What is the origin of the animal year?

The ancient calendar of China used the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches to mark the year. There is a saying in the first poem of The Journey to the West, a classic literary masterpiece, that "there are no children in the mountains, and the cold does not know the year". The "Jiazi" mentioned here refers to the calendar that marks the year with trunk branches. This means that because there is no calendar in the mountains, the slight cold and the great cold in the 24 solar terms have passed, and I don't know that the Spring Festival is coming. In ancient times, it was very scientific to use the method of chronology of cadres and branches, but in the long social process at that time and later, after all, very few people could read words and sentences. It is difficult for most illiterate people to remember the date of birth by heavenly stems and earthly branches's combination, such as A, B, C, D, Zi Ugly Yin Mao. In order to facilitate memory and calculation, people use twelve kinds of animals, such as rats and cows, to correspond to the twelve earthly branches, and one of them is used as a year's zodiac every year. For example, according to the lunar calendar, the year 2004 is Shen Jianian and the zodiac is a monkey. It is much more difficult to remember Shen Jianian, but it is much easier to remember the Year of the Monkey. Historically, after people get married and have children, they don't need a household registration. For ordinary people, it doesn't matter if you can't remember the year of your child's birth. Just remember your child's zodiac sign. Therefore, the zodiac plays a role in strengthening memory. This special way of remembering age has become a major feature of China folk culture. Because there are ten days and twelve earthly branches, every twelve years is a small cycle, and every sixty years is a big cycle (a flower). That is to say, every twelve years, everyone will meet the same birth year as the year he was born, which is what people call the birth year. People especially like red in the animal year. The emphasis on red in the animal year should come from the worship of red in the traditional culture of Han nationality in China. In the old-fashioned wedding of the Han nationality, the red sedan chair, the bride in red dress, red lanterns, red carpets and red candles are all shrouded in red light. In ancient times, when the army won the battle, it was necessary to send people to raise the red flag to report the good news, and students were required to wear red clothes and flowers when they became famous. Only the brave God Guan Yunchang has the right to appreciate the red face in Peking Opera. Han people regard red as a symbol of happiness, success, loyalty and justice, especially red has the function of exorcising evil spirits and protecting the body. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, people put on red underwear early, or wear red belts and some accessories tied with red silk to welcome their birth year. It is believed that only in this way can we avoid disasters. People also have the custom of offering sacrifices to the "core monument of the God of Life" in each Year of the Animal. There is a Chen Yuan Temple in Beijing Baiyun Temple, which is dedicated to the "Sixty Jiazi God". Every year in the first half of the first month, the incense here is very prosperous. People who come here to burn incense will worship their respective life core monuments and pray for peace. The god's view of the core monument of life comes from Taoism. As a local religion in China, Taoism has a natural kinship with heavenly stems and earthly branches and the Chinese Zodiac. As for the core monuments of the God of Life, some places are called "Ming Shou Xing Jun" and some places are called "Chen Yuan", which are collectively referred to as the God of Sixty Children. People born in different years within 60 years, headed by Jiazi Year, can find their own core monument. For example, Yue Fei, a national hero, was born in A.D. 1 103. The core monument of his life is "General Wei Renda, not in his prime". Taoism believes that if Chen Yuan is enshrined in the core monument of life, and Chen Yuan is enshrined in the core monument of life in the animal year or the normal year, it will eliminate disasters and gain happiness, which has become a custom that has been passed down to this day. The ancients believed that there would be seven disasters and eight difficulties in a person's life, from the emperor to the general to the people's minions. People generally think that the year of birth is a bad year, which is a "hurdle" on the road of life. This metaphor will undoubtedly have a great impact on people's psychological development, so people's mentality of seeking good fortune and avoiding evil seems to be innate. Why do people have such fears about the birth year? Why does the animal year have such a strong appeal in the hearts of all beings? If this is largely influenced by the theory of numerology in China's traditional culture, it is interesting to note that many numerology books have no relevant discussion, and the definition of "Chen Yuan" in numerology books is also very different from that of Taoism. If this fear is feudal superstition, some people do encounter more or less unpleasant strange things in their lives, and some people also think that they will do some absurd things in their lives. Liu also thinks in the article "About the Animal Year" that from the perspective of people's psychological development, the animal year often becomes a big hurdle in people's life process and constitutes a dangerous period. There are different opinions about the year of birth, and it is difficult to draw a conclusion. But the phenomenon of "animal year" is indeed a blank spot in folklore research.