Why is the rat number one in the zodiac

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 asked them to come to 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 himself.

At that time, it was just 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, rooster, 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.

There are three reasons why the rat ranks first in the zodiac: the rat preempts the opportunity, the activity rough time theory, and the yin and yang concept.

1. The mouse seized the opportunity and said: Folklore has it that Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals as palace guards, and the cat asked the mouse to sign up, but the mouse forgot. Originally, the bull was the leader, and the mouse secretly climbed on the back of the cow to take the lead and won the first place.

2. Activity time: The selection and arrangement of the zodiac signs are determined according to the daily activity time of the animal. At the latest, since the Han Dynasty, China has adopted the twelve hours of the day in the twelve earthly branch record books, each hour is equivalent to two sides and three knife hours, and the night is from eleven o'clock to one o'clock in the morning, when the rats are most active.

The child is ranked first among the twelve hours, and the mouse is naturally ranked first.

3. The concept of yin and yang: According to the concept of yin and yang in Chinese, twelve kinds of animals are divided into two categories, yin and yang, and the yin and yang of animals are arranged according to the odd and even differences in the toes of animals. The number of toes of the front and back of the animal is generally the same, while the rat is only four of the forefoot and five of the hind foot, odd and even, and the rare is expensive, of course, ranking first.

The order of the zodiac signs

1. Sub-rats. 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.

2. Ugly cow. After the opening of the sky, the next thing is to open up the earth, "the earth is ugly", the ox ploughs the field, it should be the thing that clears the land, so the ugly belongs to the ox.

3, Yinhu. Yin is the time when people are born, there is life and there must be death, and there is no more place to die than a tiger, Yin, and there is a sense of awe, so Yin belongs to the tiger.

4. Mao rabbit. Mao, for the sunrise of the image, the sun should be away from the hexagram, away from the hexagram like fire, contained in the yin, for the sun is the moon which bird bright jade rabbit, in this way, Mao belongs to the rabbit.

5, Chenlong. Chen, the hexagram of March, is at this time in the season of dragons and rain. Chen is naturally a dragon.

6. Snake. Si, the hexagram of April, at this time, the spring grass is luxuriant, it is a good day for snakes, like a fish in water. In addition, the time is in the morning, and the snake is returning to the cave at this time, so it belongs to the snake.

7. Afternoon horse. In the afternoon and afternoon, the yang energy reaches the extreme, and the yin energy is sprouting. Horses are animals that gallop and run, with their hooves in the air, but from time to time they step on the ground. Soaring into the air is yang, stepping on the ground is yin, and the horse leaps between yin and yang, so it has become the noon phase.

8. Not sheep. Sheep, eating grass in the afternoon is the best time, easy to fat, this time is not the time, so it is not a sheep.

9. Shen Monkey. Before the time of Shen, it is the time when the ape cries in the West Mountain, and the monkey likes to stretch out his arms and jump at this time, so the monkey is worthy of Shen.

10. Chicken.

When the moon appears, the moon belongs to water and should be accompanied by the hexagram. Kan hexagram, its upper and lower yin, and the middle yang represents the essence of the sun. Therefore, the unitary chicken.

11. Dogs.

When night falls, it's the time of the day. The dog is the domestic animal that keeps vigil, so it becomes a dog.

12, Hai pig.

Then the time came, and the heavens and the earth were immersed in a state of chaos, like a fruit wrapped around the kernel, and the night covered everything in the world. Pigs are chaotic creatures that only know how to eat, so pigs have become the genus of Hai.

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.