Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - What is the basis on which the zodiac originated in China or India?

What is the basis on which the zodiac originated in China or India?

The zodiac comes from China and is based on ancient documents and archaeological discoveries.

The Zodiac, which people call the Zodiac, is twelve kinds of animals that match the twelve earthly branches in China according to the year of birth, including rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs. As we all know, the zodiac is the development of ancient Chinese traditional culture, and its origin is related to animal worship.

1, Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmeng, Hubei Province

During the period of 1975, archaeologists unearthed a number of cultural relics called Qin bamboo slips in Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Land in Hubei Province and Fangmatan in Tianshui, Gansu Province, which were used by people in the Qin Dynasty. What is recorded on these bamboo slips? Rats, ugly cows? Wait, it is basically the same as the zodiac we are talking about now, and heavenly stems and earthly branches deserves it. ?

2. Wang Chong's Theory of Balance in Eastern Han Dynasty

Among the ancient documents, Lun Heng, written by Wang Chong, a writer in the Eastern Han Dynasty, is the earliest document that completely records the zodiac. As mentioned in the third volume of Lun Heng, the material potential: Afternoon horse, mouse, chicken, rabbit? 、? Chen is a dragon and turned into a snake, in the southeast. ? And many other things. Therefore, it can be concluded that the zodiac has been basically shaped at least in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

3. The significance of the zodiac

Zodiac is a traditional culture of China people, and everyone can calculate their own zodiac according to the year of birth. The animal images of the zodiac are also integrated into thousands of families during the festival. The animals represented by each genus also have special meanings given by people. For example, the Year of the Rat represents wealth and reproduction, cows represent honesty, dragons represent good weather, monkeys represent intelligence, dogs represent loyalty, gratitude and prosperity, and pigs represent happiness and prosperity.

It can be seen that the zodiac originated in China and is a traditional culture of China. Readers, what is the your Zodiac? What special commemoration and dress will you have in this animal year? Welcome to leave a message to express your views.