What are the 12 birthdays?

The twelve zodiac signs are an important part of traditional Chinese culture. They are composed of 12 animals derived from nature, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, It is composed of pigs and legendary dragons and is used to record the year. The order is rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, Hai pig. It is widely used in Chinese cultural circles. There are many literary works describing the twelve zodiac animals. At the same time, the twelve zodiac animals are also used in Chinese medicine and cartoon names. The origin of the zodiac, using the 12 zodiac animals to record the years, began in our country at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. "Northern History·Yuwenhu Biography" records a letter written by Yuwenhu's mother to him. The letter said: "In the past, you were born in Wuchuan Town, and the older brother was born in the year of rat." , the second one is Rabbit, and you are Snake." It shows that the 12 zodiac signs were already used among the people at that time. What is the origin of the 12 zodiac signs? Ancient Chinese books record that the ancient Central Plains region of my country initially used the "stem and branch chronology method", that is, using the 10 celestial stem symbols (A, B, C, D, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin). , Ren, Gui) and the 12 earthly branch symbols (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) to record the year. A few nomadic peoples in northwest my country use animals to mark their years. "Book of Tang" records: "The country of Xijiasi uses twelve objects to mark the year. If the year is in Yin, it is said to be the Year of the Tiger." In addition, "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Tubo" also records that when the Tubo leaders narrated, they used objects to record the years. The so-called "old things in the Tao are counted in twelve chens that belong to the sun, such as the year of the rabbit and the year of the horse." Later, in the exchanges between the Central Plains and ethnic minorities, the two chronology systems came into contact with each other to form the current 12 zodiac animals. Just as Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in the "Kai Yu Cong Kao", "In the early days of Northern customs, there was no such thing as the twelve o'clock of Zichou Yinmao, but the years were divided into years by rats, cows, tigers and rabbits, which was spread throughout China. So we can keep our ears together without losing our ears.” This explanation of the origin of the 12 zodiac animals has been recognized by many people. In addition, there are other opinions about the origin of the 12 zodiac signs: Hong Xun's "Yanggu Manlu" said that among the 12 earthly branches, those with odd numbers are matched with the fingers or hooves of animals with odd numbers. The matching rat has 5 fingers. Those with an even number among the earthly branches are named after the even number of the zodiac sign. For example, the ox and the ugly match have 4 claws. In "Cao Mu Zi", Ye Shijie explained the origin of the 12 zodiac animals as follows: Artists match 12 animals with 12 zodiac animals, and each animal has its own shortcomings, such as rats without teeth, ox without teeth, tigers without spleen, and rabbits without lips. "The dragon has no ears, the snake has no feet, the horse has no guts, the sheep has no pupils, the monkey has no buttocks, the chicken has no kidneys, the dog has no stomach, the pig has no tendons, and the human being has no deficiencies." There are many other sayings. For example: Huangdi wants to Select 12 kinds of animals to be on duty in the sky on time... 12 kinds of animals including rats, oxen, tigers, etc. were selected through competition; the 12 zodiac animals come from the totem worship of some clans in primitive society, and are divided according to the strength of each tribe at a certain gathering; 12 The zodiac may be introduced from Tianzhu; or the 28 constellations are distributed around the sky to correspond to 12 hours. Each constellation is named after an animal that is on duty at each hour. Although people are not sure of the exact origin of the 12 zodiac signs, they are still in use today because they are popular, convenient and interesting, and have become a precious legacy left to us by the ancients that still has practical value. Heritage. Myths and Legends Woodcarvings of the Twelve Zodiac Signs There is a myth and legend circulating about the origin of the twelve zodiac signs: when Emperor Xuanyuan wanted to select twelve animals to serve as palace guards, the cat asked the mouse to sign up for the animal ordering image in "The Song of the Twelve Zodiac Signs", but the mouse forgot about it. , but the cat was not selected, and from then on they became enemies with the mouse. The elephant also came to compete, but the mouse got into its trunk and drove it away. The other animals originally pushed the cow to lead, but the mouse jumped on the cow's back, and the pig also ran away. Following the commotion, the mouse ranked first and the pork chop came last. The tiger and the dragon refused to accept and were named the king of the mountain and the king of the sea, ranking behind the mouse and the ox. The rabbit also refused to accept and raced with the dragon, but ended up in front of the dragon. The dog was not satisfied and bit the rabbit in anger, so he was punished by being ranked second from the bottom. After some competition, the snake, horse, sheep, monkey, and chicken also determined their positions one by one, and finally formed the rat, ox, and tiger. , Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: A, B, B, D, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui. Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou. , Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai.

