Why is there such a thing as the zodiac?

There is a myth about the origin of the zodiac:

It is said that the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 kinds of animals as representatives, and then sent immortals to tell the animals about it, and set a time to come to the Tiangong in Maoli during the reign of Taizu. The sooner he came, the more he swallowed it, but the later one could not. At that time, cats and mice were still good friends. The cat loves to sleep, but he also wants to be chosen, so he asks the mouse to call him. But the mouse forgot as soon as it turned its head. The mouse went to the old cow and said that he got up early and ran fast, so the cow could take him. The old cow agreed

At that time, dragons had no horns and chickens had horns. The dragon told the chicken that the chicken was already very beautiful and didn't need horns, so he let the chicken lend it to him. The chicken was very happy when he heard the flattery of the dragon, so he lent his horn to the dragon and told him to pay back the money on time after the election. Long readily agreed.

In the year of Mao Mao, Uzuki, when the cat was still sleeping, many animals rushed to the Heavenly Palace.

The mouse sits on the cow's back. After reaching heaven, the mouse jumped up. The Jade Emperor said that the mice arrived first, which made them the first. Old steak is second; The tiger also arrived late, ranking third; The rabbit also arrived, ranking fourth; The dragon came late, but he was very big. The Jade Emperor saw him at a glance. Seeing that he was so beautiful, he ranked fifth. He also said that his son ranked sixth, but Long was disappointed because his son didn't come today. At this time, the snake behind came running and said, "He is my michel platini, and I rank sixth!" " I'm sixth! "Snakes rank sixth; Horses and sheep have arrived, too. They asked me to ask you: Brother Ma first, Brother Yang first, and they pushed them around. Seeing that they were so polite, the Jade Emperor let them rank seventh and eighth. The monkey was in his thirties, but he jumped ahead with the clouds in the sky because he could jump, ranking ninth; Then chickens, dogs and pigs were also selected.

The cat didn't wake up until the end of the game, and the mouse was chased all over the world as soon as he got home. ...

After the game, the dragon came to the seaside and saw that he had horns much more beautiful than before, so he didn't plan to return the chicken. In order to avoid the chicken, he disappeared from the world. The chicken was very angry, so he got up early every morning and shouted at the sea: Give it back quickly! Give it back! The hen shouted, give him back quickly! Give him back to me! The chicken also crows: Come back! And!

With regard to the origin of the zodiac, historical records show that China began to use the "chronology of branches and leaves" which combines the ten heavenly stems with the twelve earthly branches from the Shun Di era. The method of zoological chronology originated from nomadic people in the west and north of ancient China. The Book of the Tang Dynasty records: "The Year of the Tiger is bounded by twelve events. If the year is cloudy, it is called the year of the tiger. " Zhao Yi, a famous textual research scholar in the Qing Dynasty, made a textual research in Yu Yu Congkao: "In the early days, the custom of benefiting the north was childless, ugly, yin and hairy, but when rats, cows, tigers and rabbits were divided into years, by the end of the Han Dynasty, it was said that (Khan) money lived in Wuyuan, mixed with Qi people, and spread in China, so it was not abandoned.

The zodiac was first seen in The Book of Songs, the world's first collection of poems. "The Book of Songs Xiaoya Chegong Chapter" says: "At noon on an auspicious day, my horse is insufficient." See also Book of Rites, Monthly Order and Winter Order: "Digging cows for air conditioning." When did the zodiac theory come into being? There is a historical cloud: it should be formed in the Han Dynasty at the latest. Its basis is the cloud in Wang Chong's On the Balance of Things in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Yin, wood, its birds, tigers. Hey, Tuye, its birds and dogs are also. " Another cloud said, "Good afternoon, Ma Ye. Son, mouse also. Unitary, chicken also. ..... Shen, Qitian also. " * * * Put forward the names of the zodiac. In addition, in Zhao Ye's "Wu Yue Chun Qiu" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Wu Zaichen is a dragon." Just added "Chen Long" to complete the zodiac. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs were formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the use of the Chinese zodiac, it appeared at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Biography of Northern History Yuwen Hu records a letter written to him by Yuwen Hu's mother, which reads: "Your brother was born in Wuchuan Town, the eldest is a mouse, the second is a rabbit, and you are a snake." It can be seen that the Chinese zodiac was widely used by the people at that time to record the date of birth.

However, in the mid-1970s, from 1975 to 12, thousands of bamboo slips were found in the cultural relics unearthed from Qin TombNo. 1 1 in Yunmeng, Hubei Province. Among them, Sunrise Thief clearly records the characters used to predict the appearance characteristics of thieves in the zodiac. The appearance of this miracle proves that the Chinese zodiac has been used in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because Qin Tomb No.11 was built in the thirty years of the first emperor, that is, 2 17 BC. Some people say that long before Qin Shihuang proclaimed himself emperor, our ancestors used the zodiac to record the year, and especially pointed out that "it began in summer and spread in Shang and Zhou Dynasties." However, how to quote it remains to be further explored by historians and cultural relics scholars.