What is the function of the twelve zodiac signs? There is a myth and legend about the origin of the twelve zodiac signs:
It is said that the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals as representatives, and then he sent gods to earth to follow them. The animals talked about this and set a time to come to the Heavenly Palace to run for election at Mao, month, day, and hour of the Mao year. The earlier they came, the higher they would be in the queue, and the ones behind them would not be in the queue. At that time, the cat and mouse were still good friends. The cat loves to sleep but he also wants to be chosen, so he tells the mouse to call him when the time comes. But the mouse turned around and forgot. The mouse went to the old cow and told him that he would run faster if he got up early and asked the cow to take him with him. Lao Niu agreed.
At that time, dragons did not have horns, but chickens had horns. The dragon told the chicken that the chicken was already very beautiful and didn't need its horns, so he asked the chicken to lend it to him. When the chicken heard the dragon's flattery, he was very happy and lent his horn to the dragon, and told the dragon to remember to return it to him on time after the election. Long agreed.
When the year of the year, the animals rushed to the palace, and the cats were still sleeping.
The rat sat on the back of the cow. After arriving at the Heavenly Court, the mouse jumped up and down. The Jade Emperor said that the mouse was the first to arrive and ranked first; the old steak was second; the tiger arrived soon after and ranked third; the rabbit also arrived and ranked fourth; the dragon arrived very late, but he was big and the Jade Emperor could see it at a glance. Seeing that he was so beautiful, he asked him to rank fifth, and also said that his son would rank sixth. But Long was very disappointed because his son did not come today. At this time, the snake behind came and said: "He is ***. Dad, I am ranked sixth! I am ranked sixth!" The snake was ranked sixth; the horse and sheep also arrived. You let me and I let you. : Brother Horse, you go first, Brother Sheep, you go first, they were pushing back and forth. Seeing how polite they were, the Jade Emperor asked them to be ranked seventh or eighth. The monkey was originally ranked in the thirties, but he could jump on his own. He pulled the clouds in the sky and jumped to the front, ranking ninth; then chickens, dogs and pigs were also selected one after another.
The cat woke up after the competition. As soon as the mouse came home, he was chased by the cat all over the world...
After the competition, the dragon came to the seaside and saw him with horns. She's much prettier than before, so I'm not ready to return the favor. In order to hide from the chicken, he disappeared from the world. The chicken was very angry, so he got up early every morning and shouted to the sea: Give it back to me! Give me back! The hen shouted: Pay him back quickly! Pay him back quickly! The chicken also cries: Return! return!
Regarding the origin of the twelve zodiac signs, historical records are: Since the time of Emperor Shun, our country has been using the "stem and branch chronology" that matches the ten symbols of the heavenly stems and the twelve symbols of the earthly branches. The method of counting animals first originated from the nomadic ethnic minorities in the west and north of my country in ancient times. "Tang Shu" records: "The country of Xijiasi records the year with twelve objects. If the year is in Yin, it is called the Year of the Tiger." Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said in the "Bei Yu Cong Kao": "Yibei Di In the early days of customs, there was no such thing as the twelve zodiac signs of Zi, Chou, Yin, and Mao, but the years were divided into periods such as rat, ox, tiger, and rabbit. In the Han Dynasty, Hu Hanxie (Chanyu) lived in Wuyuan, together with the Qi people. The people are mixed together, and they have been spread throughout China, so they are still closely related."
The twelve zodiac animals were first seen in the "Book of Songs", the world's first collection of poems. "The Book of Songs, Xiaoya, Che Gong" says: "On the auspicious day of Gengwu, my horse is sent." It is also found in "Book of Rites, Yue Ling, Ji Dong": "The unearthed cow is used to send the cold air." The theory of the twelve zodiac signs actually came into being. When? Some historical data say: it should have been formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. The basis for this is Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty's "On Balance? Material Potential Chapter" which says: "Yin means wood, and its bird is a tiger. Xu means earth, and its bird is a dog." It also says: "Wu means horse. Zi, Rat. You, chicken. ... Shen, monkey." *** proposed eleven zodiac names. In addition, in the "Wuyue Chunqiu" written by Zhao Ye of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Wu Zaichen, his position is dragon." This just adds "Chenlong" to complete the twelve zodiac signs. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs have been formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the use of the twelve zodiac animals, it has appeared at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The Northern History "Yuwen Hu Zhuan" records a letter written by Yuwen Hu's mother to him. The content is: "In the past, you were born in Wuchuan Town. The elder brother was a rat, the second one was a rabbit, and you were a snake." This shows that at that time, the twelve zodiac signs were widely used among the people to record people's birth years.
