In the ancient calendar of China, A, B, C, D, E, Ji, G, Xin, Ren and Gui were called "ten heavenly stems", while Zi, Ugly, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai were called "twelve earthly branches". The two cooperate with each other in a fixed order, forming the discipline of cadres and branches. Judging from the Oracle Bone Inscriptions unearthed in Yin Ruins, in ancient China, the trunk and branch were mainly used to record the days, as well as the months, years and hours. So, who is the inventor of cadre and branch discipline?

Although there are the following statements to verify the origin of the main branch, who invented it? When did it first appear? This is always a mystery.

At the end of the Warring States period, a historical book "Shi Ben" compiled on the basis of long-term accumulation of materials by historians from various countries said, "Rongcheng is a calendar, and Dafa is a jiazi", and "both of them are ministers of the Yellow Emperor. Since the Yellow Emperor, Jiazi has been used to mark the day, and Jiazi is once every 60 days. It seems that the main branch was created by a big fuss. He "took the five elements of love and occupied the building of the bucket, and began to be famous, which was called dry; The ugly son is named after the moon, which is called Zhi. There is something in the sky, it is used during the day, there is something underground, and the moon is used. The difference between yin and yang makes it a branch name. "

Guo Moruo believes that in the study of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, people's previous explanations of the dry branch were based on the expectation of literature, and the "ten days of dry branch" was purely a natural occurrence of decimal notation, and most of them were created by Yin people. As for the "Twelve Earthly Branches", it originated in Babylonia. After comparing the twelve o'clock in ancient China with the twelve zodiac signs in Babylon, it is pointed out that the twelve mornings and twelve earthly branches in ancient China are all evolved from the twelve zodiac signs in Babylon. The way it was introduced into China can be boldly speculated. Perhaps the Shang clan "originally came from the northwest, and when they came, they brought the ephemeris knowledge taught by Babylon and used it after entering Middle-earth". Perhaps "Shang nationality originated in the East, and its ephemeris knowledge was imported by western businessmen or herders".

Some scholars have explored the unique phenomenon that the characters in the ten-day dry were used as names from the names of all emperors in Xia and Shang Dynasties. Chen Zungui pointed out in the History of Astronomical Literature in China that "there may have been some branches in the Xia Dynasty more than 4,000 years ago". In his book The Origin of Astronomy in China, Zheng believes that the Ten Days originated from the myths and legends of Fuxi and "Born Ten Days" in ancient China, which is a reflection of the concept of decimal method in the calendar and should have originated from the primitive society in the fishing and hunting era. The "Twelve Earthly Branches" evolved from the myth that "there are two births in October" before the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and then gradually evolved into twelve Chen. Therefore, Zheng concluded: "Twelve Poems is probably the creation of Xia people." Du Shiran and others argued in the book History of Science and Technology in China that there was a ten-day dry calendar in Xia Dynasty, and the Shang Dynasty further used the dry calendar in Xia Dynasty, thus combining the ten-day dry calendar with the twelve earthly branches to form a sixty-week calendar.

The significance of ten days' work

The meaning of heavenly stems and earthly branches is partly recorded in Historical Records and Hanshu. The general meaning is:

A means of disassembly, that is, everything comes out of the armor.

B means rolling, which means everything is born and rolled out.

C means bing, which means everything sees bing.

Ding means strong, which means everything is strong.

E means lush, which means everything is thriving.

Self-discipline means that everything is tangible and binding.

Geng means more, which means that all things converge and are real.

New means new, which means that everything is harvested at a new time.

Ren means Ren, which means that Yang is in charge of everything.

Deck means slapping, which means you can slap anything.

It can be seen that the ten-day drought is related to the appearance of the sun, and the cycle of the sun has a direct impact on everything.

The meaning of the twelve earthly branches

Zi is zi, which means that everything sprouts in the dynamic sun.

Ugliness is new, and the spirit of the sun has not fallen.

Yin means moving and attracting, which means that everything begins to produce Yin.

Hair is hair, everything is hair.

Chen means earthquake, and everything grows because of vibration.

The third is rising, which means that the yang is full.

Noon means "noon", which means everything is grand and flourishing.

Everything has a taste, unless it is a taste.

Shen means body, that is to say, all bodies have reached it.

Unitary is old, and everything is old.

It means destruction. Everything is destroyed.

Hai means the core, and everything is harvested.

