Why is the Rat at the top of the zodiac signs?

This stems from a legend.

After the rat and the cow, the horse and the sheep were elected as the twelve genera, the rat said:"I should be in the first place. "The cows, horses, and sheep were not convinced, and said:

Why are you number one? "The rat said:"I'm big, so I'm going to be number one.

Niu Ma and the others couldn't help laughing:"Are you as big as us? "The rat said

It doesn't count if a few of us argue, let's let people talk about it. "Cattle, horses, sheep, etc. all agreed to let people comment. So they discussed a solution:

Led by oxen, horses, sheep, and rats walked down the street one after another to see what people were saying. On the street, cows came and people said:"The cow is strong.

The horses came, and the people said:"This horse is so tall. "When the sheep came over, the people said:

This sheep is fat. "Finally, the rat came with a swaggering belly, and when people saw a big rat suddenly coming out of the street, they all chased it and shouted:"What a big mouse, what a big mouse!

In this way, the cows, horses and sheep have nothing to say, so that the rats are in the first place.

On the day of registration, the rats got up early, and the cows got up early. They ran into them on the road. The ox is big and takes big steps, and the mouse is small and takes small steps, and the mouse runs out of breath and just keeps up with the ox.

The mouse thought to himself: The road is still long, I can't run, what can I do? As soon as his mind moved and he came up with an idea, he said to the ox

Brother Niu, Brother Niu, I'll sing you a song. The cow said, "Okay, you can sing it, hey, why don't you sing?"

The mouse said, "I'm singing, why didn't you hear me?" Oh, my voice is so thin that you don't hear it.

So let me ride on your neck and sing, and you will hear me. The cow said, "Xingluo, Xingluo!"

The rat climbed up the cow's neck along the leg and let the cow carry it, which was comfortable. It shook its head and really sang: Brother Niu, Brother Niu, cross the river, climb the hill, drive, drive, hurry up!

When Niu heard this, he was happy, spread his four legs and ran hard, ran to the place where he registered, and saw that no one came, and shouted happily: "I am the first, I am the first!" Before the ox had finished speaking, the rat jumped up from the ox's neck, jumped to the ground, squeaked, and jumped in front of the ox.

As a result, the mouse won the first place and the ox won the second place, so, in the zodiac, the little mouse was ranked first.

The 12 zodiac signs are also called the zodiac signs, including the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig 12 animals. Have you ever wondered why the weak mouse comes first, and why there are no cats in the zodiac?

1.In ancient China, the characteristics of the infestation time and life of the animals were based on the twelve kinds of animals as the twelve zodiac signs, that is, each animal was an hour.

2.From 11 p.m. to 1 p.m. the next day (i.e., the "sub-time"), the rats are the most courageous and active, so the sub-hours are matched with the mice. The son is the head of the twelve earthly branches, and the child is the first of the twelve hours, so the mouse matched with it is ranked first in the zodiac.

There are different theories, and I don't know.

The reason why rats are number one

Legend has it that one day the Jade Emperor wanted to arrange the 12 zodiac signs, and set the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig, and cat. The Jade Emperor made the world slippery, and they came to rank second the next day. At that time the cat and the mouse were good friends, and the cat said to the mouse

Tomorrow you have to wake me up early, I am one of the twelve zodiac signs, and tomorrow I will go to heaven to rank second. The rat said yes. The next day, the mouse had already woken up, and instead of waking up the cat, he went to heaven to tell him.

At that time, it was just the time to rank second, and the Jade Emperor ranked the twelve zodiac signs in the order of ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, pig, and cat. The Jade Emperor asked the animals if they had any opinions, but the mouse objected: "I don't think you should choose a cat, he doesn't respect you at all."

You see, he's still sleeping, and he doesn't pay any attention to the fact that you're going to line up the zodiac. "When the Jade Emperor saw it, the cat was really sleeping! He was furious, and in a fit of rage, he decided that he would never allow the cat to go to heaven again.

At the same time, he asked the mouse to take the cat's place. The rat spoke again: "I must be number one!"

Why? Are you contributing more than a cow! "People think I'm a lot better than a cow.

The Jade Emperor had no choice but to let people judge. Everyone who goes to the clouds on earth says, "Oh!

What a big cow! Then they saw the rat standing on the head of the bull and said, "What a big mouse!"

It's bigger than a cow! "The Jade Emperor had no choice but to put the rats first.

Second, ancient Chinese scholars explained the relationship between the earthly branch and the Xiao beast from the perspective of the ancient twelve hours of day and night. The sky is dark, the chaos is a piece, the rat, when it is nearly the middle of the night, comes out to move, bites the chaotic state between the heaven and the earth out of the gap, "the rat bites the sky", so the child belongs to the rat.

The reasons why the zodiac rat is number one are as follows:

According to folklore, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor had to select twelve animals to serve as the twelve zodiac signs, and the competition was to decide which twelve animals were by way of running. Originally, the competition was led by the bull, but unexpectedly, the mouse secretly climbed on the back of the cow and took the lead, so it ranked first.

There are also many people who believe that the order of the 12 zodiac signs is based on the habits of the animals. Liu Xianyan of the Qing Dynasty "Guangyang Miscellaneous Records" quoted Li Changqing's "Songxia Pavilion Words": "Why is the son lacking a banquet and a rat?

Said: The sky is open to the son, and if it is not consumed, its gas will not be opened. Rats, insects also.

So the night has not yet been young, and the rat has to wait for the manuscript silver, so the son is a rat. The earth is ugly, and the ox is the thing that opens the ground, so the ugliness belongs to the cow. This corresponds to the folk saying:

The rat bites the sky, and the cow opens the earth. ”

Legends about rats

The Yellow Emperor (the god and ancestor of the Chinese) called on all animals to register the zodiac signs when the country was first established, on a "first-come, first-served" basis. All the animals got up early in the morning and hurried to their destinations, except for the mouse, which found a shortcut and hid on the back of the cow. When the Yellow Emperor began to give orders, the rat standing on the head of the bull was named the head of the zodiac.

It is said that the rat forgot to wake up the cat, so the cat was disqualified from being included in the zodiac. Since then, their friendship has ended and they have become enemies.

The order of the 12 zodiac signs is: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

According to folk tales, it was the rats that secretly climbed on the back of the cow to take the lead, so it came first. 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, and they lined up behind the cows.

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

Contemporary zodiac culture presents new characteristics:

Clause. 1. Changes in the value of animal use. The animal instincts of the zodiac have not changed, but the practical value has been very different from ancient and modern.

Clause. 2. The destruction of superstition. Most of the legends of the zodiac are imaginations made due to the underdevelopment of science, and some of them are pierced and chiseled with the lack of elders, and even lies are falsely spread and even deceitful, and most of them have now seen through the illusion.

Clause. 3. The decline of folk customs. The change of ideology and concepts, the disintegration of the old social structure, and the loss of the existence and prestige of traditional folk customs. The taboo fades and even becomes forgotten.