1976 Lunar New Year belongs to the zodiac dragon. In ancient myths and legends of China, the dragon is a magical animal, with the image of nine animals in one and nine animals in different ways. Exactly which nine animals are controversial. It has always been recognized that the origin of the dragon is a synthesis of various animals and a symbol of totem worship formed in primitive society.
Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, omnipotent. These all developed the image of the dragon in the later period. In feudal times, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor, and it was also used to refer to the emperor and his things: dragon face, dragon court, dragon robe, dragon palace and so on. Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac animals in China, and is also called "Four Animals" with White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu. The dragon in western mythology has also been translated into Jackie Chan, but the two are not the same.
Totem Theory of Zodiac
The ancestors of primitive society often used some animals, inanimate objects or graphics of natural phenomena as protectors and symbols of their clans, that is, totems. The mixed image of man and beast in Shan Hai Jing is an ancient totem god. The totem of Xia nationality is bear or fish, the totem of Shang nationality is blackbird, and the totem of Zhou nationality is dragon, bird, turtle, dog and tiger. ?
Zodiac animals are imaginary except dragons, and the rest are daily visible. It can be divided into two categories, namely "six animals" (horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs) and "six animals" (rats, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes and monkeys). The former is animals domesticated by people for economic purposes, while the latter disturbs human life to a certain extent, and their ancestors are afraid of them. Therefore, these animals are worshipped as the name symbols of this clan.
Ethnologist Liu Yaohan inferred the origin of the "Zodiac Calendar" from the totem relics of the Yi people. The zodiac calendars of Yi and Maoren in western Guangxi, in which people are listed in the zodiac, are "the legacy of the original idea of not distinguishing between people and animals in reality". The Yi people still use the Chinese zodiac to mark the date and use it as the name of the market (such as Tiger Street and Rabbit Street).