However, in the mid-1970s, that is, in December 1975, thousands of bamboo slips were discovered among the cultural relics unearthed from Qin Tomb No. 11 in Shuihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei. Among them, "Sunrise? Thief" clearly records the use of zodiac signs to predict the appearance and characteristics of thieves. The appearance of this miracle proves that the twelve zodiac animals were used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because Qin Tomb No. 11 was buried in the 30th year of the First Emperor, that is, 217 BC, according to research. Some people say: Our ancestors started using zodiac animals to record their years long before Qin Shihuang became emperor, and specifically pointed out that "it started in Xia and spread in Shang and Zhou dynasties." However, how to cite it is probably yet to be done by historians and cultural relics scholars... ...>>
What are the functions of the twelve zodiac signs? Rat, rat
Take mine. .
What are the twelve zodiac signs? The twelve zodiac signs are an important part of traditional Chinese culture. They are composed of 12 animals derived from nature, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. They are used to record the year. , the order is Rat, Chou Ox, Yin Gong, Mao Rabbit, Chen Dragon, Si Snake, Wu Horse, Wei Sheep, Shen Monkey, You Rooster, Xu Dog and Hai Pig. It is widely used in Chinese cultural circles.
There are many literary works describing the twelve zodiac signs. At the same time, the twelve zodiac animals are also used in Chinese medicine and cartoon names.
What are the twelve zodiac signs used for? The zodiac originated from animal worship in primitive times, a kind of totem in disguise. In primitive societies with low productivity and extremely limited ability to understand nature, they develop a sense of dependence on animals that are closely related to their own lives (such as horses, sheep, cows, chickens, dogs, etc.), and develop a sense of dependence on animals that endanger their own safety. Fear of animals (such as tigers and snakes), and a sense of reverence for some animal organ functions that exceed humans (such as a dog's sense of smell, etc.), leading to the worship of animals. The twelve zodiac animals are the animal calendars produced by people under the influence of the original belief in animal worship to mark the years and months.
What are the benefits of each of the 12 zodiac signs? Each zodiac sign has its own characteristics. They all have extraordinary will and kindness, and the life of each zodiac sign is different. Their joys, sorrows, and joys are timeless
The first meaning of the 12 zodiac signs The team is rat and ox, rat represents wisdom and ox represents diligence. Wisdom and diligence must be closely integrated. If you only have wisdom without diligence, you will become clever; if you only have diligence without using your brain, you will become stupidity. The two must be combined. This is the first group of expectations and requirements our ancestors have for us, and it is also the most important group. ”
The second group is the tiger and the rabbit. The tiger represents bravery, and the rabbit represents caution. Bravery and caution must be closely combined to be bold and cautious. If bravery leaves caution, it becomes Recklessness, without bravery, becomes cowardice. This group is also very important, so it is placed in the second position. Through this group, I can also tell you Westerners that when we Yanhuang people show caution, Don't think that the Yanhuang people don't have a brave side.
The third group is the dragon and the snake, which represent strength and flexibility. The so-called strong ones are easy to break, and those who are too strong are easy to break. However, If you only have a soft side, you will easily lose your opinion, so it is our ancestral motto to have both strength and softness. ”
Horse and sheep, the horse represents courage and the sheep represents gentleness. If a person only cares about himself and goes straight to the goal without taking into account the surrounding environment, he will inevitably bump into the surroundings and may not be able to achieve the goal in the end. However, if a person only cares about harmony, he may not even have a direction. Therefore, the courage to move forward must be closely combined with gentleness. This is the fourth set of expectations our ancestors have for us.
Monkey and Rooster. The monkey represents flexibility, and the rooster crows regularly, representing stability. Flexibility and constancy must be closely integrated. If you are only flexible but without stability, no matter how good your policy is, you will not gain anything. On the one hand, it has stability and maintains overall harmony and order; on the other hand, it can move forward amidst changes. This is the most fundamental purpose. ”
Dogs and pigs. Dogs represent loyalty and pigs represent easy-going. If a person is too loyal and does not know how to be easy-going, he will reject others. On the contrary, if a person is too easy-going and does not know how to be easy-going, he will lose Principle. Whether it is loyalty to a nation or loyalty to one's own ideals, it must be closely combined with easy-going, so that it is easy to maintain inner balance."
What are the twelve zodiac signs? Meaning? The twelve zodiac signs are composed of eleven animals derived from nature, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig and the legendary dragon. They are used to record the year. , the order is Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. It is widely used in many countries and ethnic groups.
