When did the Chinese zodiac originate

Summary. Dear, glad to answer for you!

Where, when, and who are the zodiac signs have not yet been confirmed by clear historical data. I only know that this is so that people can remember the year and month of their birth, and it is convenient to record the year and month. Since the time of Emperor Shun, China has used the "Ganzhi Chronology" in which the ten symbols of the heavenly stem and the twelve symbols of the earthly branch are combined.

The method of animal dating originated from the nomadic ethnic minorities in the western and northern parts of China in ancient times. The 12 zodiac signs were first found in the world's first collection of poetry, the Book of Songs. "The Book of Poetry, Xiaoya, Car Attack" said:

On an auspicious day, send my horse. "The theory of the 12 zodiac signs should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest, and the 12 zodiac signs have been formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The use of the zodiac has been around since at least the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

When did the Chinese zodiac originate

Dear, glad to answer for you! Where, when, and who are the zodiac signs have not yet been confirmed by clear historical data. I only know that this is so that people can remember the year and month of their birth, and it is convenient to record the year and month.

Since the time of Emperor Shunshu Changfu, China has been using the "Ganzhi Chronology" in which the ten symbols of the heavenly stem and the twelve symbols of the earthly branch are combined. The method of animal dating originally originated from the nomadic ethnic minorities in the west and north of China in ancient times. The 12 zodiac signs were first found in the world's first collection of poetry, the Book of Songs.

The Book of Poetry, Xiaoya, Che Attack" said: "On an auspicious day, I am sent to a horse." "The theory of the 12 zodiac signs should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest, and the 12 zodiac signs have been formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The use of the zodiac has appeared at least since the time of the Xunzhi Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Later, in the mid-70s of the 20th century, thousands of bamboo slips were found in the cultural relics unearthed from the No. 11 Qin tomb of the sleeping tiger in Yunkai, Hubei, and the appearance of this miracle proved that the zodiac was used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because the No. 11 Qin tomb, according to research, it was excavated and buried in the thirtieth year of the first emperor, that is, in 217 BC.

The origin of the zodiac is related to animal worship. According to the Qin Jian noisy cracks 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 as early as the pre-Qin period. The earliest hand-me-down document that records the same zodiac signs as today is Wang Chong's "On Balance" in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

1. The stars say: The zodiac Wu Tai.

The ancients divided the stars near the ecliptic and equator into "28 nakshatras". The 28 Nakshatras also represent one animal each. In ancient times, the week and heaven were divided into twelve parts, which were represented by twelve branches, and the twelve rulers belonged to the zodiac, and there was a correspondence between the zodiac and the twenty-eight constellations.

2, the year star said the zodiac: Fang Xiongchu.

Jupiter orbits one day of the twelve-year, and the annual branch order can be determined from Jupiter's position. The rise and fall of plants and the existence of a cycle of animal living environment, so it is presumed that the rise and fall of animals is related to the year of Jupiter, and the ten liters are chaotic and the two zodiac signs and the twelve stars are unified.

3. Totem says: Zodiac ceramics.

The ancestors of primitive societies often used the pattern of a certain animal, inanimate or natural phenomenon as the protector god and symbol of the Yuannaben clan, that is, the totem.

4. Outside: the white marble sculpture of the zodiac.

Guo Moruo believes that the 12 zodiac signs originated from the 12 zodiac signs of Babylon, and the countries of the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty imitated the 12 zodiac signs.

Categories: Culture Art >> Folklore.

Analysis: The 12 zodiac signs are rats, oxes, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, roosters, dogs, and pigs, which are distributed in turn to the twelve earthly branches of Tongzheng. When did this custom come about?

Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty believes in the "Yu Yu Series" that it began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. His basis is: "On Balance and Potential" contains:

Yin, wood also, its fowl, tiger also. 戌, soil also, its fowl, dogs also. ......Noon, Ma also.

Sub, rat knife. Unitary, chicken too. Mao, rabbit also.

Hai, pig also. No, sheep too. Ugly, cow too.

Si, snakes too. Shen, monkey also. "In the case of the spine chakra, there are only eleven zodiac signs, and the one missing is the dragon.

The book "Words and Poisons" also said: "Chen is a dragon, Si is a snake, and the position of Chen and Si is in the southeast." In this way, the 12 zodiac signs of cherry fiber are complete, and the 12 earthly branches and the 12 zodiac signs are so complete and the same as today.

Zhao Yi's views have been accepted by people for quite a long time!

However, at the end of 1975, the Qin Tomb at No. 11 Sleeping Tiger Land in Yunmeng, Hubei Province unearthed 1200 bamboo simple books, among which there is a chapter entitled "The Thief" in the A book known as the "Book of Days", which is about divination of the physical characteristics of the thief, etc., which mentions the 12 zodiac signs. Such as "the son, the rat also, the thief to the mouth of the .......""Ugly, cow also, thief with a big nose and a long neck......And so on. The twelve earthly branches mentioned in the text of "The Thief" are roughly similar to the statements since the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Treatise on Balance".

According to research, Sleeping Tiger Land No. 11 tomb was buried in the 3rd year of Qin Shi Huang (217 BC); The content of the Book of Days can be traced back to the states of Chu and Qin during the Warring States period, so the customs of the zodiac signs existed around the time of the Warring States period. This is more than 300 years earlier than the saying "originated from the Eastern Han Dynasty".

The zodiac originated from the Eastern Han Dynasty philosopher Wang Chong.

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.

The folk tale says: Shi La.

Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals as palace guards, and the cat asked the mouse to sign up, but the mouse forgot, and the cat looked for revenge when he saw the mouse. Originally, the cow was the leader, and the rat secretly climbed on the back of the cow to take the lead. The tiger and the dragon were not convinced, and were named the gods of the mountains and the sea, ranking behind the ox.

The rabbit is not convinced, and wants to race against the dragon to lift the nuclear attack, and the rabbit runs in front of the dragon. The dog was not happy, and in a fit of rage, he bit the rabbit and was punished first-to-last. There was also a battle between snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, and chickens, and finally the pigs came to occupy the last seat.

The legend also explains why there are no cats in the zodiac. In fact, there were no cats in ancient China, and the zodiac had already been formed when domestic cats were introduced to China.