The origin of the twelve zodiac signs is related to animal worship. According to the Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmengsuihudi, Hubei and Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu, a relatively complete zodiac system existed in the pre-Qin period. The earliest handed down document that records the twelve zodiac signs that are the same as those in modern times is "Lunheng" written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The twelve zodiac animals are the visual 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), Xu (dog), and Hai (pig), with the development of history, gradually merged into the folk belief concepts of mutual reinforcement and mutual restraint, which are reflected in marriage, life, Luck of the year, etc., each zodiac sign has rich legends,
This forms a conceptual interpretation system and becomes an image philosophy in folk culture, such as the zodiac signs in marriage, prayers at temple fairs, animal year, etc. . In modern times, more and more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and a symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.
Extended information:
The twelve zodiac signs are also called twelve-year beasts. In the Chinese calendar, there are twelve year animals who take turns taking turns, so our Chinese year has rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig used in the calendar. superior. The twelve zodiac signs began in the sixth century BC. In the early days, they were used together with the numbers of the earthly branches. Later, they became the year numbers of the chronology.
The book tells the story that a long time ago, the Jade Emperor decided to select twelve animals in the human world as zodiac signs in order to set a time for human beings to belong to the world. So, all the animals in the world started a competition to compete for the "Zodiac King"... So on the day of the animal meeting, the rat had already ranked first, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, and dog, and the pig was ranked first. . ?
Another chapter of the story tells how the cat and mouse became enemies. At that time, the cat and the mouse were good friends. Before going to the mass meeting, they got up and agreed who would wake up first and wake whom up. Unexpectedly, the mouse got up early the next day and went to the meeting quietly without paying attention to the cat. When the cat woke up and rushed to the meeting, the Buddha had already assigned numbers for the twelfth year to the cat and the mouse, and they forged a deep feud from then on.
When the legend belongs to legend, folklore scholar Guo Licheng's opinion is that it is more convenient for people to remember the names of the heavenly stems and the earthly branches, and they are called animals representing the twelve zodiac signs.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Twelve Zodiac Signs