The zodiac is twelve, which coincides with the ancient people's inductive understanding of natural phenomena.
China ancestors felt the cycle of alternating cold and summer, and plants withered and flourished, which was called "one year old". The moon's profit and loss cycle is also related to "age"-twelve full moons are exactly one year old. With Jupiter as the annual cycle, the period of revolution of the "old star" happens to be twelve years. "Zhou Li Chun Guan von Shi Xiang" says: "Ten palms are two years old, ten palms are in February, and ten palms are two days old." In addition to counting years and months, twelve palms are also used to measure hours.
Rats and mice steal food, which proves that "hamsters have surplus food", indicating that this family is rich, and mice at home symbolize wealth.
Cattle, because of the growing feelings of the people in Niu Geng and China, have attached excellent qualities to cattle, such as simplicity, diligence, and unrewarding. Lu Xun expressed his ambition of "bowing his head and being a willing ox".
The tiger is the king of beasts, with the yin tiger. The word "Yin" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions is like an arrow. In Shuowen, "Yin" means "the yang is rising, although there is frozen soil on it, it will break through the ground", which is in line with the tiger's bravery and integrity-Yang Qi.
The legend of rabbit and the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon originated from Lan Mingxun, the son of Huainan, and Chang 'e was accompanied by a jade rabbit in the middle of the month. The rabbit is the symbol of the moon.
Clans with dragons and snakes as totems have merged with many other totem clans one after another, forming a "dragon totem with serpents as the main body, horseheads, ponytails, antlers, dog claws, fish scales and beards mixed".
Snakes, snakes mostly appear in negative images. "A snake with insufficient heart swallows an elephant" describes the snake's greed; The Farmer and the Snake describes the cunning and cold-blooded nature of snakes. Malicious people are described as "snakes and scorpions".
As the head of the six beasts, horses are not only used for transportation, but also powerful military equipment. During the Warring States period, the number of horse-drawn chariots, such as "the country of a thousand riders" and "the country of a thousand riders", was used to describe the strength of national strength.
Sheep, the ancients regarded sheep as "virtuous animals", kind, benevolent and humble. Good sheep, sheep like to live in groups. Kindness means that sheep are kind and have horns but are not good at fighting. Death means that the sheep are quiet when they are slaughtered, so there is the story of "sheep for cattle" in Wang Xuan. Courtesy is the sheep's gratitude, and the sheep's kneeling milk symbolizes filial piety.
Monkeys, there are many legends about "monkeys are ancestors" "Shan Hai Jing" records that "it looks like a poem with arms, and the leopard and tiger are good at casting, so it is called the adoptive father", which shows that Kuafu's image is actually a monkey.
Chicken, "History of Han Poetry Biography" summarizes the "five virtues" of chicken, "wearing a crown and writing; Foot stroke far and near, martial arts also; Seeing that the enemy dares to do it is brave; Seeing food calls, righteousness is also; The vigil is not lost, and the letter is also. " So chickens have the nickname of German birds.
Dog, according to Hanshu, the name of the emperor's dog was Pan Hu, and he was given a girl with the head of General Wu, a dog. "With Pan Hu, I was promoted to Nanshan, with 12 men and women, and then prospered." "Looking for God" is expanded, and Tiger Pan is a golden bug that jumps out from the queen's ear. It is said that the Miao, She, Yao, Li, Dong, Zhuang and Wa nationalities in southwest China all regard Pan Hu as their ancestor. There is also a legend among ethnic minorities that dogs eat the seeds of five grains. Hani people think that God's daughter has brought food to the world, and has been demoted as a dog.
Pigs and pigs are called Wujin. During the patriarchal clan commune, pigs were a symbol of wealth, and there were 36 pig bones buried in Dahezhuang, Linxia. Tapirs are the sacrifices of the lower class people and the word "home".
Zodiac belief is an imaginative belief system formed by the combination of China's traditional religious philosophy and mathematical culture, supplemented by the association of Zodiac animal temperament, which further affects people's ideas and behaviors. The core is that the zodiac plays a decisive role in the people and things it marks.
The above information comes from Baidu's entry-Zodiac.