can not be utilized, by the mouse a bite, out of the gap, only to make the gas run out, the material can be used. Rats have the power to open the heavenly body, the son of the time belongs to the rat. The rat opened the gap between heaven and earth, and the ox came out to plow the ground, so the ugly time was the ox. Legend has it that people were born in the year Yin, and the word "Yin" means "fear". In ancient times, people were most afraid of tigers, so Yin time belonged to the tiger. The dawn was already in the morning, but the sun had not yet come out, and it was the moon that illuminated the earth, and the only animal in the moon palace was the "Jade Rabbit", so the dawn was the rabbit. Legend has it that the hour of the Dragon is the time when dragons walk in the rain, so naturally this time belongs to the Dragon. Snakes are good at using grass to hide their tracks, it is said that the snake is not walking on the road at six o'clock, can not hurt people, so six o'clock belongs to the snake. At noon, Yang Qi reached the limit, Yin just want to produce, the horse can not run away from the ground, is a Yin class animals, so the afternoon is a horse. Legend has it that the sheep ate the grass before the time, and does not affect the regeneration of grass, before the time of the sheep. Shen has the meaning of "stretch", and monkeys are best at stretching and climbing, so Shen time is a monkey. Chickens begin to return to their nests at 5:00 p.m., so this is the time for chickens. Hundred and eleventh day gradually dark, the dog began to "work", watch the door guard, this time belongs to the dog. Ohio has entered the night, everything is silent, heaven and earth chaos, and the pig and heaven and earth chaos, in addition to "eat" nothing but know, Ohio is naturally a pig.

Twelve Chinese zodiac horse

"Dharma Garden Pearl Forest" quoted the "Great Collection of Sutra" said the origin of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, said: "outside of Yanfuti, four sides of the sea, there are twelve beasts, and is the bodhisattva guide. Humanity was born, when the bodhisattva lived in the grotto, that is, belonging to this beast to protect, benefit, so the twelve stars of the Han Dynasty according to this line." Another cloud: "The meaning of the distribution, the Yanggu Manlu is quite detailed. According to this, Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Hundred Days Club Yang, so take the odd number of belonging to the name of the rat, tiger, dragon, monkey, dog are five fingers, and the horse single hoof; ugly, Mao, Si, Wei, You, Ohio Yin, so take the even number of belonging to the name of the cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs are four-clawed, rabbit two claws, snakes, two tongues also." Accordingly, the twelve kinds of animals according to the toes of odd and even arranged as follows: cattle four toes, for even; tiger five toes, for odd; rabbit four toes, for even; dragon five toes, for odd; snake no toes but two tongues, for even; horse a toe (single hooves), for odd; sheep four toes, for even; monkey five toes, for odd; chicken four toes, for even; dog five toes, for odd; pig four toes, for even; twelve kinds of animals, only the rat is the most special, the forefoot for the four toes, for even; rear foot five toes, for odd. as odd.

Traits and Weaknesses of the Zodiac Signs

Rat: Attractive, Sociable, Influential, Intellectual, Frugal, Charming, Nervous, Power-hungry, Flabby, Cunning, Greedy, Interfering

Ox: Upright, Innovative, Purposeful, Diligent, Stable, Articulate, Stubborn, Indifferent, Prejudicial, Slow, Vindictive

Tiger: Enthusiastic, Good Luck, Courageous, Philanthropic, Charitable charisma, authority, impulsiveness, boasting, irritability, indulgence, disobedience, drifting

Rabbit: resourcefulness, prudence, skill, longevity, virtue, ambition, secrecy, amateurishness, overly formal, melancholy, self-aggrandizement, sophistication

Dragon: strength, zeal, success, boldness, good health, amorousness, stiffness, perplexity, mistrust, self-aggrandizement, dissatisfaction with talkativeness

Snake: intuition, wise Attractive, resourceful, cautious, sympathetic, disguised, covetous, extravagant, arrogant, lazy, solitary

Horse: persuasive, fashionable, autonomous, sensitive, popular, accomplished, selfish, hasty, arrogant, impetuous, defiant, self-conceited

Sheep: inventive, whimsical, sensitive, courteous, persevering, tasteful, dependent, pessimistic, lack of foresight, impractical, tardy, worrisome

Monkey: improvisation, leadership, resourcefulness, intelligence, stability, loyalty, cunning, self-confidence, scheming, stupidity, raillery, speculation

Rooster: resilience, conservatism, zeal, beauty, frankness, humor, arrogance, self-aggrandizement, boastfulness, blind admiration, debauchery

Dog: persistence, responsibility, heroic, cleverness, respectability, morality, uneasiness, sarcasm, criticism, ineptitude, sociability. Self-righteousness, smoothness

Pig: prudence, escapism, bravery, culture, sincerity, honesty, gullibility, materialism, anger, hesitation, foolishness

Other Chinese Zodiac Signs

In the multi-ethnic country of China, Chinese Zodiac Signs are not the exclusive property of the Han Chinese, many ethnic minorities use the 12 zodiacal signs for their chronology. First, let's take a look at the comparison table of the zodiac signs of various ethnic groups.