Source History
Introduction
The use of 12 zodiac signs to record the year began in our country at least during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. "History of the North? Biography of Yuwenhu" records a letter written by Yuwenhu's mother to him. The letter said: "In the past, when you were born in Wuchuan Town, your brothers were born. The older one was born in the year of rat, the second was in the year of rabbit, and your body was born in the year of rabbit." Snake." It shows that the 12 zodiac signs were already used among the people at that time. But, what is the origin of the 12 zodiac signs? Ancient Chinese books record that the Central Plains region of ancient my country originally used the "stem and branch chronology method", that is, the 10 celestial stem symbols A, B, C, D, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui and the 12 earthly branch symbols Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai are combined to record the year. A few nomadic peoples in northwest my country use animals to mark their years. "The Book of Tang" records: "The country of Xijiasi records the year with twelve objects. If the year is in Yin, it is called the Year of the Tiger." In addition, the "History of Song Dynasty? Biography of Tubo" also records that when the Tubo leader narrated, he used When it comes to counting years, it is said that "old things in the Tao are counted in twelve chens that belong to the sun. This is true in the year of the rabbit, and this is true in the year of the horse." Later, in the exchanges between the Central Plains and ethnic minorities, the two chronology systems came into contact with each other to form the current 12 zodiac signs. 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. This explanation of the origin of the 12 zodiac animals has been recognized by many people.
In addition, there are other opinions about the origin of the 12 zodiac signs: Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manlu" said that those with odd numbers among the 12 earthly branches have animals with odd numbers of fingers or hooves, such as Zi ranks first, and the rat that matches it has 5 fingers. Those with an even number among the earthly branches are named after the even number of the zodiac sign. For example, the ox and the ugliness match, and they have 4 claws.
In "Cao Mu Zi", Ye Shijie explained the origin of the 12 zodiac animals as follows: Artists match 12 animals with 12 zodiac animals, and each animal has its own shortcomings, such as rats without teeth, ox without teeth, tigers without spleen, and rabbits without lips. Dragons have no ears, snakes have no feet, horses have no guts, sheep have no pupils, monkeys have no buttocks, chickens have no kidneys, dogs have no stomach, pigs have no tendons, and humans have no deficiencies. ”
There are various other theories. For example: The Yellow Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be on duty in the sky on time... 12 animals such as rats, cows, and tigers were selected through competition; the 12 zodiac animals came from primitive society. The totem worship of some clans; the 12 zodiac signs may be introduced from Tianzhu; or the 28 constellations are distributed around the sky to correspond to 12 hours. Each constellation is named after an animal that is on duty at each hour. Common names for a certain year, etc.
Although people are not sure of the exact origin of the 12 zodiac signs, they are still used today because they are popular, convenient and interesting. It has become a precious legacy left to us by the ancients that still has practical value.
Myths and Legends
There is a myth and legend about the origin of the twelve zodiac signs: It is said that the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 types. Animals were used as representatives, and then he sent gods down to earth to tell the animals about this matter, and also set a time to come to the Heavenly Palace to run for election in the year, month, month, day, and hour. At that time, the cat and the mouse were still good friends. The cat liked to sleep, but he also wanted to be chosen, so he asked the mouse to call him when the time came. But the mouse turned around and went to talk to the old cow. He got up early and ran quickly and asked the cow to take him with him. The dragon at that time had no horns, but the chicken had horns. The dragon told the chicken that the chicken was already very beautiful and there was no need for it. He asked the rooster to lend him the horn. The rooster was very happy to hear the dragon's flattery, and lent it to the dragon. He asked the dragon to return it on time after the election, and the animals agreed. Rushing to the Heavenly Palace, the cat was still sleeping. The mouse sat on the back of the cow. After arriving at the palace, the Jade Emperor said that the mouse was the first to arrive, and the old steak was second. Then he arrived and ranked third; the rabbit also arrived and ranked fourth; the dragon came very late, but he was big. The Jade Emperor saw him at a glance and saw that he was so beautiful, so he ranked fifth and said that his His son ranked sixth, but Kelong was disappointed because his son didn’t come today. At this time, the snake behind him ran and said, “He is *** dad, I am ranked sixth!” I'm sixth! "The snake was ranked sixth; the horse and the sheep also arrived... >>
What is the function of the twelve zodiac animals in the Old Summer Palace? In front of the Western-style building in the Old Summer Palace, there is a Chinese and Western twelve The zodiac bouldering fountain is called the Great Water Method. The architect uses the twelve zodiac signs with animal heads and human bodies to indicate the twelve hours of the day. Every day, the twelve zodiac signs will be sprayed into the center of the pool at the same time. At noon, the twelve zodiac signs will appear at the same time. The fountain in the center of the pool is a spectacular scene.
The origin and meaning of the twelve zodiac animals?
