What is the origin of the zodiac? Why is there a saying about the zodiac?

Is "zodiac" domestic? How did the sorting come about? And not like the legend.

The legend and origin of the zodiac, why there are no cats in the zodiac.

The Chinese zodiac is an important cultural symbol in traditional Chinese folk culture, which originated from the legend of the pre-Qin period. It is said that in the ancient ritual of removing charms, the 12 animals of lions, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, and rats were regarded as meaningful symbols because of their flexibility, bravery, hard work, intelligence, and cuteness, and corresponded to the 12 months of the year, thus forming the concept of the 12 zodiac signs. In traditional Chinese culture, the 12 zodiac signs are also used as ** and Ganzhi years.

Each animal represents a year, which rotates in cycles and is called the "Twelve Earthly Branches". It is believed that the zodiac sign is associated with the year of birth of a person, and each zodiac sign has its own characteristics and pursuits, becoming a way for people to learn about themselves and others.

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.

The zodiac is the 12 zodiac signs corresponding to the year of birth, which is composed of 12 animals and 12 earthly branches. When does it start? Why use the zodiac signs to match the earthly branch?

Looking at ancient documents and archaeological discoveries, historians hold three theories on the origin of the zodiac.

The first theory is that under the influence of totem worship in primitive society, the Chinese people created the twelve genera with the names of some animals and the abstract twelve earthly branches.

The second theory is that before the Han Dynasty, the Chinese people in the Central Plains of China only had 12 local branch chronology, while the nomadic ethnic minorities in the north and west used animal dating for a long time. After the Xiongnu returned to the Han Dynasty, the national culture was integrated, and the Heng Shi produced twelve genera.

The third theory is that the 12 zodiac signs of China came from India. Among the current signs, only the third and the tenth are different from the third one, India is the lion and China is the tiger; The tenth genus is the goldfinch in India and the rooster in China. The rest are all the same, and the sorting is the same.

There is no unified conclusion as to which statement is true or negative. Although we have always used this method of chronology, the 12 zodiac signs have not yet been deciphered.

What is the origin of the 12 zodiac signs? It is recorded in ancient Chinese books that in the Central Plains in ancient China, the "Ganzhi Chronology Method" was originally used, that is, 10 heavenly stem symbols (A, B, C, D, E, G, G, XIN, NON, and 癸) and 12 earthly branch symbols (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) were used to match the year. A small number of nomadic peoples in the northwest of our country use animals to keep their dates.

The Book of Tang records that "the country of Huangjia is chronicled by twelve things, and if the year is in Yin, it is called the Year of the Tiger." In addition, it is also recorded in the "History of the Song Dynasty: The Biography of Tubo" that when the Tubo leaders narrated, they used things to record the year, and the so-called "old things of the Tao are counted as twelve days, the Year of the Rabbit, and the Year of the Horse".

Later, in the exchanges between the Central Plains and ethnic minorities, the two chronological methods touched each other to form the current 12 zodiac signs. Just as Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in the "Examination of the Yu Cong", "At the beginning of the Gaibei customs, it didn't matter if the son was ugly and ugly, but when the age was divided into years like rats, cows, tigers, and rabbits, it was soaked and spread in China, and it was not wasted." This explanation of the origin of the 12 zodiac signs, the zodiac chart (12 photos) has been recognized by many. In addition, there is a saying about the origin of the 12 zodiac signs: Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manlu" said that the odd number of the 12 earthly branches, the fingers or hooves of the animal are also matched with the odd number, such as the son is in the first place, and the rat that matches it is 5 fingers, and the even number of the earthly branch is taken as the name, such as the ox and the ugly match, for 4 claws.

Ye Shijie explained the origin of the 12 zodiac signs in "Grass and Muzi" as: the artist uses 12 Xiao with 12 Chen, and each Xiao has its own deficient shape, such as the mouse has no teeth, the cow has no teeth, the tiger has no spleen, the rabbit has no lips, the dragon has no ears, the snake has no feet, the horse has no guts, the sheep has no pupils, the monkey has no buttocks, the chicken has no kidneys, the dog has no stomach, the pig has no tendons, and the human has no deficiency. There are many other theories.

For example, the Yellow Emperor wants to select 12 kinds of animals to be on duty in the sky on time......Through the competition, 12 animals such as rats, cows, and tigers were selected; 12 Zodiac Signs** The totem worship of some clans in primitive societies is divided according to the strength of each tribe at a certain assembly; The 12 zodiac signs may have been introduced from Tianzhu; or 28 nakshatras distributed throughout the week, worth 12 hours. Each nakshatra is named after an animal.

Pick a common one from the animals on duty at each hour to pronoun a particular year, and so on. Although people are not sure of the exact origin of the 12 zodiac signs, because of its popularity, convenience and fun, it has been used to this day, and has become a valuable heritage left to us by the ancients that still has practical value.