The 12 better zodiac signs of the Chinese zodiac
Editor’s note: Say goodbye to the Year of the Rat and welcome the Year of the Ox. In traditional Chinese culture, the zodiac culture can be described as unique. Where did the zodiac culture come from? What is the basis for determining the arrangement of the twelve zodiac signs? Jiang Wei, a member of the Chinese Artists Association, has devoted himself to the creation of paintings of zodiac animals in recent years, displaying them together with landscapes, flowers, birds, and vegetation, striving to inherit the Shanghai style while exploring the humanistic connotations behind using animals in paintings. The following is his speech at the Shanghai Library.
The twelve zodiac culture is a precious legacy left to us by the ancients, and it is also one of the more distinctive cultures. It is still used today because of its popularity and interest. As a Chinese, one of the gifts that comes to this world is the zodiac sign. The zodiac culture has a long history, is extensive and profound, and is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. In recent years, there have been more and more creations about the zodiac. I am mainly dedicated to the creation of paintings of zodiac animals, displaying them together with landscapes, flowers, birds, and vegetation. I strive to inherit the Shanghai style while exploring the humanistic connotation behind using animals in paintings. In today’s speech, I will talk to you about zodiac culture.
The origin of zodiac culture
The twelve zodiac animals are used to calculate age in our country. Everyone should know more or less about the zodiac culture. The zodiac culture has been circulating for a long time, but there are various things surrounding it, and many times there is no consensus. So, let me first talk about the origin of zodiac culture.
The "生" of the zodiac sign refers to the "birthday", and "Xiao" means "image". A large amount of literature shows that the twelve zodiac signs originated in China, germinated and formed in the Pre-Qin period, and were established in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The zodiac culture originally originated from the animal worship and totem worship of the ancestors, and was also the crystallization of early astronomy. Today, we can still see many animal patterns on some rock paintings that have been handed down, which can even be traced back to the traditional prehistoric era. At that time, these patterns were mainly totems, or symbolic illustrations, and had not yet risen to the level of theory.
The theory of zodiac signs was first seen in the Book of Songs, a collection of poems in China. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, zodiac signs had been widely used. Shen Jiong, a poet in the Liang-Chen period of the Southern Dynasties, once wrote "Poem of the Twelve Genus": Rat traces create dust cases, and cattle and sheep come down at dusk. The tiger roars in the empty valley, and the rabbit moon opens towards the window. The dragon is far away and green, and the snake and willow are lingering nearby. Malan is picked far away, and sheep are planted in spring. The monkey chestnut is shy of its fragrant fruit, and the chicken's soles lead to a clear cup. The dog has nothing in his arms, and the pig is carefree. 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.
Hu Yan, a talented scholar of the Ming Dynasty, also wrote a poem: "The mice drink from the river and the river will not dry up, and the cow and the girl find it difficult to see each other all the time. With bare hands, the tiger is bound in the southern mountains, and the sky is full of rabbits in the middle of the moon. Lilong There are pearls and I often don't sleep. How can the old horse have horns? The sheep sneeze when they touch the vassal. Don't laugh at the people of Chu. I wish the chickens were empty from the old forest and Qiu. The dogs are slaughtered in Peizhong City, and the pigs are released to the east of the sea in Pingjin. "The "mouse" in the first couplet of the poem refers to the water rat, and the "cow girl" refers to the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The "Li Long" in the third couplet is a type of dragon. There is a pearl under its chin, so it is called "Li Zhu". The "sheep" mentioned in the fourth couplet refers to the ram, and "touching the fence" refers to the sheep hitting the fence with its horns. The "wishing chicken" mentioned in the fifth couplet refers to calling the chicken. One sentence in the sixth couplet refers to the famous general Fan Kuai, who was named Wuyang Marquis by Han Emperor Gaozu. He once made a living by killing dogs in Peixian County, Jiangsu Province. The last sentence refers to Gongsun Hong, the prime minister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. This prime minister once let pigs off in the East China Sea. Hu Yan uses historical allusions to write the twelve zodiac signs, which is very interesting.
Related to the zodiac culture is the ancient Chinese calendar of heavenly stems and earthly branches. The heavenly stems and earthly branches, referred to as stems and branches, originate from the observation of celestial phenomena in ancient China. After evolution, it was simplified into today's ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches. The ten heavenly stems refer to "A, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui", and the twelve earthly branches refer to "Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai". The ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches match each other in turn to form sixty basic units. The two cooperate with each other in a fixed order to form the stem and branch method. Take one word for each of the two numbers "Stem" and "Branch" and match them one by one. From "Jiazi" to "Guihai", the sixty-year cycle completes the sequence of stems and branches, which is called "Huajia". From the last Jiazi to the next Jiazi, it is exactly 60 years. In ancient times when average life expectancy was relatively low, this was almost a long life. Furthermore, people assigned twelve animals to the twelve lands and used them as codes for the relevant chronological order, making them more vivid and conducive to memory and calculation. This is how the "Twelve Zodiac Signs" were formed.
