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Regarding the ordering of the zodiac, there are various folk traditions, such as the Yellow Emperor xuanyuan to choose twelve animals as court guards, cats to rats to register, mice to forget, the result of the cat is not selected, and since then with the rats to form a family and so on, but this is not true.
The Shanggu people explained the relationship between the earth branch and the Xiao beast from the perspective of the twelve hours of the ancient day and night. Then, inspired by the twelve hours, the ordering of the twelve zodiac signs was invented.
01
Sub-rats
Midnight: Midnight, also known as Midnight, Midnight, Midnight, the first hour of the twelve o'clock. (23:00 to 01:00 Beijing time).
From 11 o'clock in the evening to 1 o'clock in the morning of the next day, when the genus is sub-rat, it is the time when the rat takes advantage of the late night and is quiet and frequently active, so it is called "sub-rat".
02
Ugly cows
Ugly Hour: Chicken Chirping, also known as Wild Chicken, the second hour of the twelfth hour. (01:00 to 03:00 Beijing time).
1 a.m. to 3 a.m., ugly time. Cows are used to eating grass at night, and farmers often get up late at night to pick up lights to feed cattle, so they are called "ugly cows".
03
Yin Hu
Yinshi: Pingdan, also known as dawn, morning, day, etc., is the time when night and day alternate. (03:00 to 05:00 Beijing time).
3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., it's Yin time. At this time, the tigers that walk day and night are the most fierce, and the ancients often heard the roar of the tiger at this time, so it was called "Yin Tiger".
04
Rabbit
卯時: Sunrise, also known as the beginning of the day, the dawn, the rising sun, etc., refers to the time when the sun has just appeared and is rising. (05:00 to 07:00 Beijing time).
From 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., it is midnight. At dawn, the rabbit comes out of the nest and likes to eat grass with morning dew, so it is called "rabbit".
05
Chenlong
Tatsushi: Food time, also known as morning food, etc., the ancients "pilgrimage" is also the time to eat breakfast (07:00 to 09:00 Beijing time).
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it is the time of the day. At this time, it is generally easy to fog, and it is said that the dragon is happy to ride the fog, and it is also worth the rising sun in the east, thriving, so it is called "Chenlong".
06
Snake
巳時: 隅中, also known as Riyu, etc., near noon is called 〼中 (09:00 to 11:00 Beijing time).
From 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., it is the time of the day. The fog dissipates, the sun shines brightly, and the snakes come out of the hole to feed, so they are called "snakes".
07
Noon horse
Noon: Mid-Day, also known as Rizheng, Noon, etc. (11:00 to 13:00 Beijing time).
From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., it is noon. In ancient times, wild horses were not tamed by humans, and whenever it was noon, it ran around and hissed, so it was called "noon horse".
08
Not sheep
Untimely: Sunrise, also known as sun fall, day central, etc., the sun is west of the day fall (13:00 to 15:00 Beijing time).
From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, it is not timely. Some places call this time "sheep out of the slope", which means a good time to herd sheep, so it is called "ungod".
09
Shen Monkey
Shen Shi: Feeding time, also known as day shop, sunset food, etc. (15 to 17:00 Beijing time).
From 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., it is application time. The sun is west, and the monkey likes to cry at this time, so it is called "Shen Monkey".
10
Unitary chicken
Unitary time: Sunrise, also known as sunset, sun sink, evening, meaning when the sun sets (17 to 19:00 Beijing time).
From 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., it is unitary time. The sun has set, and the chickens are swirling in front of the nest, so they are called "unitary chickens".
11
Dogs
Dusk: Dusk, also known as sunset, sunset, evening and so on, at this time the sun has set, the sky will not be dark. The heavens and the earth are yellow, and everything is hazy, so it is called dusk (19:00 to 21:00 Beijing time).
From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., it is the time of the day. After a hard day's work, the latch is ready to rest. The dog is guarded in front of the door, and as soon as there is movement, it will scream, so it is called "dog".
12
Pigs
At this time, the night is deep, and people have stopped their activities and slept peacefully. Rending is also the quietness of people (21:00 to 23:00 Beijing time).
From 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. at night, it is the time of the night. In the middle of the night, you can hear the sound of pig arches, so it is called "Hai Pig".
In addition, according to the concept of Chinese believe in yin and yang, the twelve animals are divided into two categories, yin and yang, and the yin and yang of animals are arranged according to the parity of the animal toes.
The number of anterior and posterior left and right toes of animals is generally the same, while the rat alone is the forefoot four, the posterior foot five, the parity homogeneity, the rarity is precious, of course, ranked first.
This is followed by cattle, four-toed (even)
Tiger, Five Toed (Odd)
Rabbit, four-toed (even)
Dragon, Five-Toed (Odd)
Snake, toeless (homosexual)
Horse, One Toe (Odd)
Sheep, four-toed (even)
Monkey, five-toed (odd)
Chicken, four-toed (even)
Dog, five-toed (odd)
Pig, four-toed (even)
Holding this view is the Song Dynasty Hongxun, the Ming Dynasty scholar Lang Ying on the basis of which he classified it, and proposed in his book "Seven Revision Drafts • Zodiac Signs" that "the ground is under the ground", so don't look at the number of toes in yin and yang.
The rat has four claws in front of it, with an even number of yin, five claws on the hind foot, and an odd number of yang. The first half of the child is the yin of last night, and the second half is the sun of today, which is just a symbol of the son by the rat.
Cows, sheep, pig trotters, chicken four claws, plus rabbits lack lip and four claws, snake tongue points, six should be combined with even numbers, belonging to the yin, accounting for six land branches. Tigers have five claws, monkeys and dogs also have five claws, horseshoes are round and not divided, and the six are all odd numbers, which belong to the yang, together with the rats that belong to the yang, account for the other six branches.
So why aren't there cats and elephants in the Zodiac?
According to legend, the cat to the mouse signed up, the mouse forgot, the result was that the cat was not selected, and since then it has formed a wrongdoer with the mouse; and the elephant came to sign up, and was drilled away by the mouse, which is the legend story imposed by the descendants.
In fact, cats and elephants are not animals native to China, cats were introduced to Han China, it should have followed Buddhism from India, some people say it was the Han Dynasty, some people said it came with Tang Sanzang.
In any case, at that time, the Chinese zodiac sign had become a foregone conclusion, so it was normal that cats and elephants were not in the "Xianban".
Finished reading? This is the real great wisdom of China, and as for what legends, those are weak and explosive.