The twelve zodiac signs and the twelve hours: Zi (rat) hour (23 o'clock ~ 01 o'clock), Chou (ox) hour (01 o'clock ~ 03 o'clock), Yin (tiger) hour (03 o'clock ~ 05 o'clock), Mao (rabbit) Hour (05:00~07:00), Chen (Dragon) hour (07:00~09:00), Si (Snake) hour (09~11:00), Wu (Horse) hour (11:00~13:00), Wei (Sheep) hour ) hour (13 to 15 o'clock), Shen (monkey) hour (15 o'clock to 17 o'clock), You (rooster) hour (17 o'clock to 19 o'clock), Xu (dog) hour (19 o'clock to 21 o'clock), Hai ( Pig) time (21 o'clock ~ 23 o'clock). Meaning (1) The twelve zodiac signs of our country are opposite each other and the six reincarnations reflect all the expectations and requirements of our ancestors for us Chinese. Group 1: Rat and Ox. The rat represents wisdom and the ox represents diligence. The two must be closely integrated. If you only have wisdom without hard work, it will become a little cleverness. If you only have hard work without using your brain, it will become stupidity. Therefore, the two must be combined. This is the first set of expectations and requirements our ancestors had for the Chinese people, and it is also the most important set. Group 2: Tiger and Rabbit. The tiger represents bravery and the rabbit represents caution. The two must be closely integrated to achieve the so-called boldness and carefulness. If courage leaves caution, it becomes reckless, and blind caution turns into cowardice. This group is also very important, so it is placed second. The third group is dragons and snakes. The dragon represents strength and the snake represents flexibility. It is said that those who are strong are easy to break, those who are too strong are easy to break; those who are too soft are easy to be weak, and those who are too soft are easy to lose their opinions. Therefore, the combination of hardness and softness is the motto of our ancestors throughout the ages. The fourth group is horses and sheep. The horse represents perseverance and forging ahead towards the goal, while the sheep represents unity and harmony. The Chinese nation is a big family, and we need a united and harmonious internal environment. Only with collective harmony can we be free to pursue our own ideals. If a person only cares about his own interests and does not pay attention to unity and harmony, he will inevitably end up alone. Therefore, personal progress and collective harmony must be closely integrated. The fifth group is monkey and chicken. The monkey represents flexibility, and the rooster crows regularly, representing stability. Flexibility and constancy must be closely combined. If you are only flexible without stability, no matter how good your policy is, you will not gain anything in the end. But if you were just constant, a pool of stagnant water or a piece of iron, then we would not have the reform and opening up we have today. Only a very harmonious combination between them can provide stability on the one hand, maintaining overall harmony and order, and on the other hand can continuously move forward in a flexible manner. Finally there are dogs and pigs. Dogs represent loyalty, and pigs represent easy-going. If a person is too loyal and does not know how to be easy-going, he will exclude others. On the other hand, if a person is too easy-going and lacks loyalty, he will lose his principles. Therefore, whether it is loyalty to a nation, a team, or one's own ideals, it must be closely combined with easy-going, so that it is easy to truly maintain the loyalty deep in the heart. This is what we Chinese people have always insisted on: a circle on the outside and a square on the inside. Gentlemen are harmonious but different. Everyone in China has his own zodiac sign. Some people are pigs and some people are dogs. What is the significance of this? In fact, our ancestors expect us to be harmonious and not biased, and require us to know how to approach the corresponding side. For example, people who belong to the Pig