Each ethnic group's zodiac sign

Guixi Yi

The twelve beasts: dragon, phoenix, horse, ant, man, chicken, dog, pig, finch, ox, tiger, snake.

The Mourning Mountains Yi Ethnic Group

The Twelve Beasts: Tiger, Rabbit, Pangolin, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Pig, Rat and Ox.

The Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou Yi Ethnic Group

Twelve beasts: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog and pig.

Hainan Li

The Twelve Beasts: Chicken, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Bug, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey.

Yunnan Dai

Twelve beasts: rat, yellow cow, tiger, rabbit, big snake, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, elephant.

Guangxi Zhuang

Twelve beasts: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog and pig.

Mongolians

Twelve beasts: Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Pig, Rat and Ox.

Xinjiang Uyghur

Twelve beasts: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, fish, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig.

Kirghiz

Twelve beasts: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, fish, snake, horse, sheep, fox, chicken, dog, pig.

The above table can be seen in many of China's ethnic minorities, such as Mongolia, Zhuang, part of the Yi Zodiac influenced by the Han, and the Han are basically the same. But some ethnic groups in the reception of the Han Chinese zodiac culture at the same time and produced some variations, the Yi compatriots in the danjungshan series, to pangolin occupies the position of the dragon; Xinjiang Kyrgyz twelve zodiac to fish instead of the dragon, and the fox instead of monkeys; Hainan Li compatriots to twelve Chinese zodiac chronicle, the order of the chicken at the beginning of the monkey brake the end of the order; Dai living in the Xishuangbanna region in the bull instead of the cow to goat instead of goat, Ohio, the phases are not pigs but elephants. The Chinese zodiac sign is not a pig but an elephant. From the above changes, it can be roughly seen that when each ethnic group chooses the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, due to the different living environments and different species, they choose the closest animals as the animals of the Chinese zodiac, thus bringing certain differences to the culture of the Chinese zodiac. In addition to the variations in the choice of zodiac animals, the ethnic minorities also formed their own different methods of dating and dating, and at the same time produced many folklore related to the zodiac.

(1)Liangshan Yi Zodiac

The Yi general twelve animal calendars, also known as the twelve phases of the calendar, the ancient epic of the Yi people, "Leru Tei" and the Yi folk there are legends about the origin of the twelve phases of the Yi (animal calendars). See Wang Changfu's "Rites and Customs of the Liangshan Yi" (ZW) for a list of the years, months and days of the Yi living in the Liangshan area of Sichuan Province, including the year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog and Pig. Each beast name each year, *** twelve years a round, the years and age calculation has a convenient mnemonic: "a round of thirteen, two rounds of twenty-five, three rounds of thirty-seven, four rounds of forty-nine, five rounds of sixty-one, six rounds of seventy-three ......" and so on. Liangshan Yi people also use the twelve months, respectively to rat month, cattle month, tiger month, rabbit month, dragon month, snake month, horse month, sheep month, monkey month, chicken month, dog month, pig month, twelve months of the year. Monthly big month thirty days, month small twenty-nine days, month big month small according to the last month of the moon fifteen round or sixteen round to determine the fifteenth round for the small month twenty-nine days, sixteen round for the big month thirty days. However, the first month used in different places are different, some places to horse month as the first month, some places to sheep month as the first month, some places to monkey month as the first month. The method of the day also uses twelve beasts, twelve days for a round, not subject to the limitations of the year (including leap month), unlimited backward, never ending.

The Yi twelve phases of the calendar calendar is also applied to account for the fate of folk sorcery, Liangshan Yi folk believe that people with wood, fire, earth, iron, water and the five elements of the relationship between the close, people can only live in harmony with it is the fate of the gift. Human destiny are in the five elements and "male" "mother" with the ten kinds of destiny, that is, "wood male", "wood mother ", "fire male", "fire mother", "earth male", "earth mother", The harmony of "Iron Duke", "Iron Mother", "Water Duke", "Water Mother" is known as "The harmony of the above ten destinies is considered to be a harmonious pairing of yin and yang, with "Te" meaning harmony, "Te" being yang and "Mo" being yin. It is believed that the above ten destinies are a harmonious pairing of yin and yang. In addition, the ten destinies are also matched with the twelve genera to form the "Periodic Table of Chronology", which is a sixty-year cycle of chronology to account for people's destiny.

The twelve genera of the Yi people are also used in marriage. The Yi people attach great importance to ethnicity and rank when choosing a spouse and getting engaged, in addition to whether the birthdays of men and women are compatible is also very important, and there is a folk mnemonic: "Rabbit, pig, sheep and goat follow each other, cow, snake and chicken accompany each other, dog, horse and tiger are compatible with each other, monkey, dragon and mouse are in harmony with each other." In line with the above mnemonic for the match, not very strict, the most taboo tiger with the chicken, sheep, taboo its "tiger to eat chicken and sheep".