In China, everyone has their own animal sign. , you are a tiger, he is a rabbit, I am a dragon, etc. If you want to know how old a person is, you can roughly know it by asking his zodiac sign. It is said that when the former Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei visited China for the first time, he gave a speech to the then president. Zhou Enlai, the Premier of the State Council, asked a riddle: There are only twelve in China, but everyone has one. There are very few in foreign countries. What is the answer? Premier Zhou couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and he blurted out: Twelve zodiac animals. This anecdote has become widely circulated as a beautiful story showing Premier Zhou's quick thinking.
Whenever the New Year comes, due to the traditional habits of the Chinese nation, people like to say that this year is the Year of the Dragon, and people belong to the year of the Dragon. Next year is the Year of the Snake, and the year after that is the Year of the Horse... Tracing its historical origins and cultural heritage naturally leads to the following topics.
The classic records of the twelve zodiac animals. >
Our country has been using the "Stem and Branch Calendar System" that combines the ten symbols of the Heavenly Stems and the twelve Earthly Branches since the time of Emperor Shun. The method of counting animals first originated from the nomadic ethnic minorities in the west and north of my country in ancient times. "Book of Tang" records: "The country of Xijiasi records the year with twelve objects. If the year is in Yin, it is called the Year of the Tiger. "Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said in "Yi Yu Cong Kao": "In the early days of Yibei Di customs, there was no such thing as Zi, Chou, Yin and Mao, but they were divided into rat, ox, tiger and rabbit. At the age of 13, during the Han Dynasty, Huhanxie (Chanyu) lived in Wuyuan, mixed with the people of Qi, and spread it to China, so it was followed without waste. "
The twelve zodiac animals were first seen in the world's first collection of poems, "The Book of Songs". "The Book of Songs? "Also found in "Book of Rites? Yue Ling? Ji Dong": "The unearthed cattle are used to send away the cold air. "When did the theory of the twelve zodiac animals come into being? Some historical data say that it should have been formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. The basis is Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Lunheng? Material Potential Chapter" which says: "Yin is wood, and its bird is tiger. also. Xu, soil, its birds, dogs. " Another cloud: "Wu, horse." Son, rat. You, chicken. ...Shen, monkey. " *** proposed eleven zodiac names. In addition, in "Wuyue Chunqiu" by Zhao Ye of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is "Wu Zaichen, whose position is dragon. "Just added "Chen Long" to complete the twelve zodiac signs. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs have been formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the use of the twelve zodiac signs, it has appeared at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
The Northern History "Yuwen Hu Zhuan" records a letter written by Yuwen Hu's mother to him. The content is: "In the past, you were born in Wuchuan Town. The elder brother was a rat, the second one was a rabbit, and you were a snake." This shows that at that time, the twelve zodiac signs were widely used among the people to record people's birth years.
However, in the mid-1970s, that is, in December 1975, thousands of bamboo slips were discovered among the cultural relics unearthed from Qin Tomb No. 11 in Shuihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei. Among them, "Sunrise? Thief" clearly records the use of zodiac signs to predict the appearance and characteristics of thieves. The appearance of this miracle proves that the twelve zodiac animals were used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because Qin Tomb No. 11 was buried in the 30th year of the First Emperor, that is, 217 BC, according to research. Some people say that our ancestors used zodiac animals to record their years long before Qin Shihuang became emperor, and specifically pointed out that "it began in Xia and spread in Shang and Zhou dynasties." However, how to cite it is probably yet 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 "Poetry of the Twelve Zodiac Signs" written by Shen Jiong:
The traces of rats create dust cases, and the cattle and sheep fall down at dusk.
The tiger roars in the empty valley, and the rabbit moon opens towards the window.
The dragon's shade is green in the distance, and the snakes and willows are lingering nearby.
The orchids are picked from far away, and the sheep are planted in the spring.
The monkey chestnut is shy of the fragrant fruit, and the chicken anvil brings happiness.
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.
The twelve zodiac poems written by Hu Yan, a great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, not only embed the names of the zodiac animals in sequence, but also have one code for each, which is quite interesting. The poem goes:
The mice drink and the rivers never dry up, and the cows and girls find it difficult to meet each other all year round.
Binding tigers in the southern mountains with bare hands, and catching rabbits in the middle of the moon.
Lilong Youzhu often doesn't sleep, and it is quite tiring to add too much to the trouble.
The old horse never had horns, and the sheep sneered when it 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. The "Lilong" in the five sentences is a type of dragon. There is a pearl under its chin, so it is called Lilong. The "sheep" in the eight sentences refers to the ram, and "touching the fan" means that the horns of the sheep touch the fence.
Eleven sentences...>>