1, offspring

2. Ugly cow

3. Yin Hu

4, Mao rabbit

5. Chen Long

6, the snake

7. afternoon horse

8. Weiyang

9. Shen Monkey

10, unitary chicken

1 1, dog

12, porcupine

Introduction to the zodiac

The origin of the zodiac is related to animal worship. According to the Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmeng Shuihudi, Hubei Province and Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu Province, a relatively complete zodiac system existed in the pre-Qin period. The earliest handed down document that records the same Chinese zodiac as modern times is Lun Heng written by Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The zodiac is the visual representation of the twelve earthly branches, namely Zi (mouse), Ugly (ox), Yin (tiger), Mao (rabbit), Chen (dragon), Si (snake), Wu (horse), Wei (sheep), Shen (monkey), You (chicken) and Xu (chicken).

Each zodiac has rich legends, which form a concept interpretation system and become an image philosophy in folk culture, such as the zodiac sign in marriage, temple prayer, animal year and so on. In modern times, more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and become a symbol of entertainment and cultural activities.

As a long-standing symbol of folk culture, the Zodiac has left a large number of poems, Spring Festival couplets, paintings, calligraphy and paintings and folk arts and crafts depicting the image and symbolic significance of the Zodiac. Apart from China, many countries in the world issue stamps of the zodiac during the Spring Festival to express their wishes for the New Year in China.