(2) Dai Zodiac

According to Mr. Zhang Gongzhuan's point of view, around the Han Dynasty, the Han's stem-and-branch chronology was gradually introduced into the Dai area, and this stem-and-branch chronology has been used to this day (see Zhang Gongzhuan's "Dai Culture", published by Jilin Educational Publishing House in 1986). It is still an important part of the Dai calendar. The method is the same as the lunar calendar, that is, the ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches are paired with each other to make sixty jiazi, and these sixty numbers are used to record the year and the day, while the twelve earthly branches are also used to record the month. Probably in the stem into the Dai area soon after the Han Chinese Zodiac also passed into the Dai people around the Zodiac is slightly different, the Dehong area and the Han Chinese exactly the same, Xishuangbanna change "pig" for "elephant", the dragon is The dragon is the "big snake" or "jiao", which is slightly different. The twelve zodiac signs used by the Dai people are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, big snake, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog and elephant.

Xishuangbanna and other places, the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac with the Earth's branches, not only used to chronicle the year, but also used to chronicle the month and the day, such as the son of the year rat bone 〖ZW(〗Dai calendar in the "bone" for the year, "blood" for the month, "skin" for the day. "for the day. ZW (〖ZW)〗、the yellow ox bone in the year of ugly, the tiger bone in the year of Yin; the blood of rabbit in April, the blood of small snake in June, the blood of horse in July; the skin of monkey in the day of Shen, the skin of chicken in the day of You, and so on ....... Can be seen in the Han Chinese lunar calendar in the twelve signs of the zodiac in the absorption of the Dai calendar , the scope of its use than the lunar calendar is more extensive.

(3) Tibetan zodiac

Traditionally, the Tibetan zodiac is thought to be the seventh century A.D. when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty married Songtsen Gampo brought. The Tibetan zodiac, sixty years for a jiazi, the Tibetan language called "back to Deng", for the meaning of the wood rat, Tibetan sixty jiazi will start from the year of the wood rat, equivalent to the Han's jiazi year. The Tibetan calendar zodiac chronicle has the yin and yang, five elements, Xiao animal fusion of one of the characteristics, so there is " Yin fire rabbit year ", " Yang earth dragon year ", " Yang gold monkey year " and so on the call.

Tibetan zodiac year with yin and yang, the five elements of the specific match with the ten heavenly stems have a corresponding relationship to the A B for wood, C D for fire, E F for the earth, G C for the gold, non dec for water. In each of these five pairs, the former is Yang and the latter is Yin. Although the Tibetan calendar chronology does not explicitly indicate the heavenly stems and earthly branches, the order of the stems and branches is implied. In addition, the Tibetan calendar also replaces yin and yang with male and female, such as the yin golden calf year and called the female golden calf year, the yang water tiger year, and called the male water tiger year.

(4) Naxi Zodiac

The Naxi are a minority group living in Yunnan Province, a branch of the ancient Qiang people. The Naxi also use the Chinese zodiac to mark the days of the year in a unique way, complete with directions. They will be divided into twelve months of the year into a small month, 30 days a month, the first day of a single month for the Monkey Day, according to the monkey, chicken, dog, pig, rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep order, ranked to the 29th day of a single month for the Rat Day; into the bi-monthly, bi-monthly first day of the month after the cow day, set as the Tiger Day.

(5) Other Zodiac Signs

The Vietnamese have twelve zodiac signs, which are basically the same as those of the Chinese. Only the word "cat" is used instead of "rabbit".

The Burmese have only eight zodiac signs, named after planets, arranged from Monday to Sunday, those born on Monday belong to the Sun, those born on Tuesday belong to Mars, those born on Wednesday morning belong to Mercury, and those born in the afternoon belong to the Partitioned Planet, so that by Sunday there will also be **** eight zodiac signs.

The Indians have twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, two of which are different from the Chinese ones: the "lion" instead of the "tiger", and the "canary" instead of the "chicken". The "Rooster" is replaced by the "Lion" and the "Canary" by the "Rooster".

The Egyptians had twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac: the bull, the goat, the monkey, the donkey, the crab, the snake, the dog, the cat, the crocodile, the flamingo, the lion and the eagle.

The Greeks have twelve zodiac signs, and the Egyptian zodiac is basically the same, but the Greeks have "rat" without "cat", the Egyptians have "cat" no The Egyptians had a "cat" without a "mouse".

Mexicans have twelve zodiac signs, there are tiger, rabbit, dragon, monkey, dog, pig and other six kinds of unique Mexican animals composed of twelve zodiac signs.

Europeans European zodiac signs are basically the same, more astronomical stars for the zodiac. Such as the French to Aquarius, Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Lion, Chamberlain, Scorpion, Sagittarius and so on to form the twelve signs of the zodiac, known as the twelve constellations.