How did the 12 zodiac signs come about? What are the 12 zodiac signs?

Another theory is that the selection and arrangement of the zodiac signs is determined according to the time of activity of the animal every day. Since the Han Dynasty at the latest, 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 11 o'clock to 1 a.m., when the rats are most active. From one to three o'clock in the morning, when it is ugly, the cows are ruminating.

From three o'clock to five o'clock, it is the time of yin, when the tigers roam around in search of food, and they are the most ferocious. From five o'clock to seven o'clock, the sun has not yet risen, the moon is still hanging in the sky, and the jade rabbit is busy pounding medicine at this time. From 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., it is a good time for the dragon to rain.

From nine to eleven o'clock, the serpent began to come alive. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the sun is in full swing, and it is noon, which is the time when the imagination is in full swing. From one o'clock to three o'clock in the afternoon, it is the end of the day, when the sheep graze and grow stronger.

From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the monkeys come alive. From five o'clock to seven o'clock, it is unitary time, and night falls, and the chickens begin to return to their nests. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the dogs began their vigil.

From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., when everything was silent, the pigs were snoring.

There are also various legends about the arrangement of the zodiac, such stories, or jokes that seem to be happy and relieve boredom, or fables that depreciate evil and promote good, have a strong literary component. However, the arrangement of the zodiac seats is by no means overnight, nor is it completed by one generation. At first, it was not necessarily a nomination of twelve at a time, maybe only four or five, maybe there was an excess situation, and then the survival of the fittest, the quota and positioning, has been passed down to this day.

The poultry are: cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, and pigs.

The beasts are: rat, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, and monkey.

The 12 zodiac signs are the figurative representations of the 12 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).

Rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs.

The 12 zodiac signs, also known as the zodiac, are the 12 animals in China that match the 12 earthly branches with the year of birth.

The zodiac (animal calendar) is also widely prevalent among the peoples of Asia and some countries in Eastern Europe and North Africa. There are many poets who write poems depicting the 12 zodiac signs. At the same time, the Chinese zodiac is also used in Chinese herbal medicines, cartoons and the name of Jackie Chan's movie, see the movie "Zodiac" for details.

The zodiac, also known as the zodiac, is a Chinese folk method of calculating age, and it is also a very ancient chronological method. Now it has gradually evolved into a custom of the Chinese. It is a name used by some ethnic groups in China and East Asia to represent the year and the era in which people were born. The cycle of the zodiac is 12 years.

The 12 zodiac signs, also known as the zodiac, are 12 animals in China that match the 12 earthly branches with the year of birth of a person, including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. 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.

As a long-standing symbol of folk culture, the zodiac has left a large number of poems, spring couplets, paintings, calligraphy and paintings and folk crafts depicting the image and symbolism of the zodiac in the past dynasties. In addition to China, many countries around the world issue Chinese zodiac stamps during the Spring Festival as a way to express their wishes for the Chinese New Year.