can pursue loyalty in their easy-going nature; while people who belong to the Dog can be easy-going in their loyal nature. Zodiac Characteristics Characteristics and Disadvantages of the Twelve Zodiac Signs Rat: Attractiveness, sociability, influence, intelligence, frugality, charm, nervousness, desire for power, verbosity, cunning, greed, interference. Ox: Integrity, innovation, purposefulness, diligence, stability, good words, stubbornness, indifference, prejudice, slowness, revenge. Tiger: Enthusiasm, good luck, courage, charity, charm, authority, impulsiveness, bragging, irritable, indulgent, disobedient, wandering. Rabbit: Wit, mysophobia, prudence, skill, longevity, virtue, secrets, amateur, overly cautious, melancholy, self-show, kindness, hope. Dragon: Strength, enthusiasm, success, courage, health, passion, stiffness, confusion, distrust, boastfulness, dissatisfaction and talkativeness. Snake: Intuition, wisdom, attraction, alertness, caution, sympathy, concealment, greed, luxury, arrogance, laziness, self-admiration. Horse: Persuasiveness, fashion, autonomy, agility, popularity, achievement, selfishness, impatience, arrogance, impatience, resistance, arrogance. Sheep: Invention, whimsy, sensitivity, politeness, perseverance, taste, attachment, pessimism, lack of vision, impracticality, slowness, worry. Monkey: Improvisation, leadership, wit, intelligence, stability, loyalty, cunning, confidence, scheming, stupidity, talkative, speculation. Rooster: Flexible, conservative, enthusiastic, beautiful, frank, humorous, arrogant, self-showing, boastful, blind worship, debauchery.

Dog: Durable, responsible, heroic, intelligent, respectable, moral, restless, sarcastic, critical, unsociable, self-righteous, diplomatic. Pig: Prudent, cheerful, brave, cultured, sincere, honest, gullible, materialistic, angry, hesitant, foolish. Compatible Zodiac Signs: Rat: Dragon, Monkey, and Ox are auspicious, but cannot be matched with Sheep, Horse, Rabbit, and Rooster. Other zodiac signs are less auspicious. Ox: Good luck when meeting rats, snakes, and chickens. It is not compatible with dragons, horses, sheep, dogs, and rabbits. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Tiger: Good luck with horses and dogs, but not with snakes and monkeys. Other zodiac animals are less lucky. Rabbit: It is very auspicious when meeting sheep, dogs, and dragons. It cannot be matched with rats, cows, monkeys, chickens, and horses. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Dragon: It is very auspicious when meeting rat, monkey, and rabbit. It cannot be matched with dog, ox, dragon, or chicken. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Snake: good luck when meeting ox, rooster, and horse. It cannot be matched with tiger, monkey, or pig. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Horse: It is very auspicious when meeting snakes, sheep, and dogs. It cannot be matched with rats, cows, rabbits, and horses. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Sheep: Good luck with rabbits, horses, and pigs, but not with rats, cows, and dogs. Other zodiac signs are less lucky. Monkey: It is very auspicious when meeting rat or dragon. It cannot be matched with tiger, snake or pig. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Rooster: Good luck when meeting Ox, Dragon, and Snake. It is not compatible with Rabbit, Rooster, and Dog. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Dog: It is very auspicious when encountering tiger, rabbit, and horse. It cannot be matched with ox, dragon, sheep, and chicken. Other zodiac animals are less auspicious. Pig: Good luck with Sheep and Rabbit, but not with Snake, Pig, Monkey. Other zodiac animals are less lucky. Naming Chinese people based on the twelve zodiac signs is very particular about the zodiac signs. Naming children using the twelve zodiac signs is also a part of Chinese culture. According to the zodiac signs of children, giving them good names according to the circumstances is a good way to name the Book of Changes. As we all know, the rat is not a very good zodiac sign in people's minds, but its wit, flexibility, intelligence, and humor have left a deep impression on people. People who belong to the "Rat" zodiac are best to choose words with the prefix "草" or a single person next to them, because according to tradition, these words can protect it well. Such as: Baoyu, Anhong, Heyue, Qiushi, Baocang, Yinyun, Jiayu, Zhoujun, Zhuying, Fuze, Zongying, Gurong, Weirong, Jianqian, Weilian. The cow is considered to be a good animal that is honest, simple, self-respecting, positive, and hardworking. Cows need people's heartfelt love and care, and they cannot live without water. Therefore, for people born in the Year of the Ox, it is best to have a name with the radicals "vertical heart" and "three dots of water". For example: Hengqing, Huaiji, Runkan, Haiqing, Weige, Yutao, Manjie, Xunchen, Yilan, Qianwei, Shupei, etc. Tigers are considered strong, brave, and independent, but the only drawback is that they are arrogant. Everyone knows the saying "There is no room for two tigers in one mountain" or "Tiger emerges from deep mountains". Therefore, it is best for people who belong to the year of Tiger to have names with the character "山" in them. For example, names such as Lanling, Songling, Yanfeng, Weiran, Anqing, Qihui, Zhixuan, Zhangyi, Tianluan, etc. are all good. Rabbit is a symbol of suppleness, kindness, intelligence and liveliness in people's minds. The best name for a child whose zodiac sign is rabbit should have the word "moon" in it. Such as: Qinyu, Yuying, Yuhua, Pengfei, Pengzhan, Zhipeng, Zhaohui, Zhaoxia, Minghui, Chenchao, Zhaoming, Xinming, Pengtai, Zepeng, Yuyuan, Yumei, Yueqing, Yue Qi, Shengjian, Shengcai, etc. The dragon is considered the most noble and powerful of all animals and represents wealth and authority. Words with three dots of water are the most popular. Such as: Shen, Lan, Jiang, Chi, Chao, Ping, Pei, Qian, Hong, Han, etc. Snakes like to come in and out of the grass, so it is best for children born in the year of Snake to give names that begin with grass. Such as: Ailin, Fendi, Yunsheng, Ye Xuan, Yan Min, Maowei, Yuanqian, Rongjun, Baohua, Mulun, etc. Horses are considered to be open-minded, friendly, courageous animals with a bright future. Horses like to eat grass and grains, so you can name your child with the prefix "grass" and the word "禾". Such as: Ying, Yi, Yun, Sui, Ying, Qiu, Mao, Rong, Mu, etc. Sheep are also praised by the world for their peace, patience, kindness and docility. Grass is the lifeblood of sheep. There seems to be no sheep in the world who do not eat grass seedlings. So these words are good when naming. Such as: Ke, Qin, Lian, Ying, Zhi, Qin, etc. People born in the Year of the Monkey seem to be lively and creative, and many of them like to talk. Monkeys like to jump up and down trees in search of food, so children born in the year of monkey should be named with the word next to the word "wood". Such as: Fulin, Wenquan, Wangdi, Puping, Songtao, Fengling, Huazhen, Jiyan, Haitang, Zhenrong, Pingkun, etc. Chickens give people a good impression of being enthusiastic, hospitable and regular in life, although some chickens are among the "big noisy people". Chickens love to eat rice or beans, so naming them is also essential. Such as: Deng, Jing, Cui, Gu, Mi, etc. Dog is a loyal animal that has a good relationship with people, so when naming it, remember to use a word next to the word "person".

Such as: Hua, Ren, Lun, Jun, Fang, Wei, Bo, Ren, Shi, Jian. Pigs are considered to be docile, down-to-earth, sincere, and persistent, although they may be a little selfish at times. People born in the Year of the Pig should remember to deal with the prefix "grass" or "earth", so these characters are very suitable. Such as: Puyin, Zengsheng, Jialan, Peiwen, Hongji, Liansheng, Guichun, etc.