Hexagonal subsequence

Jia Zi, Yi Ugly, Bing Yin, Ding Mao, Chen Wu, Keith, Geng Wu, Xin Wei, Ren Shen, Gui You,

JOE, Yihai, Bingzi, Ding Chou, Wuyin, Jimao, Chen Geng, Xinsi, Renwu, Guiwei,

Shen Jia, Yiyou, Xu Bing, Dinghai, Wuzi, Ugly, Gengyin, Xinmao, Renchen, Guisi,

Wu Jia, Yiwei, Shen Bing, Ding You, Wuxu, Jihai, Gengzi, Xin Chou, Ren Yin, Gui Mao,

Chen Jia, Yi Si, Wu Bing, Ding Wei, Wu Shen, You You, Geng Xu, Xinhai, Ren Zi, Ghost Chip,

Jiayin, Yi Mao, Chen Bing, Ding Si, Wu Wu, Wei Wei, Geng Shen, Xin You, Ren Xu, Gui Hai.

Jiazi Yin Na

Ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches are matched in turn, and sixty combinations from Jiazi to Guihai and * * * are called Sixty Jiazi. The meaning of each group with one syllable and five lines is still a mystery.

Jiazi, ugly, there is gold in the sea;

Bing Yin, Ding Mao, fire in the furnace;

Chen Wu, Keith, there are big trees;

Wei Xin Geng Wu, there is soil on the roadside;

Gui You Ren Shen, with sword front gold;

JOE, Yihai, has a mountain fire;

Bingzi and Ding Chou have holes in the water;

Wuyi, Ji Mao, has a wall soil;

Chen Geng and Sins, with ash gold;

Renwu, cinnamon, willow;

Shen Jia and Yiyou have springs;

Xu Bing and Dinghai, using the soil on the house;

Five sons, ugly, thunder and fire;

Geng Yin, Xin Mao, with pine and cypress;

Chen Chen, your company, has regular tap water;

Wu Jia, Yiwei, sand with gold;

Bing Shen, Ding You, with the mountain fire;

Wuxu, Jihai, with Pingmu;

Gengzi, Xin Chou, has soil on the wall;

Renyin, Guimao, with gold foil;

Chen Jia and Yisi have Buddha's light;

Ding Wei Bingwu, Tianhe;

Ji Youwu is a god, and the earth is big;

Geng Xu, Xinhai, with gold;

Renzi, Guichou, Sang Song;

Jiayin, Mao Yi, with big streams;

Chen Bing, Ding Si, use sand;

Wu Wu, I am gone, and the fire is in the sky;

Have a heart of Geng Shen, use pomegranate wood;

Ren Xu, Guihai, the sea is very big.

The following excerpt is taken from "On Listening and Taking Images" in "Three Meetings" to appreciate its meaning:

In the past, the Yellow Emperor divided Jiazi into sixty parts, numbered Huajiazi. The word Hua is sincere and mysterious, which is implied by the sage. We should not deliberately stick to the mud.

Husbands have their own gold, wood, water, fire and earth, from the son to the zodiac, and from the son to the six yin. The five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth belong to five stars in the sky, five mountains on the ground, five virtues and five elements in life. So Jiazi belongs to life, and life is a matter of life. So Jiazi sounds like a saint, and it's like a lifetime thing. What do you mean?

There are two ugly children, yin and yang, people, things hiding their roots, unbounded; Mao Yiner, Yin and Yang gradually open, people grow longer, things are dismantled, and flowers are gradually split, such as people must have bodies; Tatsumi II, full of yin and yang, things should be beautiful, such as people in their thirties and forties have a foothold and signs of progress; At noon, there were two people, yin and yang exposed, and things became strange. When people were in their fifties and sixties, they could see the wealth and poverty, and all the ups and downs could be seen; Shen Youer, yin and yang are cold, things are harvested, people are shrinking, and each has its own sum; There are two people, yin and yang are impassable, and the material spirit comes to the root. People should rest and have their own homes. In detail, there are two of these ten, and then you can see sixty jiazi.

Why did Jiazi Ugly take the golden statue in the sea? Put the gas in the bag, the name is invisible, the Jew is in the mother's belly; When you saved Jin in the Jedi, you were still weak and thin, so you called it Jin Jinbo. Xin and Jin have been living in the land of fire, and harmony has already taken place. The gold is still in the mine and sent to my hometown where I was born and raised. From the west positive color, it is called gray gold; Wu Jiayi's qi has become solid and solid, mixed with sand but different from sand. When it is refined in fire, it is called gold in sand, and the material is extremely rich. When using the power of convergence, it will stand out from the sharp blade. The golden position of the cover is dry, and the golden water is refined, so it is like a sword and the function of gold is excellent; At the end of the sea, there is a gold gas reservoir lurking, and its shape has been disabled. Jewelry has become its shape after exercise, and it has nothing to do with it. When the function of gold is completed, it is called Gengxu Xinhai Card Payment.

