The more you and Zhang Yaoli talked, the more engaged they became, and the more they chatted, the more interesting they became. They talked about life from academics, from culture to feelings.

Both parties feel that the other party is so attractive and meets their own criteria for choosing a mate.

Two lonely and empty young boys and girls fell in love like this.

During that period, Zhang Yaoli was working in New York, and Qi You was studying in Boston.

The distance between the two is more than 300 kilometers, and it takes more than 4 hours to drive.

But it is this sense of novelty and expectation that makes their long-distance relationship last for two years.

Born in an archaeological family, Zhang Yaoli has a very good understanding of traditional Chinese culture, especially the Chinese zodiac. Aiwu and Wu, Qiyou also made efforts to study this knowledge.

Because Zhang Yaoli is a pig, Qi You always calls her "little lazy pig" intimately, and Zhang Yaoli also calls him "Big Bull".

Their common hobby is to study the Chinese zodiac culture.

……

Legend has it that in the Yaoshun era of Huaxia, the "Ganzhi Chronology" began to be used to match the ten symbols of the heavenly stem and the twelve symbols of the earthly branch.

The bamboo slips unearthed from the tombs of the Qin Dynasty in Hubei, Huaguo record that the Chinese ancestors began to use the zodiac year during the Xia Dynasty, which flourished in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

According to the research of Qi You and Zhang Yaoli, if you really want to talk about the origin of the 12 zodiac signs, you probably have to start with the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Yan, Chi You, and the war between the three tribes.

In ancient China, there were many, large and small primitive tribes, each of which had a sacrificial totem. Divided by the totems of these tribes, they can be roughly divided into three alliances:

First, Xuanyuan Alliance (Bear): Xuanyuan Alliance: 罴, Pi, Pi, Pi, Tiger, Leopard, Lion, Wolf.

Second, Shennong Alliance (cattle): sheep, horses, deer, pigs, rats, rabbits, chickens.

Third, Jiuli Alliance (birds): eagles, eagles, kites, snakes, crocodiles, turtles, dogs.

Fourth, neutral tribes: monkeys, mirages, fish, shrimps, silkworms, insects.

Fifth, marginal tribes: other animal totems

And the Xuanyuan (bear) tribe where the Yellow Emperor is located, before the fusion of other tribes, the totem is a bear. When the Yellow Emperor ruled most of the tribes, the tribal totem that formed was the dragon.

The Shennong tribe where Emperor Yan is located, the totem is a cow. Later, the Xuanyuan tribe where the Yellow Emperor was located surrendered, and the totem immediately joined the zodiac.

The Jiuli tribe where Chiyou is located, the totem is a bird. After losing the war with the Xuanyuan tribe, he was demoted to a slave and the totem disappeared.

And there are ten tribes that have taken refuge in the Xuanyuan tribe of the Yellow Emperor from the beginning. They are the rats, tigers, rabbits, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, and pig tribes.

Therefore, when the Xuanyuan tribe led by the Yellow Emperor unified the land of China, there were these zodiac signs.

……

Until Valentine's Day this year, the relationship between Qiyou and Zhang Yaoli really couldn't be maintained.

The emotional concept of the Chinese people may be different from the Chinese people, and they are looking for a "soul mate" when they are in love. When neither side has a common language, it's time to say "bye-bye."

In the end, Qiyou and Zhang Yaoli made an appointment together, went to the Shenlongjia expedition in Huaguo, and fought a few "breakup cannons" in the wilderness, which can be regarded as a peaceful breakup.

And this is the reason why Qiyou still retains the bank card when he traveled to Huaguo Shenlongjia.

"Think of it as a beautiful nostalgia!" That's what you said to yourself.

---------------------------------------------------

I don't know how long time has passed, maybe it's a day, maybe it's a moment.

"What's wrong with me? I remembered the past for no reason. "Ruler Yu came to his senses from his memories.

It seems that this stone statue of the zodiac has the effect of confusing people's hearts, and it can invisibly arouse the most depressed thoughts in people's hearts.

Qi You's consciousness didn't dare to get closer to it, so he had to observe it in the sky.

After several attempts, he found that as long as his consciousness was not within ten meters of the altar, it would not be affected.

......

Viewed from above the altar, the twelve statues are arranged according to the "Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches" array.

The rat is above, the horse is below, the rooster is on the left, and the rabbit is on the right.

They correspond to the Xuanwu in the north, the Vermilion Bird in the south, the White Tiger in the west, and the Qinglong in the east.

Hugou and Haizhu are in the northwest, and Weiyang and Shenhou are in the southwest; The ugly ox and the tiger are in the northeast, and the dragon and the snake are in the southeast.

Xuanwu lives in the north, belongs to Taiyin, the main winter; The Vermilion Bird lives in the south, belongs to the sun, and is the main summer; The white tiger lives in the west, belongs to the young yin, and the main autumn; Qinglong lives in the east, belongs to Shaoyang, the main spring.

There is a polygonal gossip pattern in the center of the altar, engraved with eight runes of "Qiankun Xundui, Gen Zhen Likan".

Kan represents water, corresponding to the sub-rat (north basalt);

Departure represents fire, corresponding to the noon horse (south of the red bird);

Redeem on behalf of Ze. Corresponding to the rooster (west white tiger);

The earthquake represents thunder, corresponding to the rabbit (green dragon in the east).

The dry represents the sky, corresponding to the dog and the pig (northwest);

Kun represents the land, corresponding to Weiyang and Shen monkey (southwest);

Gen represents the mountain, corresponding to the ugly cow and the Yinhu (northeast);

Tatsumi represents the wind, corresponding to the Tatsunayu and the snake (southeast);

……

To be honest, Qi You admires the ancestors of ancient China.

In the era of the primitive tribes in China, they invented the advanced method of time, month and year for 12 hours a day, 12 months for a year, and 1 jiazi for 60 years.

At the same time, the first use of the guide car established the orientation of "all directions". The four sides refer to "Qinglong (east), white tiger (west), Suzaku (south), Xuanwu (north)", and Bafang refers to "Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan".

The Yellow Emperor calendar, the earliest invention in China, is the predecessor of the Chinese lunar calendar, which is almost 2,000 years earlier than the Roman calendar, the originator of the Western Gregorian calendar.

To this day, there are still many countries in the West that still vigorously deny the existence of the Xia Dynasty.

You must know that Huaguo has unearthed an unknown number of ancient ruins with a history of more than 5,000 years. Majiayao civilization, Longshan civilization, Hemudu civilization, Liangzhuyu civilization, Sanxingdui civilization, Baodun civilization and so on.

These ancient cultural sites all illustrate the long history of China.

……

Thinking like this, he studied for a long time, but he still didn't understand the role of this altar.

The space seemed to be cordoned off, and his consciousness could only move within a hundred meters of the altar.

Looking at the surrounding environment, on the platform at the top of this mountain, except for this quaint zodiac altar, the surroundings are empty and there is nothing.

"Am I going to have to be stuck in this hellish place?" When you think of this, you are a little unwilling.

Time kept passing, and it wasn't clear how long it had been.

He just flew around the altar, wondering what the secret was to these things.