Why was the zodiac set and who invented it

According to legend, 12 kinds of animals are used to replace the 12 earthly branches, which represents the 12 moon orders, which is the masterpiece of Dongfang Shuo in the Han Dynasty.

It is clearly recorded that Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote the "Treatise on Balance" in the "Words and Poisons", in which he mentioned the names of twelve animals. The use of the zodiac to calculate the year also began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty also pointed out this historical fact.

As for why the twelve animals were chosen as symbols, it may have been related to totems at the earliest. In ancient times, each tribe chose an animal that was particularly feared or loved and used its pattern as its symbol. Hong Xun of the Song Dynasty "Yanggu Manquan" and Lang Ying of the Ming Dynasty "Seven Repair Manuscripts" have explained this.

In addition, the Buddhist scripture "Daji Sutra" records the story of the 12 zodiac signs taking turns to parade, but there is no tiger but lions, so some people believe that the 12 zodiac signs were introduced to China from ancient India, and the tiger replaced the lion, which may be related to the fact that the Central Plains did not produce lions.

It is also believed that the 12 zodiac signs first appeared in the memorization.

A day and night are twenty-four hours, and ancient astronomers divided day and night into twelve hours. At the same time, when they observe the celestial phenomena, according to the living habits and activities of the twelve animals, determine the twelve zodiac signs - from 11 o'clock in the night to 1 o'clock in the morning of the next day, when the child is the time when the mouse takes advantage of the quiet of the night and moves frequently, it is called "child rat". From 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., it is an ugly time.

Cattle are accustomed to grazing at night, and farmers often get up late at night to feed the cattle with lights, so they are called "ugly cows". From 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., it is the time of the year. At this time, the tiger that walks in the day and night is the most ferocious, and the ancients often hear the tiger roar at this time, so it is called "Yin Tiger".

From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., it is the time of day. As soon as the day dawns, the rabbit comes out of the nest and likes to eat the grass with morning dew, so it is called "Mao Rabbit". From seven to nine o'clock in the morning, the time of the hour.

At this time, it is generally easy to fog, and it is said that the dragon likes to ride the clouds and drive the fog, and it is worth the rising sun in the east, and it is thriving, so it is called "Chenlong". 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The fog dissipated, the sun shone brightly, and the snakes came out of the hole to feed, pretending to be "snakes".

From 11 p.m. to 1 p.m., it is noon. In ancient times, wild horses were not tamed by humans, and whenever they ran around at noon, they ran around and neighed, so they were called "afternoon horses". From 1 to 3 o'clock in the afternoon, it is not the hour.

In some places, this time is called "sheep out of the slope", which means a good time to herd sheep, so it is called "not sheep". From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., it is the time of application. The sun is in the west, and the monkey likes to cry at this time, so it is called "Shen Monkey".

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is unitary time. The sun sets, and the chickens spin in front of the nest, so they are called "roosters". From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., it's midnight.

After a day's labor, the bolt is ready to rest. The dog lies in front of the door to guard, and when there is movement, it barks, so it is "the dog". From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., it's the middle of the night.

In the dead of night, you can hear the sound of the pig arching groove, so it is called "Hai pig".

In this way, the time of the day and the animals are arranged together: rats, ugly cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, roosters, dogs, pigs. Later, people used this chronology method to chronicle the year, and the zodiac signs appeared.

The origin of the zodiac is related to animal worship. According to the Qin Jane unearthed in Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Land in Hubei Province and Fangmatan in Tianshui in Gansu Province, it can be seen that there was a relatively complete zodiac system in the pre-Qin period. The earliest hand-me-down document that records the same 12 zodiac signs as in modern times is Wang Chong's "On Balance" in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The zodiac is a visual representation of the twelve earthly branches, namely Zi (Rat), Chou (Ox), Yin (Tiger), Mao (Rabbit), Chen (Dragon), Si (Snake), Wu (Horse), Wei (Sheep), Shen (Monkey), You (Rooster), 戌 (Dog), Hai (Pig), with the development of history gradually integrated into the concept of folk beliefs, manifested in marriage, life, New Year, etc., each zodiac has a rich legend, and in order to form a concept interpretation system, become the image philosophy of folk culture, such as the marriage of the genus, Temple fairs, prayers, natal years, etc. In modern times, more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and become a symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.