Chen (Dragon), Si (Snake), Wu (Horse), Wei (Sheep)
Shen (monkey), You (chicken), Xu (dog), Hai (pig)
Explanation: The order of the characters in front of animals is based on the twelve earthly branches, followed by twelve kinds of animals, called "Zodiac", also called the zodiac. It is a famous traditional culture in ancient China, and its origin is related to animal worship.
According to the Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmeng Shuihudi, Hubei Province and Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu Province, there was a relatively complete zodiac system in the pre-Qin period. The earliest handed down document of China Zodiac is Lun Heng written by Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
With the development of history, it has gradually merged into the concept of folk belief, which is manifested in marriage, life, annual luck and so on. Each zodiac is rich in myths and legends, which forms a conceptual interpretation system and becomes an image philosophy in folk culture, such as the zodiac in marriage, the blessing in temple fairs, the year of birth and so on. In modern times, more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and become a symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.
Extended data source:
The ancestors of primitive society often used some animals, inanimate objects or graphics of natural phenomena as protectors and symbols of their clans, that is, totems. The mixed image of man and beast in Shan Hai Jing is an ancient totem god. The totem of Xia nationality is bear or fish, the totem of Shang nationality is blackbird, and the totem of Zhou nationality is dragon, bird, turtle, dog and tiger.
Zodiac animals are illusory except dragons, and the rest are everywhere in daily life. These animals can be divided into two categories, namely "six animals" (horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs) and "six animals" (rats, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes and monkeys). The former was domesticated by people for economic purposes, while the latter disturbed human life to a certain extent, and ancestors were afraid of it. Therefore, these animals are worshipped as the name symbols of this clan.
Ethnologist Liu Yaohan inferred the origin of the "Zodiac Calendar" from the totem relics of the Yi people. The calendar of the 12 Zodiac of Yi people in western Guangxi and Mao put people and the 12 Zodiac in the same column, which is "the legacy of the original idea of not distinguishing between man and beast in reality". Therefore, the zodiac originated from totem worship in primitive society and became a convincing theory.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zodiac