What is the origin of the twelfth generation?

Why did the ancients choose twelve animals as their zodiac signs?

Xuanyuan Huangdi is the ancestor of all ethnic groups in the Central Plains of China. After the Yellow Emperor ruled the Central Plains, many things happened. In order to facilitate management, he ordered the historian Cangjie to create characters, and ordered the warlock in charge of astronomy and geography to make a branch chronology, that is, heavenly stems and earthly branches should coordinate and weigh "Jia Zi" every 60 years. The chronology of heavenly stems and earthly branches is complicated, which is not popular among the people. Therefore, it was suggested to name twelve kinds of animals, which was approved by the Yellow Emperor and Cang Xie was ordered to do. Cang Xie ordered all animals to take part in the election in front of the palace on the first day of the first month. Knowing that his legs and feet are slow, Niu started early on New Year's Eve. As a result, cows arrived first, followed by tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs, and cats were the twelfth. The mouse came late, far behind the twelve, and was hopelessly selected, so he slipped into the warehouse of the Yellow Emperor and stole the big red candle in the warehouse. The big red candle is a gift from the Yellow Emperor to his opponent Chiyou. The middle is empty and filled with gunpowder. As long as the candle is lit, it will explode. The next day, when the Yellow Emperor held a naming ceremony for the zodiac and lit the candle, the guards found gunpowder in the candle from the place where the mouse had bitten. The mouse inadvertently saved the life of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor thought that the mouse was meritorious and chose it as the zodiac, which tied for the first place. The other animals retreated in turn, and the cat was eliminated. So up to now, cats still hate mice and are their sworn enemies.

Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor chose the zodiac: Xuanyuan Huangdi wanted to choose the zodiac as a palace guard, and the cat asked the mouse to sign him up, but the mouse forgot. As a result, the cat didn't choose it, and from then on, it became an enemy with the mouse, biting when it saw it; The elephant also signed up, and the mouse got into the elephant's nose and made the elephant run away in pain.

Of the twelve animals, the cow was originally recommended as the first, but the mouse jumped on the cow's back and the pig followed, so that the mouse ranked first and the pork chop was the last. The dragon and tiger refused to accept it and were named the king of the sea and king of the hill, ranking behind the mouse and the cow; The rabbit refused to accept and raced with the dragon, so that the rabbit was in front of the dragon again; The dog quit again. In a rage, he bit the rabbit and was punished later. After some contests, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys and chickens were also placed one by one, and finally the pattern of rats, ugly cows, silver tigers, hairy rabbits, Chen Long, fourth uncle, five horses, Weiyang, Shenhou, You You chickens, dogs and pigs was formed. After the zodiac was selected, the Yellow Emperor ordered Cang Xie to engrave the results on a stone tablet. There is still a huge stone tablet in the northwest of Lishan ancestral temple in Lintong, Shaanxi Province, which is engraved with the images of twelve animals, such as rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs and pigs. It is called "Twelve Elephant Stones".

Some people may ask why there are no cats in the legendary zodiac. In fact, there were no cats in ancient China. The hometown of domestic cats was in Sudan, Africa, and later it was introduced to Egypt, and from Egypt it was introduced to China. At that time, the zodiac was already formed. This legendary story is far from a scientific explanation of the problem, but reflects people's desire to explain the zodiac.

In other words, the selection and arrangement of the zodiac is determined according to the daily activity time of animals.

At least since the Han Dynasty, China has divided a day and night into twelve hours according to the time when the sun rises, and recorded these twelve hours (big hours) with the method of twelve minutes, each hour is equivalent to two hours, and such a day and night is now called twenty-four hours.

It is midnight from eleven o'clock in the evening to one o'clock in the morning. Rats are the most active and come out to look for food. If you have lived in a bungalow, you will have a deep understanding.

From 0: 00 to 3: 00 in the morning/kloc-,it's ugly, and the cow is ruminating. It is said that it was also the time when cows began to plow the fields, and they were very diligent and hardworking.

From 3: 00 to 5: 00, it is Yin Shi. At this time, the tiger wandered around for food, the most fierce. They are hungry and want to come out to find their prey.

5: 00 to 7: 00 is the crime time. At this time, the sun has not yet risen and the moon is still hanging in the sky. At this time, Yutu is busy taking medicine. Rabbits on the earth also began to come out for food.

From 7 am to 9 am, it is morning time. This is a good time for the dragon to beg for rain. It is a good time.

It's the fourth time from 9: 00 to 1 1. The snake starts to be active, wakes up and wants to go out for a walk.

From 1 1 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon, the sun is shining. At noon, it is the time to be unconstrained and unconstrained.

Afternoon 1 to 3 o'clock is not the right time. At this time, sheep will grow stronger if they eat grass. It is also because the sun shines, and the yang is more abundant, which is good for health.

From 3 pm to 5 pm, it is bidding time. At this time, monkeys are active. At this time, the tiger may have to rest. Monkeys can come out to play. Among the blind the one-eyed man is king. Everyone has heard of it.

From 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock, it is unitary time. As night falls, the zodiac chickens begin to return to their nests and get ready to rest.

From 7: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm, the dog began to watch for us.

From 9 pm to 1 1, it is Shihai. At this time, all was silent, and the piglets snored and slept to stay healthy.

There are various legends about the arrangement of the zodiac, and there may be many such stories or fables. However, the arrangement of seats for the zodiac has never been completed overnight or in a short time. It may also be the most suitable twelve species selected from many animals through testing, which have been passed down to this day. In a word, the complicated process needs us to learn all the time.