Some folklorists believe that China lacks a clear definition of the zodiac sheep in history, so both sheep and goats can be regarded as the representatives of the zodiac sheep. However, because goats are widely raised in the Han cultural circle, the zodiac sheep may appear more as goats. Huang Yang, a professor at the Party School of Nantong Municipal Committee who once said that "the Chinese nation is the offspring of sheep", told the reporter: It is not easy to determine what kind of sheep the zodiac sheep was originally, because early China people did not deliberately distinguish between sheep and goats.
Huang Yang, who has studied sheep culture in China, said that the images of sheep and goats appeared in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, indicating that the Chinese nation has a deep relationship with these two kinds of sheep. "However, if we infer from the fact that the zodiac is the traditional culture of the Han nationality, goats may be the majority of the zodiac sheep, because goats are raised in a wider range in the Han nationality area," Huang Yang told reporters.
Sheep with fluffy and thick wool are common livestock in the grasslands of northern China, and rams have large spiral angles. Goats' footprints are all over China, especially in mountainous areas. Their characteristics include "beard" under the chin and slightly curved horns.
The image of a goat does often appear in China's Zodiac stamps and paper-cut New Year pictures. Although the whereabouts of the sheep head among the twelve animal heads in Yuanmingyuan are unknown, it is also the image of the sheep that is copied according to historical materials in modern times.
Fang Binggui, a folklorist, believes that the image of the zodiac sheep is regional: "All localities take the local common sheep as the image of the zodiac. In general, sheep are dominant in the north and goats are dominant in the south. " He told reporters.
For ordinary people in China who are preparing for the New Year of the Year of the Sheep, it makes no difference whether the zodiac sheep is a sheep or a sheep. "I never thought that the Year of the Sheep should be a sheep or a goat. I see more goats in the zodiac, but I prefer to buy sheep-shaped mascots because they are cuter. "