In addition to using "stems and branches" to mark the year, ancient China also used them to mark the month, day, and time. Since the number of days in each month is exactly in decimal, and a year is exactly twelve months, "stems" are used to record the days, and "zhi" are used to record the months. The "twelve earthly branches" are used to record the time, and one day and night are divided into twelve. Hours, each hour is equal to two hours in modern time. Now when we watch costume TV dramas, we will find that ancient people often talked about "hour" for this reason.
There are also zodiac culture, five elements, eight trigrams, etc. For example, Zi (rat) belongs to the north; Hai (pig) belongs to the north. Yin (tiger) belongs to the yang wood, the east; Mao (rabbit) belongs to the yin wood, the east. Chou (ox), Wei (sheep) belong to Yin earth, etc.
The origin of zodiac culture is almost as old as the origin of Chinese civilization. It is an important cultural factor that makes up Chinese civilization. It includes the birth of the ancient calendar and the emergence of the Five Elements philosophy that has a profound impact on Chinese culture. Contained in it. In addition, the hidden meanings of the zodiac also contain the rich cultural and psychological connotations of the Chinese people, which can be seen from the hidden meanings given to the twelve zodiac animals: the rat represents wisdom, the ox represents diligence, the tiger represents, the rabbit represents prudence, and the dragon represents firmness. , the snake represents flexibility, the horse represents courage, the sheep represents gentleness, the monkey represents flexibility, the chicken crows regularly represents stability, the dog represents loyalty, and the pig represents easy-going.
◇Jiang Wei’s painting: "Twelve Elegant Collection"
What is the significance of the ordering of the twelve zodiac signs
The above is briefly summarized Let’s talk about the origin of zodiac culture. Next, I want to talk to you about the arrangement of zodiac animals. As I said before, the twelve zodiac animals are the twelve animals that match the twelve earthly branches in the year of a person's birth, including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. Some may ask, why are the twelve zodiac signs arranged in the order we see now? What's the point here?
The principle of matching the twelve animals and the twelve earthly branches is another difficult problem in analyzing the Chinese "Twelve Zodiac Signs". Since ancient times, there have been many researchers, but the conclusions are quite different. Here, I only list a few representative statements.
Hong Xun, a scholar from the Song Dynasty in China, is a representative figure of the "odd and even theory". He believes that the arrangement of the "Twelve Zodiac Signs" is related to the philosophy of the "Book of Changes". Its days are: "Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Shu, all Yang (Yang refers to the yang earthly branch). Therefore, the odd numbers that belong to each other are chosen. When writing names, rats, tigers, dragons, monkeys, and dogs all have five fingers, while horses have one hoof; Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You, and Hai are all yin (earthly branches), so the even numbers are chosen, such as cattle, sheep, and chickens. Pigs have four claws, rabbits have two claws, and snakes have two tongues." This means that the twelve zodiac signs are formed by matching the odd and even numbers of the toes of twelve animals with the earthly branches.
Ye Shijie of the Ming Dynasty tried to explain the reason for his selection by using the "insufficient shape" of the "twelve zodiac" animals. He believes that "Magicians use twelve zodiac signs to match the twelve zodiac signs. Each sign has its own shortcomings. For example, a rat has no teeth, an ox has no teeth, a tiger has no spleen, a rabbit has no lips, a dragon has no ears, a snake has no legs, and a horse has no legs. Without guts, sheep without pupils, monkeys without buttocks, chickens without kidneys, dogs without stomachs, pigs without tendons, humans have no deficiencies.” Another scholar of his generation, Li Xu, believed that the order of the twelve zodiac signs was related to the order of the twenty-eight constellations in the sky. The twenty-eight constellations are distributed around the sky to correspond to the twelve o'clock. There are two constellations at each hour, three constellations of Zi, Mao, Wu and You. Each constellation has its own image. The animals represented by the twenty-eight constellations are arranged in order in the sky, rotating from north to east, to south, and to west.
The above statements all have their own truths. Perhaps taken together, it is a more complete explanation. Another question people often ask about the arrangement of the twelve zodiac animals is: Why is the rat at the top of the zodiac list? There are many stories about this, but in fact this arrangement is very particular.
