Rat——Rat charm
Ugly Ox——Ox patient
Tiger——Tiger sensitive
Rabbit—— Rabbit articulate
Chen Long——Dragon healthy
Si Snake——Snake deep
Wuma——Horse popular
Weiyang ——Goat elegant
Shenhou——Monkey clever
酉鸡——Rooster deep thinkers
戌狗——Dog loyalty
Hai Pig——Pig chivalrous expanded information
The zodiac, also known as the zodiac sign or the twelve-year animal, uses twelve animals to represent the year, called the twelve zodiac animals. Each culture has different animals, among which The Chinese characters are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. They match the twelve earthly branches (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) in turn, forming Zi Rat, Chou Ox, Yin Tiger, Mao Rabbit, Chen Dragon, and Si. Snake, Wu horse, Wei sheep, Shen monkey, You rooster, Xu dog, Hai pig.
In addition to using the zodiac to mark the year, China also uses the corresponding twelve branches to mark the month, day, and hour (hour). The twelve zodiac signs (calendar of animals) are also widely popular among various ethnic groups in Asia and some countries in Eastern Europe and North Africa.
Although the ancient Chinese calendar has different ways of using Jianzi (the month of the winter solstice), Jianchou (the month after the winter solstice), and Jianyin (two months after the winter solstice) as the month of the New Year, all calendars use the new moon, That is to say, the day when the moon cannot be seen (the first day of the first lunar month) is the beginning of the month and the beginning of the year. The emperor has the right to "Zhengshuo", that is, to set the first day of the first lunar month as the beginning of the year.
There are different opinions on the origin of the Chinese zodiac. Some people think that the "Jia Zi" in the "Historical Records" in which the Yellow Emperor "builds Jiazi to predict longevity" and "Da Nao makes Jiazi" refers to the twelve zodiac animals.
Qing Dynasty scholar Zhao Yi believed that the zodiac originated from the nomadic people in northern China. "Yu Cong Kao" contains: "In the early days of Northern customs, there was no such thing as the twelve days of Zi Chou Yin, but the rat, ox, tiger and rabbit This kind of music was spread in China during the age of the chronology, and then it was passed down to China."
Guo Moruo believed that it was introduced to China from ancient Babylon. Guo Moruo pointed out in his book "Research on Oracle Bone Inscriptions: Shi Zhigan": "The twelve portraits are found in Babylon, Egypt, and India, but they are not very ancient, and none date from more than a hundred years after the Western Era. This means that this is the beginning During the Han Dynasty, the countries in the Western Regions imitated the Twelve Palaces of Babylon and formulated them, and then spread them to the surrounding areas.
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Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Zodiac