What is the origin of each animal in the 12 zodiac signs?

There is a tradition of 12 zodiac signs in the Chinese calendar. Regarding the origin of the 12 zodiac signs, there is a saying that the selection and arrangement of the 12 zodiac signs are determined according to the daily activity time of the animals.

Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, China has used the twelve earthly branches to record the twelve hours of the day, each hour is equivalent to two hours, and the night is from eleven o'clock to one o'clock in the morning, when the rats are most active. From one to three o'clock in the morning, when it is ugly, the cows are ruminating.

12 Zodiac Origin Literature Research

In December 1975, Hubei Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger excavated two batches of Qin Dynasty bamboo slips, which related to the content of "thieves":

Son, rat also, thief sharp mouth, rare ,......Ugly, cow also, thieves with big noses and long necks ,......Yin, the tiger also, the thief-like, the hope beard, the face is black. Mao, rabbit also, thief big face.

Chen, a thief man, blue and red ......Si, insects also, thieves are long and black snakes. At noon, the deer is also, the thief has a long neck, and his body is incomplete. ......No, the horse is also, the thief has long bearded ears. Shen, Huan also, the thief round face ......Unitary, water is also ......Huh, the old sheep also ......Hai, pig also. ”

The above content refers to Encyclopedia - Zodiac (Chinese Folk Culture).

Chinese culture is broad and profound, and the study of zodiacs is a literature that has been inherited for thousands of years, and there are a lot of exquisitenesses, so what are the origins of each animal in the 12 zodiac signs?

The origin of each animal in the 12 zodiac signs, in traditional Chinese culture, the twelve zodiac signs are also called the twelve year beasts, and the twelve animals take turns on duty.

The child rat likes to haunt in the dead of night in the middle of the night, so it is called the child rat.

The ugly ox was a coolie in ancient times, and the ox that ploughed the field withered and held the work when it was ugly.

Yinhu, the king of beasts, haunts and preys when Yin, so it is called Yinhu.

Mao rabbit, when Mao goes out to forage, it is called Mao rabbit.

Chenlong, Chenshi is the time when the fog rises, and the dragon is the thing that soars the clouds and drives the fog.

The snake likes warm sunlight and often haunts at the middle of the day.

The noon horse, noon is the time when the sun is shining, which is in line with its strong personality.

Not sheep, but for the sun to sink in the west to hide the sheep.

Shen monkey, Shen Shi is after sunset, monkeys like to haunt, so as to be Shen monkey.

The rooster is after dark, and it is when the rooster returns to the cage.

The dog is in the dead of night, and the dog has not yet rested.

Hai pig, Hai time is the time when the pig sleeps fragrantly.

The 12 zodiac signs are composed of 12 animals that originate from nature, namely the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig and the legendary Dragon.

The 12 zodiac signs are the figurative representatives 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.

Extended information: Many historical documents in China have not officially explained the reason for the ordering of the 12 zodiac signs, but there are different theories among the people.

The most widely influential is that the selection and arrangement of the 12 zodiac signs are based on the correspondence between animal habits and the time. In ancient times, the twelve hours of a day were recorded with twelve earthly branches, that is, Zichou Yin Mao Chen Si Wu Wei Shen Youxu Hai. Between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., rats are found to be most active; Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., when the cow is regurgitating; Between 3 and 5 o'clock, the tiger begins to roam around in search of food, and ...... most ferociousAt the same time, the earthly branch matches the celestial stem, which was used in the old days to indicate the order of the years.

Therefore, the twelve earthly branches correspond to rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, and pigs.

In ancient times, people didn't have a clock to know the time. Therefore, in ancient times, people divided the time of the day into 12 hours, and named the 12 hours with the 12 zodiac signs. One hour is equal to two hours now.

So how did the zodiac sign come about? I heard that a long, long time ago, people had to choose 12 animals as their zodiac signs. So I went to the forest where the animals lived, and issued a notice:

Animals, we humans have to choose twelve small animals as the zodiac. In this way, not only do we have a zodiac sign every year, but we can also have a zodiac name for each hour. On the day of the election, the twelve animals that arrive first become the zodiac signs.

The animals were very happy and wanted to be elected.

On the day of the race, the animals set off. As the rat ran, he saw the ox ahead of him. The rat couldn't catch up with him no matter how much he chased him, so he shouted:

Brother Niu, you must be tired! How about I sit on your head and sing to you? The ox did not agree at first, but the mouse pleaded bitterly behind him, and kept saying good things.

Niu later became impatient, so he had to agree: "Okay, for your sake, I'll do it and listen to you sing." "Yay," the mouse yelled with delight.

And so they set off together.

Towards the end of the line, the cow listened to the rat singing and wondered, is the rat using me? If this continues, the little mouse will tie me for first place. Thinking of this, the cow hurriedly threw the mouse back.

But the little mouse was thrown on top of a bamboo by the ox, and the bamboo flicked the mouse, and the little mouse reached the end of the line. When the cow saw it, he regretted it very much, but he could only finish second. Ten more animals came next, and they were:

Tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig.