Cattle are not only heroes of land reclamation, but also various exotic animals. On the earth, cattle are high sacrifices of the royal family and farm animals. In the zodiac, although the cow ranks second, it has the spirit of king. When it comes to the zodiac, people who belong to cows are always the first, because they seem to be born cows. It is said that people born in the Year of the Ox have a natural domineering and chivalrous atmosphere.

First, the perfect combination of "ugliness" and "cow"

China is based on agriculture, and cattle have been one of people's closest partners for thousands of years. Although cattle are extremely powerful, they always give people the impression of being honest. Their requirements for feed are lower than those of horses and sheep, but they strive for high yield.

In the zodiac, the corresponding earthly branch of cattle is "ugly", so we are used to calling it "ugly cow". Of course, ugliness here is not ugliness of beauty and ugliness. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, ugly glyphs are like a hand holding something. In Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi, it is considered that the ugliness in the ground refers to the hand, while Xu Shen also thinks that ugliness refers to the compilation.

Ugly characters correspond to the December of the lunar calendar, which is the time when everything recovers. It can be said that ugly words indicate that spring is coming. If the meaning of preparation is extended to explain, it refers to the preliminary work of ancient preparation. In Shang Dynasty, cows were important sacrifices, and cows as sacrifices naturally had ugly words.

In the eyes of the ancients, cattle meant infinite power. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" records that Shang Zhouwang's strength is infinite, and he has the power of nine cows. The ancients all knew that cows had great strength, so they used to call nine cows powerful people.

Second, the domestication and "worship" of cattle.

In fact, from the classification of cattle, today's cattle, yak, buffalo and so on. They are all domesticated domestic cattle. The ancestors of domestic cattle are wild bison, which is a huge animal with superior response. This is a bit like the bison in this area today. This kind of bison lives in Qiangtang grassland, which is the cold high altitude area in the northern no-man's land. Bison are violent, extremely fast and very aggressive. When they see cars galloping on the plateau, they tend to act aggressively.

Bison living in Qiangtang Plateau

Therefore, in the era when cattle were not domesticated, the strength and ferocity of bison were unmatched by many animals, especially the two horns of cattle were their attack weapons. Sumerian epic "Gilmeish" records that cows can create tsunamis. According to historical records, Emperor Yan was like a bull's head, indicating that the ancients worshipped cows long ago.

According to historical records, after the Shang Dynasty, cattle began to be domesticated by people, and with the introduction of round chariots, ox carts were born. Later, ox carts became a means of transportation for many people, but according to the current archaeological findings, the domestication of cattle may have been completed 4000 to 5000 years ago. The appearance of ox carts after Shang Dynasty may just show that people's domestication of cattle had reached a quite mature stage at that time.

Cattle and cart servants in Tang Dynasty

During the Warring States period, with the development of national undertakings and agricultural technology, people began to use cows to pull plows, which greatly improved the productivity at that time. At this time, people began to rely more and more on the use of cattle, and the worship of cattle also deepened. There is an important cultural relic in Shanghai Museum: ancestor worship. This is an instrument that people drank in the Western Zhou Dynasty. This sacrifice (cow) has an iron ring hanging from its nose. This technique of putting nose rings on cattle proves that people's domestication of cattle has reached a quite mature stage at that time.

Cultural Relics Sacrifice in Shanghai Museum

There is an old saying that Petunia should lead the cows by the nose, and those cows who don't lead by the nose are difficult to control, let alone let them plow the fields seriously. With the development of technology in Niu Geng, the production technology of "two cows" appeared in Han Dynasty, and at this time, cows began to be given new meaning. After the Han Dynasty, there were many cows in spring. At the beginning of spring, many places have the custom of "whipping cattle in spring" to show the joy of spring and respect for cattle.

Whip spring cattle

Third, "Kaiyuan Iron Bull" eliminates disasters.

Cattle, as the main force of spring ploughing, have gradually taken root in people's hearts. Beginning of spring refers to the arrival of spring, which means the weather has taken on a new look. By the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people's worship of cows was increasing day by day, and cows were gradually endowed with the meaning of good luck. In spring, some rural areas have the custom of catching cows' heads. The ancients thought that catching a cow's head was the beginning of a good year.

Of course, the role of cattle is not only related to good luck and spring ploughing. 1989 In the summer, the famous Yellow River Iron Bull was discovered in today's pucheng county, Yuncheng, Shanxi. Pucheng area is an important area with frequent floods in the Yellow River, and floods often destroy bridges and farmland along the coast. So people began to put an iron cow beside the old road of the Yellow River, and the role of the iron cow was to eliminate disasters.

This iron cow was built in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, Zack Zhang, then Minister of War, was involved in this matter. He thinks that the Yellow River Bridge in Pujin Ferry is in disrepair, and Pujinguan is an important military barrier in Chang 'an. In order to make the traffic from Chang 'an to Hedong never be affected by the flood, he made great efforts to cast an iron cow here and personally carved the four characters of "Kaiyuan Iron Bull". Gradually, the iron cow was given the meaning of eliminating disasters and keeping one side safe. Later, in many places in China, the custom of throwing cattle by the river or by the river arose. Its purpose was to hope that cattle could always protect one side of the water and soil from floods.

Yellow River Iron Bull near the mouth of Pujin Ferry in Yuncheng, Shanxi.

It is often said that the Year of the Ox is the most auspicious year among the twelve zodiac animals. In many places, it is still popular that "the Year of the Ox and the Year of the Horse are conducive to farming", which indicates a bumper harvest and favorable weather in the coming year. Therefore, in the year of the ox in 2022, we look forward to bad luck and good luck.

Wen dui Shuo

During the evolution of the Chinese zodiac for thousands of years, cattle have always been the closest partners in China people's daily life. Although the cow is endowed with great strength, its character is simple and honest, and it always works hard at all kinds of farm work. The domestication of cattle originated in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and cattle have been widely used in agricultural production. Later, with the widespread use of cattle, people began to worship the spirit of cattle, and cattle gradually became synonymous with good luck and avoiding disaster. People born in the Year of the Ox seem to have such pride and good luck.

refer to

China Geographic Editorial Department: Heritage of China (under the special issue of Chinese Zodiac),No. 1, 2022.

Editorial Department of Geography of China: Geography of China (Spring Festival Supplement), special issue of 20 10.

Yang Kuan: A Brief History of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Normal University Press,198565438+February.

Han: Sixteen Lectures on Historical Geography of China, University Press, June 5-438+ 10.

Zou Yilin: Historical Human Geography of China, Shanghai Publishing House, 200 1 year 1 1 month.

Zheng Zhenman: Harmony and Order, Xiamen University Press, 65438+February 2022.

(:Haoran Shi Wen Gong Yu Walker)

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