Why is Renzi ugly like Mulberry and Zhemu? Gage lives in a crooked position, but its shape does not stretch. It lives in the water, silkworms fail in the moon, and Sangzhe suffers from anger and takes time to live. Geng Yin's hatred and ugliness made him angry, and he gained the power of cultivation. He lives in gold, where gold and frost are strong, and wood thrives and withers when it meets cold, taking away his firmness of nature. So he said that the pine and cypress trees, when he was already in Chen Wu, were dead, things were timely, the branches and leaves were flourishing, and he had become a forest, so he said that he had taken advantage of the prosperity of his wood. At noon, the wood died at noon, and the tomb did not arrive. Therefore, the willow leaves are withered and the branches are weak in midsummer, so take it soft; Therefore, the willow; Geng Shen has a heart, five elements belong to gold, and Yin Na belongs to wood, which was taken by Xiang Ke. Those who cover the wood are only pomegranates; Shen You's spirit is quiet, things are getting real, wood lives in the golden land, and the taste becomes pungent, so it is called pomegranate wood; Seeing his death at noon, this wood is flourishing at noon, and it is biased; One hundred days after the Reform Movement of 1898, the spirit returned to Tibet, yin and yang were blocked, and the wood spirit returned to its roots and fell to the soil, so it was called Pingmu.

Why did Bingzi Ding Chou bring the image of a stream into the water? The gas hood is not conducive to economy, and the high section is not a place for water flow. Modesty is the hometown where water is located, from underground to shore, so it is said that the stream is launched; Jia Mao, the gas comes out of Yangming, the water potential depends on the source, the east flows deeply, and the potential is immersed, so it is called Daxi River; Benevolent ministers think highly, the situation is extremely southeast, the gas leaves the palace, the fire is bright, the water belongs to the reservoir, and Yingke is backward, which is a long flowing water; At the end of the afternoon, the gas will rise and fall. In the brilliant fire, there is water for rain to help the water in the fire, but there is water in the sky, so it is called Tianhe. Shen Jia is a good friend, with quiet breath, mother and son in the same place, inexhaustible, which is called Sesensui; Guihai, Ren Xu, the land of Tianmen, is in a peaceful state because of air resistance and water power failure. It is said that the sea is not poor and does not overflow.

Why is abital ugly like a thunderbolt? Cover the air in one yang, forming a level, fire in water, not dragon, so it is called thunderbolt fire; Bing Yin Ding Mao is getting brighter and brighter, which is obvious because of his salary. Yin and yang are the governance, heaven and earth are the furnace, and the fire in the furnace; The vibrant Chen Jiayi III is bound to be Gorkon, which shows that the mother and son are in the same line, but also that the lights are covered; At the end of the martial arts, I was angry at the palace memorial, and then I left the meeting. I was so angry that it was a skyfire. Bing Shen Ding You, the breath is hidden, the power is hidden, the position is retreated, the strength is weak, and the brightness is not as far, so it is said that the mountain fire; JOE Yihai refers to people who are on fire at the top of the mountain. The mountain is Tibetan-style, with its head shining, bright inside and dark outside, hidden but not obvious. Flying light into dry, belongs to rest. So it's a mountain fire. Why did Geng Qiu hang the image of clay on the wall? Gas resistance, things are still hidden, covered, and the inside and outside do not pay, so it is called soil on the wall; Five tones have their own foundation, qi can accomplish things and function education, based on strong roots and calyx, which is the first soil in the city; The ice dust and Ding Si who were angry with Yang have all passed and become their future. This is called sand. Geng Wu, qi should be shaped, things should be revealed, tangible and qualitative, and things can be revealed. They all say that Wu Shen is self-sufficient. Qi has returned to interest, things should converge, retreat and relax, and there is nothing beautiful. It is also the earth; Xu Bingding Hai, Cheng Qi, five blessings, things in yuan, Yin and Yang calendar, potential period, also known as the earth on the house.

I saw the dirt on the roadside, planted hundreds of valleys, and the land at noon. When will it flourish? The land of Dayi extends in all directions, and the land of Shen You is reasonable. The soil on the city head takes the merit of embankment, and the five officials rely on it to build the country for the people. The soil on the wall is whitewashed, given by the minister, and the former residence is where it lives. The soil in the sand is the wettest. When it is wet, it will be useful in the future. The soil on the house, the soil wins, the winner is quiet, so it stops. It covers the five elements, the command of support and the right to take care of and support, all of which are indispensable. You can compete, get a position, and make contributions in the four seasons. Gold is sharp and fierce, fire is bright, wood is brilliant and beautiful, water is endless, and crops are abundant. When you get together, you can become a mountain, a mountain and a height; If you don't get together, you can be the ground and the ground is the original. Endless, life is useless, and the role of soil is great!

The five elements are all divided into yin and yang through processing, that is, they are always changing. For example, Jia Zi and B Chou are different from Wu Jia and B Wei, and the distinction between water and soil in the sea sand is also different from rigidity and softness. Geng did all kinds of things to Xinhai, including white wax hairpin, in different ways; Renzi Gui You is different from Renwu Guiwei and Sangzhe Liu Yang, with a soft song and a different shape and quality; Geng Yin's new hair is opposite to Geng Shen's heart, pine and cypress pomegranate, one strong and the other spicy, with different properties and tastes; Chen Wu has always loved the 1898 movement, and devoted himself to The Flat Land. Prosperity and decline are indispensable. Wuzi is ugly to Wuzi, thunder is in the sky, thunder is in the whip, and the sun is shining; Bing Yin Ding Mao is right for Bing Shen Ding You, the furnace is in the sun, the fire is full of wood, and the golden fire is extinguished; Chen Jia and Yi Si are facing Jia Xu and Yihai, covering the mountains with lights, containing light and fearing the wind, and casting light to stop the roots; The hatred and ugliness of Gengzi is opposite to that of Gengwu. On the wall and the roadside, the body gathers and disperses, and the categories are dead and alive. Wuyin Yao Ji is on the right of Wushen Ji You, Chengtou Dayi, southeast and northwest, and Kungen is on the right; Bing Chen Ding Si and Xu Bing Ding Hai are opposite, living in a house on the sand, alternating wet and dry, changing all the time. Looking around, it is nothing more than the prosperity of death; Don't run away from Jin Mu, because you are near and far. Distribute five elements according to branches, and talk about yin and yang. Natural combination of human resources, prosperity of life, and death.

Oh! The sages of 60 Jiazi only explain their reason by their images, and the temperament, material, shape and function of the five elements are all exhausted, so naturally there is nothing left.

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12 Chinese zodiac signs

What are the zodiac signs?

China's zodiac animals are made up of eleven kinds of animals from nature, namely rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs and legendary dragons. Used to record the year, the order is mouse, ugly cow, silver tiger, hairy rabbit, dragon, snake, afternoon horse, sheep, monkey, You You chicken and dragon.

The origin of the zodiac

For a long time, many people regard Lun Heng, a great work by Wang Chong, a materialist thinker in the Eastern Han Dynasty, as the earliest document to record the zodiac. "On the Balance of Things" contains: "Yin, wood, birds and tigers. Soil, its birds and dogs are also. ..... At noon, the horse also arrived. Son, mouse also. Unitary, chicken also. Hair, rabbits, too. ..... hey, tapir. No, so are sheep. Ugly, cattle also. ..... Third, snakes are also. Shen, Qitian also. " There are only eleven zodiac signs in the above quotation, but the dragon is missing. The book "Poisonous Words" also said: "Chen Weilong, Si is a snake, and Chen and Si are in the southeast. In this way, the zodiac is completed.

"Zhou Li Chun Guan von Shi Xiang" contains: "Ten palms are two years old, ten palms are February, ten palms are two days old, ten palms are two days old, ten palms are two days old, and ten palms are twenty-eight stars. Their narrative is distinguished to meet the heaven." The division of time is progressive, with twelve years, twelve months a year and twelve o'clock a day.

"Mandarin Yu Jin Si" contains: "The Yellow Emperor has twenty-five sons, and fourteen sons have surnames, which are twelve surnames." Even the wives and concubines of the son of heaven are called "twelve women".

"The Biography of Xun Shuang in the Later Han Dynasty": "Therefore, the son of heaven married twelve women, and the number of days was also; There is an equal difference below the princes, and things have fallen. "

In recent years, the creation epic Dark Biography of the Han nationality has been discovered in Shennongjia area, in which there is a story about the origin of the main branch: "At the beginning of creation, Huang Xuan rode chaos beast and met Nuwa. There are two meat buns beside Nu Wa. There are ten men in the big one and twelve women in the small one. Huang Xuan said: "This is a heavenly revolution to support God to govern Gankun." So, they were named respectively, and the husband and wife were matched, which became yin and yang. Men are collectively called heavenly stems and women are earthly branches. "This creation myth story tells the story of Ganzhi, the mysterious god, the god of Nuwa, and the story of Ganzhi Yin and Yang Kun, dating back to the" life experience "of Ganzhi a long time ago.

