The 12 zodiac signs, also known as the zodiac, are the 12 animals of China and the 12 earthly branches that match the year of birth, including rats, oxes, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, and pigs.

The origin of the zodiac is related to animal worship, it is the figurative representative of the twelve earthly branches, that is, the son - rat, ugly - ox, yin - tiger, mao - rabbit, chen - dragon, si - snake, noon - horse, wei - sheep, shen - monkey, unitary - chicken, 戌 - dog, hai - pig, with the development of history gradually integrated into the concept of mutual survival and mutual restraint of folk beliefs, manifested in marriage, life, New Year's fortune, etc., each zodiac has a corresponding legend, and forms a concept interpretation system, which has become an image philosophy in folk culture, such as the zodiac on marriage, temple prayers, natal years, etc.

Nowadays, more people use the zodiac as the mascot of the first year and become a symbol of cultural activities.

As a long-standing symbol of folk culture, the zodiac has left a large number of handicrafts depicting the image and symbolism of the zodiac as a good blessing for the beginning of the year.

Son, rat, thief sharp mouth, rare beard, ugly, ox, thief with big nose and long neck, Yin, tiger, thief shape, beard, black face. Mao, rabbit also, thief big face. Chen, the thief man, blue and red, Si, the worm, the thief is long and black snake-eyed. At noon, the deer is also, the thief has a long neck, and his body is incomplete. No, the horse also, the thief has long bearded ears. Shen, Huanye, the thief round face, unitary, water also...... 戌, the old sheep is also ...... Hai, pig also.

Son, rat. Ugly,. Yin, tiger. Mao, rabbit. Chen, worm. Si, chicken. Noon, horses. No, sheep. Shen, monkey. Unitary, chicken. 戌, dogs. Hey, pig.

Yinmu also, its birds and tigers, Xutu also, its poultry dogs, ugly soil, ugly birds and cows, and not poultry and sheep. Wood wins the soil, so dogs and cattle and sheep are served by tigers. The water is also its fowl and pigs, the fire is also its fowl and snake, the son is also water, its fowl and rats are also, the noon is also fire, and its fowl and horses are also ...... Afternoon horses, rats, chickens, rabbits.

Water is better than fire, why don't rats chase horses? gold wins wood, why don't chickens peck rabbits? Hai pigs, sheep, and ugly cows. The soil is better than the water, why don't the cattle and sheep kill the pigs? Fire is better than gold, why don't snakes eat macaques?

Tatsu is a dragon, Si is a snake, and Tatsumi's position is in the southeast. Dragons are poisonous, snakes have stings, so pit pits have fangs, and dragons have reverse scales. Wood makes fire, and fire is poisonous, so the beast of the dragon contains sparks.

The ancients divided the stars near the ecliptic and equator into "28 constellations". The 28 Nakshatras also represent one animal each.

In ancient times, the week and heaven were divided into twelve parts, which were represented by twelve branches, and the twelve rulers belonged to the zodiac, and there was a correspondence between the zodiac and the twenty-eight constellations.

Twenty-eight kinds of animals belong to the twenty-eight constellations, and "unified by seven yao", into the pattern of "female earth bat, virtual sun rat, dangerous moon swallow, and child also".

Jupiter orbits one day of the twelve, and the annual branch order can be determined from Jupiter's position. "Three-year-old, three-year-old ruined, three-year-old healthy, three-year-old drought", another saying is "the world is six years old, six years old, one healthy, and twelve years old."

The rise and fall of plants and the existence of animal living environment cycles, herbivores and carnivorous omnivores in different years of living conditions are very different, if people born in different years can imitate the vigorous growth of animals in the year, thus forming a zodiac animal, so as to presume that the rise and fall of animals is related to the year of Jupiter, the zodiac and the twelve stars are unified.

The ancestors of primitive societies often used the figure of a certain animal, inanimate or natural phenomenon as the protector and symbol of their clan, that is, the totem.

The mixed image of man and beast is the totemic god of ancient places. The totem of the Xia people is a bear or a fish, the totem of the Shang people is a bird, and the twelve zodiac signs are all visible every day except for the dragon as an illusory thing. Among them, it can be divided into two categories, namely the "six animals" (horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs, pigs) and the "six beasts" (rats, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, monkeys), the former is domesticated by people for economic purposes, and the latter is an animal that harasses human life to a certain extent and is feared by the ancestors.

As a result, these animals are worshipped as the name mark of the clan.

The Chinese ancestors felt the cycle of alternating cold and summer, and the withering and flourishing of plants, and regarded it as "one year old". The waxing and waning cycle of the moon is also associated with the "year" – twelve full moons are exactly one year old.

Using Jupiter as the cycle of the year, the "year star" orbits around exactly 12 years. As the saying goes, "the palm ten has two years old, ten has two months, and ten has two chens", in addition to counting years and months, twelve is also used to measure hours.

