The benevolent sees benevolence and the wise see wisdom. Opinions are not unanimous.
Let me first introduce you to the origin of the twelve zodiac signs
In ancient times, in order to allow poor people to remember the year of their birth, the simplest animal chronology method was used. Later, Call it the "Year of the Zodiac." (Zodiac: "生" is born; "Xiao" is similar and similar)
The origin of the twelve zodiac signs is very early. The archaeological discovery of the Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips and Fangmatan Qin bamboo slips "Rishu" in the late Warring States period Twelve animals with stems and branches have appeared in the Chinese zodiac. The names of the animals and the arrangement of the stems and branches are generally similar to the twelve zodiac animals of later generations. Their usage methods and divination logic are also similar to the zodiac signs of later generations. From this, we can speculate that the Qin bamboo slips of Sleeping Tiger Land and Fang Fang The twelve animals with stems and branches appearing in the Matan Qin Slips "Rishu" should be the prototype of the twelve zodiac signs in later generations. The twelve zodiac signs began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Northern History·Yuwenhu Biography" records a letter written by Yuwenhu's mother to him. The letter said: "In the past, you were born in Wuchuan Town. The elder brother was a rat, the second was a rabbit, and your body was born in the year of the rabbit. snake". It shows that the 12 zodiac signs were already used among the people at that time.
According to ancient Chinese books, the ancient Central Plains region originally used the "stem and branch chronology method", which uses 10 celestial stem symbols to coordinate the chronology. At the same time, there are also people who combine twelve kinds of animals with the land to simply record the year. By the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains calendar was spread to the nomadic peoples in northwest China. They only absorbed twelve animal chronological systems in their calendars. Therefore, it is recorded in the "Book of Tang": "The country of Xijiasi records the year with twelve objects. If the year is in Yin, it is said to be the Year of the Tiger." In addition, "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Tubo" also records that when the Tubo leaders narrated, they used objects to record the years. The so-called "old things are counted in the twelve chens of the sun, such as the year of the rabbit and the year of the horse." Just as Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in the "Kai Yu Cong Kao", "In the early days of Northern customs, there was no such thing as the twelve o'clock of Zichou Yin Mao, but the years were divided into years by rats, cows, tigers and rabbits, which was spread throughout China. So we can keep our ears together without losing our ears." This explanation of the origin of the 12 zodiac animals has been recognized by many people.
The paper-cutting style of the twelve zodiac signs has strong Chinese characteristics
The paper-cutting style of the twelve zodiac signs has strong Chinese characteristics (3 photos)
In addition , there are other opinions about the origin of the 12 zodiac animals: Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manlu" said that among the 12 earthly branches, those with odd numbers are matched with the fingers or hooves of animals with odd numbers. For example, the child is in the first place, which matches it. The rat has 5 fingers, and those with even numbers among the earthly branches are named after the even number of the zodiac sign. For example, if the ox and the ugly match, they have 4 claws. In "Cao Mu Zi", Ye Shijie explained the origin of the 12 zodiac animals as follows: Artists use 12 animals to match 12 zodiac animals, and each animal has its own shortcomings, such as rats without teeth (no molars) and cows without teeth (no canines). ), tigers have no spleen, rabbits have no lips, dragons have no ears, snakes have no feet, horses have no guts, sheep have no pupils, monkeys have no buttocks, chickens have no stomach, dogs have no pancreas, pigs have no eyebrows, and humans have no deficiencies.” They are the largest The eyebrows are not visible.
There are various other theories, such as: Huangdi selected 12 animals to be on duty in the sky on time, and selected 12 animals such as rats, oxen, and tigers; The zodiac originated from the totem worship of some clans in primitive society, and was divided according to the strength of each tribe at a certain gathering; the 12 zodiac signs may have been introduced from Tianzhu; or 28 constellations are distributed around the sky to correspond to 12 hours. Named after an animal, choosing a common name for a certain year from the animals on duty at each hour, etc.
Although people are not sure of the exact origin of the 12 zodiac animals. But because it is popular, convenient and interesting, it has been used to this day and has become a precious legacy left to us by the ancients that still has practical value.
As for the origin of the twelve zodiac signs, there are many historical facts. The record is: Our country has been using the ten symbols of heaven and earth since the time of Emperor Shun
Twelve zodiac signs of tiger
Twelve zodiac signs of tiger
Twelve branches The twelve zodiac signs were first seen in the world's first collection of poems, "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Che Gong". "Send me a horse". Also found in "Book of Rites·Yue Ling·Jidong": "An ox was unearthed to send away the cold air."
When did the theory of the twelve zodiac animals come about? Some historical data say: It It should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. The basis is from Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Lunheng·Mao Shi Chapter": "Yin means wood, and its bird means tiger. "Xu" refers to soil, and its birds are dogs." Another saying goes: "Wu refers to horses." Son, rat. You, chicken. ...Shen, monkey". *** proposed eleven zodiac names. In addition, "Wu Zaichen, whose position is dragon" in Zhao Ye's "Wu Yue Chun Qiu" of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Just added "Chen Long" to complete the ten Two zodiac signs. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs have been used in the Eastern Han Dynasty, at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
However, in the mid-1970s, that is, in December 1975, Among the cultural relics unearthed from Qin Tomb No. 11 in Suihudi, Yunmeng, there are thousands of bamboo slips. Among them, "Sunrise: Thieves" clearly records the occurrence of this miracle of using the zodiac to divine the appearance of thieves. It proves that the twelve zodiac signs were used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because according to research, Qin Tomb No. 11 was buried in the 30th year of the First Emperor, that is, 217 BC. Some people say: Our ancestors used zodiac signs to record their years as far back as Qin Shihuang. It started before the emperor, and specifically pointed out that "it began in Xia and spread in Shang and Zhou Dynasties." However, how to cite it still needs to be further explored by historians and cultural relics scholars.
In ancient my country, the Southern and Northern Dynasties not only used the twelve zodiac signs to record the year, but also appeared in the "Poem of the Twelve Zodiac Signs" written by Shen Jiong: Rat traces create dust cases, and cattle and sheep fall at dusk. The tiger roars in the empty valley, and the rabbit moon opens towards the window. The dragon's shadow is green in the distance, and the snakes and willows are lingering nearby. Malan is picked far away, and sheep are planted in spring. The monkey chestnut is shy of the fragrant fruit, and the chicken anvil brings out the beauty. Outside the house, the dog is pregnant, and the pig is relaxing outside the window. This poem embeds the names of the twelve zodiac animals in order in the first word, and highlights the characteristics of each animal, which plays a finishing touch.
Twelve Zodiac Dragons
Twelve Zodiac Dragons
The twelve zodiac poems written by Hu Yan, a great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, not only embed the zodiac names in sequence, but also The name is a classic, quite interesting. The poem goes: Mole drinks from the river and the river never dries up, and cow and girl find it difficult to meet each other all year round. Binding tigers on the southern mountain with bare hands, catching rabbits in the middle of the moon and the sky is endless. Lilong Youzhu often doesn't sleep, so he is tired because he adds too much to a snake. The old horse never had horns, and the sheep sneered when they touched the feudal lord. Don't laugh at the people of Chu who are crowned with monkeys, and wish that the chickens will be empty in the old forest and Qiu. Wuyang slaughtered dogs in Peizhong City, Pingjin released pigs in the east end of the sea. The first sentence "mouse" means water rat. The "cow girl" in the second sentence refers to the folk legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
Five sentences