Chinese Zodiac

◎供稿：许林玉

在2022年北京冬奥会闭幕式上，载着孩子们飞舞滑行的十二只巨大冰鞋，采用了十二生肖的造型。它们惟妙惟肖，十分抢眼。实际上，在我国传统文化中，十二生肖不仅是用12种动物纪年这么简单，背后还蕴含着古天文历法逻辑。

1) reward [rɪˈwɔːd] n. 奖励；奖金

词组加油站

(be) based on 以……为基础

make up 组成

On the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese Zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal. On New Year’s Day, we enter a new Chinese zodiac cycle, which follows this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram/Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

As sometimes happens with historical developments, several versions of the origin of the Chinese zodiac exist. Most stories do seem to agree on one thing: the animals that make up the signs were the animals that appeared in response to an invitation. As a1)rewardfor appearing, these 12 animals were included on the Chinese zodiac. As interesting as the story of the animals is, there’s much more to the origin of the Chinese zodiac than that.

Whether it was Buddha inviting the animals to take part in a race or it was the Jade Emperor who invited the animals to attend a birthday celebration is one difference you’ll uncover when researching the origin of the Chinese zodiac. Another difference is the invitation itself. Some myths state that all animals were invited to a feast. Other stories mention that the animals were invited to take part in a race and as a reward for crossing the finish line. The first 12 animals would appear on the Chinese zodiac. Their order would2)correspondwith the order that each crossed the finish line.

The first to cross the finish line was the rat, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and finally, the pig. Interestingly, you’ll find that most discussion of the origin of the Chinese zodiac tends to focus on the order of the appearance of these animals. Perhaps this is because the story is easier to understand and much more entertaining than learning about the various physical and celestial elements that led to the creation of Chinese numbering systems.

There is3)evidencethat the Chinese zodiac came out a long time ago. The 12 earthly branches, which is a system devised by early Chinese astronomers for reckoning time. These astronomers closely monitored the orbit of the planet Jupiter which they referred to as the “Year Star”. After extensive study, they realized that Jupiter’s orbit4)occurredevery 12 years. That’s probably why the Chinese zodiac is based on a system of years, not months.

Another evidence that the Chinese zodiac came out early is the use of the 10 heavenly stems. This is an early cycle numbering system developed and used during the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC ~ 1046 BC). The 10 heavenly stems system is based on the5)beliefthat 10 heavenly suns each appeared in 10-day cycles. Each cycle was given a name and the names were supposedly based on the clans that made up the ruling class at that time.

2) correspond [ˌkɒrəˈspɒnd ] v. 相一致；符合

3) evidence [evidəns] n. 证据

4) occur [əˈkɜːr] v. 发生；出现

5) belief [bɪˈliːf] n. 信念；信仰

词组加油站

focus on 聚焦于

refer to…as 把……称作

Just like the Western zodiac, the Chinese zodiac attributes personality qualities to each of the 12 animal signs. These are often derived from observations about how animals behave and also come from the story of how the animals traveled to the Jade Emperor’s banquet.

The dragon, for example, could have been the first to arrive at the banquet, since he could fly. But he stopped to help some villagers and then helped the rabbit on his way. So those born in the year of the dragon are described as being interested in the world and willing to give a helping hand.

The rat, on the other hand, arrived at the banquet by taking a ride on the ox. Just as the ox arrived at the palace, the rat stuck his nose forward, so it was the first to arrive. Those born in the year of the rat are described as shrewd and manipulative.

在中国传统农历中，生肖以十二年为一周期，每年由一种动物作为代表。在农历新年第一天，我们进入新的十二生肖周期，其顺序如下：鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪。

和某些事物的历史发展一样，关于十二生肖的起源同样流传着多个版本。大多数传说似乎都有一个共同点：组成这些属相的动物是应邀而来。作为对其到场的奖励，这12种动物被列入十二生肖。尽管有关动物的故事很有趣，但中国十二生肖的起源远胜于此。

是佛祖邀请动物们参加比赛，还是玉皇大帝邀请动物们参加生日庆典？这是在研究十二生肖的起源时，人们会发现的一大区别。另一个区别在于邀请这件事本身。在有些神话故事中，所有动物都被邀请参加宴会。而有的故事则提到，动物们被邀请参加比赛，作为通过终点线的奖励，前12种动物将出现在十二生肖中。它们的排序与冲过终点线的顺序一致。

率先冲过终点的是鼠，随后是牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗，最后是猪。有趣的是，你会发现大多数关于十二生肖起源的讨论往往集中在这些动物的出现顺序上。或许，这是因为这样的故事更容易理解，而且比学习促成中国数字系统形成的各种物理和天体元素更具娱乐性。

有证据表明，十二生肖的出现时间很早。十二地支是中国早期天文学家设计的一个时间计算系统。这些天文学家称木星为“岁星”，并密切监测其运行轨道。他们对此进行了广泛的研究，发现木星的轨道每12年出现一次。这可能就是为什么十二生肖是一个以年为单位，而非以月为单位的系统。

另外一个证明十二生肖的起源时间早的证据是十天干系统的使用。这是一个早期的周期编号系统，产生于商朝（公元前1600年~公元前1046年）时期，并从那时开始使用。在十天干系统中，人们认为天上有10个太阳，它们以10天为周期相继出现。每个周期都有对应的名称，据说这些名称源自当时组成统治阶级的氏族。

与西方的黄道十二宫图一样，十二生肖也将个性品质赋予这十二种动物属相。这通常来自对动物行为方式的观察，也源自动物们如何赶赴玉皇大帝宴会的故事。

例如，龙本可以第一个到达宴会现场，因为他会飞。但他曾在途中停下来帮助一些村民，然后又在路上帮助了兔子。因此，那些在龙年出生的人被描述为对世界充满兴趣并乐于助人。

而老鼠则是搭在牛背上来到宴会现场的。就在牛到达宫殿时，老鼠把鼻子往前一伸，于是就成为第一个到达的动物，因此鼠年出生的人被描述为精明能干、善于操控。