The twelve zodiac signs we usually talk about consist of one sign and one relaxation, one yin and one yang, one movement and one stillness, and the principle of odd and even complementarity. According to Hong Xun, most of the animals in the Chinese zodiac, whether bipedal or four-legged, have the same number of toes on the front and rear. head". This means that the mouse has 4 toes on each of its front two feet and 5 toes on its back two feet. Among the twelve zodiac animals, it is the only one with this kind of toe, which can be said to be unique. This characteristic of mice is said to be combined. Coincidentally, Lang Ying, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, also said in "Seven Revised Catalogues" that the rat's front feet have four claws, and the even numbers are yin, and the hind feet have five claws, and the odd numbers are yang. The first half of the child's hour is the yin of the night before, and the second half is the yang of the day. The rat is used to symbolize the child. Liu Xianyan's "Guangyang Miscellaneous Notes" of the Qing Dynasty quoted Qing's "Songxiaguan Additional Statement": Why is the child born in the year of the rat? Said: Heaven is opened in Zi, and if it is not consumed, its Qi will not be opened. Rats are also insects. So the night is not yet dark, and it is the time when the rat is ordered, so the son is a rat. It's night at midnight and it's still dark, which is when rats come out. It can be seen that the rat ranks first in the zodiac and is related to the heavenly stems, earthly branches and five elements.
So, why is the cow ranked second? In addition, the more well-founded statements are as follows. One saying is that "the sky opens when a rat bites it." After the sky opens, the earth must be created, and "the earth is created by ugliness." Oxen plowing fields should be the things that open up the land, so ugliness belongs to the ox. There is another theory based on the "odd and even theory". The cow has four toes (even), ranking after the rat and before the tiger. Some people may want to ask, rabbits, sheep, etc. also have four toes, why are the steaks in front? This may have a lot to do with the importance of cattle in ancient working life. There are also many poems about cows, such as Li Bai's "The flowers are warm and the green cows lie down, and the pines are high and the white cranes sleep", and Zhang Ji's "When there are many cows walking around in the grass, the calves sing in the reeds when they are white." There are even more poems inspired by the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, such as Du Mu's "The sky is as cold as water at night, I lie down and watch the Altair and the Vega Star." Of course, the cow here is no longer the cow in daily life, but it also shows that the word "cow" being widely used. Mr. Lu Xun's saying, "A cold brow to a thousand fingers, a bowed head willing to be a coward" has become a motto for many people and a symbol of our virtue and spirit of constant self-improvement.
Several years ago, some good people in the Internet suggested that the twelve zodiac signs should be changed - from the derogatory "rat, snake, chicken, and pig" to the more auspicious "lion, fish, and phoenix". , Crane" takes up his post.
At that time, some media criticized it as absurd. The twelve zodiac signs are composed of twelve earthly branches and twelve animals, which contain profound traditional cultural heritage. If we only talk about the zodiac without culture, it can only be reduced to a joke.
The traditional themes of zodiac culture have been given new vitality
Above, I briefly sorted out the zodiac culture. Of course, these are rough and can only provide an overview. Next, I want to focus on the Shanghai zodiac culture. Because I am a painter, I mainly talk about Shanghai-style zodiac culture from the perspective of painting.
What is Shanghai zodiac culture? As the name suggests, it is the zodiac culture that embodies the characteristics of Shanghai style. Because the zodiac culture has a long history, it has been combined with local culture during the long development process, thus reflecting different regional characteristics. Of course, "Shanghai Style" is not limited to Shanghai, but originated and developed from Shanghai. Therefore, the main characteristics of Shanghai, such as its openness to all rivers, grandeur and humility, are concentratedly reflected in "Shanghai Style". When we say "Shanghai style" painting, we cannot simply understand it as something belonging to Shanghainese people, but rather a place where multiple elements collide, develop and form unique style characteristics.
The huge influence of Shanghai-style zodiac culture has been affecting modern and contemporary times. There are many painters engaged in this kind of creation, and many outstanding artistic works of zodiac culture have been produced. Such as: Chen Laolian, Ren Xun, Ren Xiong, Ren Bonian, Ren Yu (four of the Ming and Qing dynasties), Xu Gu, Hu Gongshou, Zhang Zixiang, Zhang Yuguang, Zhang Daqian, Zhang Shanju, Xu Beihong, Cheng Zhang, Jiang Handing, Ge Xianglan , Liu Danzhai, Cheng Shifa, Zhu Wenhou, Xiong Songquan, Wu Shougu, etc. Listed here are mainly painters who are engaged in the creation of twelve zodiac animals.
