China's twelve Chinese zodiac signs called

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

By the twelve earthly branches of the figurative, that is, Zi (rat), ugly (ox), Yin (tiger), Mao (rabbit), Chen (dragon), Si (snake), Wu (horse), not (goat), Shen (monkey), You (chicken), Huxu (dog), Ohio (pig).

Expanded:

During the Han Dynasty and most of the period prior to the Han Dynasty, people tended to collectively refer to animals as "birds", and any animal that people saw in their lives could be referred to as a "bird". ". The East Han scholar Wang Chong, "on the balance - the potential of the chapter" about the four phases and the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, said "to the four beasts of the test, the twelve stars of the bird of the effect of", the "twelve stars of the bird" is the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac.

To the Qing Dynasty, there is a "twelve birds and elephants" of the name. Li Guangdi compiled by order of the "Star Calendar source" book volume 2 in the cloud: "twelve eons of the bird: Zi rat, ugly cattle, c tiger, rabbit, c dragon, snakes, afternoon horse, ungoat, Shen monkey, You chicken, dog, Ohio pig."

It is worth noting that in this period also appeared in the more familiar "twelve phases of the genus" called, the Qing dynasty Zhao Yi in the "new Yu Congkao" in the list of an article entitled "twelve phases of the genus in the offspring".

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese Zodiac