What is the ranking of the zodiac? Why rats first?

There are different opinions about the arrangement order of the zodiac animals, some are folk stories handed down from generation to generation, some are eloquent facts, but few people can really know why the zodiac animals are arranged in this way.

There is a folk story that the Yellow Emperor wanted to choose twelve kinds of animals as guardians, and both cats and mice were on the list of the Yellow Emperor, so the cat asked the mouse to wake him up the next morning to accept the selection, but the mouse didn't wake the cat as agreed, but secretly went to the palace and told Xuanyuan Emperor that the cat didn't respect the emperor at all when sleeping. When the emperor saw that it was true, he angrily deleted the cat from the list. And the mouse also asked himself to be the first, and the emperor said, is your contribution greater than that of the cow? ? The mouse said, then let the world judge. ? As a result, when cows and mice appeared together, people shouted that mice were so big, bigger than cows. The emperor had no choice but to make the mouse the first.

But is this the case? Actually, it's not. The order of the zodiac is not as simple as a fairy tale. This order contains the great wisdom of the people of China. In ancient times, people explained the order of the zodiac from the order of twelve hours.

Mouse: Zishi (23: 00 -0 1: 00), combined with heavenly stems and earthly branches's explanation, Zishi is the initial time. Rats come out near midnight, and humans are most active when they sleep, so they belong to rats.

Bull: Ugly time (0 1: 00 to 03: 00), which is the second time in 12 hours. At this time, the cows in the cowshed have to digest the food they eat during the day and ruminate, so they are ugly cows.

Tiger: Yin Shi (03: 00 to 05: 00) is a time of alternating day and night. Yin Shi is the time when people are born, and at this time, tigers haunt the jungle. At this time, the tiger is the fiercest, yin and awe-inspiring, so yin belongs to the tiger.

Rabbit: Shi Mao (05: 00 to 07: 00) is the time when the sun breaks through the night and rises. At this time, the grass is covered with dew, which is the rabbit's favorite food, so it is called hairy rabbit.

Dragon: Images of Chen Shi (07:00 ~ 09:00), Chen Shi and March. It is said that dragons always travel with clouds, and Chen Shi is in a state of revival and prosperity, so it is called Chen Long.

Snakes: At 4 o'clock (09: 00 to 1 1: 00), the grass in the wild grows very luxuriantly, weeds help snakes hide their bodies, and snakes shuttle like a duck to water. Besides, it's morning and snakes are cold-blooded. In order to avoid the afternoon heat, they will return to the cave at this time, so they belong to snakes.

Ma: At noon (from 1 1 to 13), the yang is full at this time, but it is also the time when Yin and Yang begin to breed. At this time, Yin and Yang coexist. When running, the horse will not land on all four hooves at the same time, but will fly or step on the ground, flying as Yang and stepping on the ground as Yin. When the horse runs, yin and yang alternate.

Sheep: Before the time (13: 00 to 15: 00), sheep often gain weight by eating grass at this time, and some places even gave this time a special name? Sheep out of the slope? It means that this is the best time to put sheep out of the pen, so it is called Weiyang.

Monkey: Shenshi (15 to 17), not after Shenshi, is the time when the sun is about to set in Xishan, and the temperature is suitable at this time, so apes are out in the Woods at this time, so monkeys are suitable for Shenshi.

Chicken: You's (17 means to 19), also known as sunset, which means when the sun goes down. When the moon appears in the moon sky, the chicken will circle in front of its nest at this time, so it is called the unitary chicken.

Dog: Also called sunset (from 19: 00 to 2 1: 00). At this time, the sun has set, and it is time for night arrival. Dogs bark loudly when outsiders come near, so dogs are vigil animals, and they are also defined as dogs at this time.

Pig: Shihai (2 1: 00 to 23: 00), another name is human. When Shihai arrived, there was no light between heaven and earth, and people were in a state of chaos. At this time, people can hear the sound of the pig arch in the pigsty, so the pig becomes the zodiac of the sea.

Why aren't cats and elephants in the zodiac? According to historical records, cats and elephants originally did not belong to China, nor were they native animals. Cats were introduced into China with Buddhist culture in Han Dynasty, and elephants were introduced into China as tributes. So how can foreign things be chosen as representative animals representing the ancient culture of China? So there is a reason why cats and elephants are not considered in the zodiac.