From a painting perspective, Shanghai-style zodiac cultural types are basically divided into three categories. One is the traditional type. It is mainly passed down from teachers to students and follows the route of the traditional Chinese painting school. The second is the homologous type. For example, calligraphy and painting have the same origin. Some people use calligraphy to paint and paint in their calligraphy works. The third is a combination of Chinese and Western styles. The upcoming culture will be combined with Chinese traditional culture. These three types are reflected in zodiac cultural paintings. For example, Cheng Zhang, who created "Six Squirrels", is an innovative painter. At that time, the painting world was dominated by the painting styles of the Four Kings of Wu Clan. Everyone stuck to the rules and did not dare to go beyond the boundaries. Cheng Zhang used painting techniques, innovated painting methods, combined with sketching, and created a new look outside the popular painting schools. He is unique in the modern painting world.
Someone once asked me why I like to create zodiac paintings? In my opinion, animals are friends of human beings. Whether it is a tiger hesitating in the moonlit night in the cold forest and snowfield, or a pair of mice whispering in the spring stream when the winter snow first melts, they are integrated into nature and have a close-up The style of composition cannot replace the interest. This kind of artistic thinking may be due to nostalgia for the quiet scenery of mountains, forests and ravines, with birds singing and the fragrance of flowers, and it also expresses the emotion of being close to animals. Therefore, I regard creating each zodiac painting as a pleasure. In painting, I organically absorbed elements of Western painting and integrated the essence of Shanghai style. Don't seek clever decorations, but seek truth and interest. Birds and beasts are also charming.
In today's prosperous age, the traditional themes of zodiac culture have been given new vitality, and higher requirements have been put forward for painters. When creating zodiac paintings, you must not understand the zodiac culture. For a painter, his brushwork must have a provenance and be able to withstand chewing. Many seniors are examples of rigorous artistic practice. For example, Xu Beihong worked hard to paint horses. It seems like there are only a few strokes, but his skills, his interests, and his artistic summary are all there. Why is Chinese painting difficult to learn? Because it is comprehensive and polished through long-term accumulation, it is difficult to "short-term and fast".
In my opinion, any work must start from the shaping of the theme, absorb elements from the ancient Chinese cultural treasure house, and strengthen the awareness of self-shaping. Painting relies on technology, but it is also an art that requires the realization of ideals in order and style. Therefore, when it comes to creation, one must have a rigorous attitude and not be tempted to try to please others. Appreciating his paintings is like tasting fine wine, which is of lasting interest; it is also like drinking tea, which is full of fragrance and endless aftertaste.
Today, zodiac culture is shining in many fields. Zodiac gold bars, zodiac gold coins and zodiac commemorative coins are highly sought after in the market. For example, the "Chinese Commemorative Coin" adopts the traditional technique of portrait stone in the Han Dynasty, and integrates line carving and volume shaping to show the characteristics of Chinese sculpture art. For another example, the "Twelve Zodiac Series Commemorative Coins" adopt the designs of famous paintings by Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong and others, and reproduce these unique styles through relief carvings, which have high artistic appreciation value. In addition, zodiac design has never been a high-end artistic creation, but has been increasingly integrated into the design of products in daily life, from nail clippers, tea cups, small electric fans, coin purses, lighters, to tea spoons, knife holders, kettles, etc. Many items in life have added value by incorporating zodiac elements. Chinese zodiac culture has also attracted the attention of foreign designers. An American toy designer designed a zodiac doll, which was very popular. In the minds of many foreigners, zodiac culture is an indispensable and important element of the "Chinese Year".
The zodiac culture that originated in China has penetrated deeply into our civilization and has penetrated into the life memories and habits of hundreds of millions of people. It has also penetrated into all aspects of production and consumption on which people rely for survival. It penetrates into the important life processes of birth, old age, illness, death, weddings and funerals. In this sense, the zodiac culture is the root of traditional civilization growing in Chinese soil and the blood of civilization flowing in our bodies.
(Compiled by: Wang Zhen)
Biography of the Thinker
Jiang Wei, member of the Chinese Artists Association, Chinese calligrapher and painter Director of the association, member of Shanghai Artists Association, distinguished painter of Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Academy, executive director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Calligraphy and Painting Art Research Institute. In recent years, he has devoted himself to the creation of zodiac animals. (Photo provided by Shanghai Library)
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(This article only represents my personal opinion. Column email: shhgcsxh@163.com)
Column Editor: Wang Zhen Text Editor: Wang Zhen Title: Visual China Picture Editor: Cao Liyuan< /p>
Pictures in the text: Provided
: : Jiang Wei
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