In ancient times, the sky has always been the master and the earth has always been the subordinate. Ten heavenly stems are also called ten mothers, and the corresponding twelve branches are called twelve sons. Cai Yong's "Moon Order" in Han Dynasty: "The love of the five elements is great, occupying the program of fighting, so A and B became famous at the beginning, which is called dry; Making a child ugly in the name of the moon is a branch. Branches match branches to make sixty years old. " Da Rao was a minister in the era of the Yellow Emperor, and the match here is sixty years, that is, sixty jiazi, taking the least common multiple of ten days' work and twelve earthly branches. The trunk and branches are matched in order, from Jiazi to Ugly ... until Guihai is the 60th pair, which happens to be the last pair of trunk and branches, and then defecation starts from Jiazi. This cycle is called Jiazi. Among them, each aerial stem appeared 6 times and each aerial branch appeared 5 times.

The birth of the zodiac has an astronomical background. In primitive times, our ancestors experienced a cycle of alternating cold and summer.

Hong Hao's Biography at the End of Song Dynasty in Song Dynasty said: "Jurchen is very small, just after the new moon, and the person doesn't know the date. When asked, they will say, "How many times have I seen grass?" "

In the Song Dynasty, Meng Gong's Record of Monks and Tartars also recorded: "Every grass is one year old. When someone asks its age, they say how many grasses it is."

Later, some astronomical observers found that the length of a year can be measured by the moon's profit and loss cycle, and found that all twelve full moons are one year old. This discovery is one of the most accurate achievements of the early calendar, and "Twelve" is regarded as "days" to convey God's will. Heavenly stems and earthly branches, the sun and the moon are opposite, and heaven and earth are opposite. This is the "Twelve". A mouse and an ugly cow ... a dog and a pig. There are many animals in the world. Why did the ancients choose these twelve animals as their zodiac signs?

Liu Xian in Qing Dynasty was quoted from Li Changqing in Miscellaneous Notes of Yang Guang Matsushita Pavilion.

"Why is the child a mouse? Yue: Born in the child, it will not open until it dies. Rats eat insects. Therefore, in night is still young, positive mice have to wait, so children belong to mice.

The ground is ugly, and the cow opens the ground, so ugliness belongs to the cow.

If born in yin, if born, kill. Murderer, tiger, Yin people, fear. If you are awesome, you are a tiger, then Yin is a tiger.

Offender, sunrise. In vitro, it contains the essence of Taiyin Jade Rabbit, so it is a rabbit.

The morning of divination in March is when the dragon rains, so the morning belongs to the dragon.

The last person, divination in April, was lush and the snake was in its place. Also, when a snake is not on the road, it is a snake.

At noon, the sun is born, and the sun is born. Horses are healthy, never leave the ground, and belong to the shade, so they belong to horses in the afternoon.

Sheep are not sheep, because they grow by biting untimely grass.

When applying, the ape crowed in the sunset, and his arms were stretched out. By analogy, chaos runs rampant, so the application belongs to monkeys.

The moon rises to be a chicken, because it contains the essence of the golden rooster.

At the time of Hai, pigs knew nothing but diet, so Hai was a pig. "

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, which is the most active time for mice.

From 0: 00 to 3: 00 in the morning/kloc-,it's ugly, and the cow is ruminating. It is said that it is also the time when cows start plowing.

It is Yin Shi from 3: 00 to 5: 00. At this time, tigers are foraging everywhere, which is the fiercest.

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.

7: 00 am to 9: 00 am is the morning, which is a good time for the dragon to rain.

From 9: 00 to 1 1, the snake became active.

From eleven o'clock in the morning to one o'clock in the afternoon, the sun is shining, and at noon, it is the time to be unconstrained.

In the afternoon 1 until 3 o'clock, it is late. At this time, sheep will grow stronger if they eat grass.

From 3 pm to 5 pm, it is the Olympic Games. At this time, the monkey became active.

It's one yuan from five to seven. When night falls, chickens begin to return to their nests.

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

From 9 pm to 1 1, it is Shihai. At this time, all was silent and the pig was snoring.

There are various legends about the arrangement of the zodiac. Such stories, like jokes, or fables, have strong literary elements. However, the seating arrangement of the zodiac is by no means a one-off event, nor can it be completed in one generation. At the beginning, it is not necessary to nominate twelve kinds at a time, but there may be only four or five kinds, and there may be a surplus. Later, the survival of the fittest, quota positioning, has been passed down to this day.

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