"Twelve celestial phenomena" is also a general term for the weather in ancient times, that is, darkness, cloud, rain, snow, ice, fog, dew, frost, wind, sand, thunder, and lightning......

Zodiac animals have different temperaments, and the ancients have always put forward many opinions on their selection and arrangement, but each point of view is difficult to justify.

Folk tales say 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, and the cat sought 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, ranking behind the ox.

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 first-to-last.

There was also a battle between snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, and chickens, and finally the pigs came to occupy the last seat.

Why is the son a rat? He said: The sky is open to the son, and if it is not consumed, its qi will not be opened. Rats, insects also. So the night has not yet been young, and the rat has to be ordered, 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.

Life is born, and there is life and death. The murderer, the tiger, the yin, the fear. is terrifying Mo Ruohu, so Yin is a tiger. The sunrise. Japan is out of the body, and contains the essence of the Taiyin jade rabbit, so it is a rabbit. Chen, the hexagram of March, when the dragons are raining, so Chen belongs to the dragon. The hexagram of April, the grass is luxuriant, and the snake has its place. Also, when the snake does not go to the road, it belongs to the snake.

The noon, the anode and the yin are born. Horses, healthy and not off the ground, yin also, so noon belongs to horses. Sheep gnaw on the grass of the future and seedlings, so it is not a sheep. When Shen, the sun sets and the ape cries, and the Shen arm also, such as the number of gas, will be chaotic and rampant, so Shen is a monkey.

The unitary, when the moon rises, the moon is the body, and it contains the essence of the sun golden rooster, so the unitary is a chicken. The time is the night, and the dog is the thing of the night, so it is a dog.

Hai, when the heavens and the earth are chaotic, if the fruit contains business in the core, the pig has nothing to know outside the diet, so Hai is a pig.

The artist uses 12 Xiao with 12 Chen, each Xiao has its own deficient shape, such as the rat has no teeth, the ox has no teeth, the tiger has no spleen, the dragon has no ears, the snake has no feet, the horse has no guts, the sheep has no god, the monkey has no buttocks, the chicken has no kidney, the dog has no intestines, the pig has no tendons, and people have no deficiencies.

The sub is the cathode, hidden and obscure, with the rat with it; Noon is the anode, showing that it is strong and healthy. Ugliness is yin, and love is born, and the ox is matched with it, and the ox licks the calf.

Not for the yang also, but on the back and courtesy, with the sheep with it, the sheep has kneeling milk. Yin is the three yangs, and the yang is violent, and the tiger is matched with it; Shen is the three yin, the yin is victorious, and the monkey is matched with it; The sun is born in the east and there is the chicken of the west unitary, and the moon is born in the west and there is the exemption of the east mao, the meaning of the sympathy of yin and yang, so it is said that the mao you is the private door of the sun and the moon.

Today, the rabbit licks the male hair and becomes pregnant, and the chicken steps on it and is invisible, and it is also felt and not communicated. Therefore, it belongs to rabbit chickens. The dragon is sheng, the snake is second, so the dragon and snake are matched.

Dragons and snakes, things that change, too. Xuhai is gloomy and lonely, the dog is at night, the pig is calm, so the dog and the pig are matched. Dogs and pigs, things that hold on.

The 12 zodiac signs are not only integrated into the life of Chinese people as ordinary creatures, but their natural habits have been endowed with many cultural significance, from animals to godheads, and are revered and worshipped.

Only the combination of natural beings and cultural deity can constitute a complete zodiac animal impression.

Each zodiac has a meaning of Rui, such as a rat, a mouse steals food, proving that "hamsters have surplus food", indicating that the family is rich, and the rats in the family symbolize wealth.

Cattle, because of cattle farming, Chinese people have a deeper affection for cattle, such as honest and industrious, do not ask for returns and other excellent qualities attached to the cattle, there is a "too strong, cattle one, sheep one, pig one" said.

Cattle are the most noble sacrifices, and they are used by the Son of Heaven to sacrifice to the community and heaven and earth. If the princes are united, the king will cut the blood from the ear of the ox and put it in his mouth.

Tiger, tiger is the king of beasts, Yin and Hu match, the word "Yin" in the oracle bone inscription is like an arrow, "Yin" means "Yang Qi rises, although there is frozen soil, it will break through the ground", which is in line with the fierce and strong yang energy of the tiger.

If the ancient bronze tiger cannibal reflects the fear of the ancients for the tiger, then the tiger brand in the war, it represents the desire for conquest, marching to play the white tiger flag, the brave for the "tiger general", the tiger talisman for the transfer of troops, the weapon has tiger stripes......

Dragon, the dragon symbolizes getting ahead and is extraordinary. In ancient times, there was a saying that "the dragon rode the wind and clouds to the nine heavens", the dragon not only symbolizes the power of the emperor and queen, but also symbolizes the happy union of husband and wife, and can also symbolize the harmony of yin and yang between spirit and matter. The dragon and phoenix pattern is the most representative image symbol of the Chinese nation.