Chinese Zodiac

◎供稿：許林玉

在2022年北京冬奧會閉幕式上，載著孩子們飛舞滑行的十二只巨大冰鞋，采用了十二生肖的造型。它們惟妙惟肖，十分搶眼。實際上，在我國傳統(tǒng)文化中，十二生肖不僅是用12種動物紀年這么簡單，背后還蘊含著古天文歷法邏輯。

1) reward [r??w??d] n. 獎勵；獎金

詞組加油站

(be) based on 以……為基礎(chǔ)

make up 組成

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 [?k?r??sp?nd ] v. 相一致；符合

3) evidence [evid?ns] n. 證據(jù)

4) occur [??k??r] v. 發(fā)生；出現(xiàn)

5) belief [b??li?f] n. 信念；信仰

詞組加油站

focus on 聚焦于

refer to…as 把……稱作

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.

在中國傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)歷中，生肖以十二年為一周期，每年由一種動物作為代表。在農(nóng)歷新年第一天，我們進入新的十二生肖周期，其順序如下：鼠、牛、虎、兔、龍、蛇、馬、羊、猴、雞、狗、豬。

和某些事物的歷史發(fā)展一樣，關(guān)于十二生肖的起源同樣流傳著多個版本。大多數(shù)傳說似乎都有一個共同點：組成這些屬相的動物是應(yīng)邀而來。作為對其到場的獎勵，這12種動物被列入十二生肖。盡管有關(guān)動物的故事很有趣，但中國十二生肖的起源遠勝于此。

是佛祖邀請動物們參加比賽，還是玉皇大帝邀請動物們參加生日慶典？這是在研究十二生肖的起源時，人們會發(fā)現(xiàn)的一大區(qū)別。另一個區(qū)別在于邀請這件事本身。在有些神話故事中，所有動物都被邀請參加宴會。而有的故事則提到，動物們被邀請參加比賽，作為通過終點線的獎勵，前12種動物將出現(xiàn)在十二生肖中。它們的排序與沖過終點線的順序一致。

率先沖過終點的是鼠，隨后是牛、虎、兔、龍、蛇、馬、羊、猴、雞、狗，最后是豬。有趣的是，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)大多數(shù)關(guān)于十二生肖起源的討論往往集中在這些動物的出現(xiàn)順序上?；蛟S，這是因為這樣的故事更容易理解，而且比學(xué)習(xí)促成中國數(shù)字系統(tǒng)形成的各種物理和天體元素更具娛樂性。

有證據(jù)表明，十二生肖的出現(xiàn)時間很早。十二地支是中國早期天文學(xué)家設(shè)計的一個時間計算系統(tǒng)。這些天文學(xué)家稱木星為“歲星”，并密切監(jiān)測其運行軌道。他們對此進行了廣泛的研究，發(fā)現(xiàn)木星的軌道每12年出現(xiàn)一次。這可能就是為什么十二生肖是一個以年為單位，而非以月為單位的系統(tǒng)。

另外一個證明十二生肖的起源時間早的證據(jù)是十天干系統(tǒng)的使用。這是一個早期的周期編號系統(tǒng)，產(chǎn)生于商朝（公元前1600年~公元前1046年）時期，并從那時開始使用。在十天干系統(tǒng)中，人們認為天上有10個太陽，它們以10天為周期相繼出現(xiàn)。每個周期都有對應(yīng)的名稱，據(jù)說這些名稱源自當時組成統(tǒng)治階級的氏族。

與西方的黃道十二宮圖一樣，十二生肖也將個性品質(zhì)賦予這十二種動物屬相。這通常來自對動物行為方式的觀察，也源自動物們?nèi)绾乌s赴玉皇大帝宴會的故事。

例如，龍本可以第一個到達宴會現(xiàn)場，因為他會飛。但他曾在途中停下來幫助一些村民，然后又在路上幫助了兔子。因此，那些在龍年出生的人被描述為對世界充滿興趣并樂于助人。

而老鼠則是搭在牛背上來到宴會現(xiàn)場的。就在牛到達宮殿時，老鼠把鼻子往前一伸，于是就成為第一個到達的動物，因此鼠年出生的人被描述為精明能干、善于操控。