The eastern horoscope describes mainly not events, but relationships between people. From the point of view of the Eastern worldview, it is the relationships between people that determine the events that happen to us. Indeed, the ability to properly build relationships with your immediate environment guarantees you success, financial well-being, career, and family harmony. This is often more important than choosing the right behavior.
Animals act as objects of a developed mythological system, as well as objects of fine art, and play an important role in religious rituals.
The role of animals in the mythology of the peoples of the world is exceptionally great and is determined by the importance that animals had at the early stage of human development. Images of animals were used in epic, sculpture and graphics; the behavior of animals influenced the models of building the life of human society and connections with nature, primarily in terms of cyclicality and fertility. Gradually, the animals of the eastern horoscope began to act as a mythological code, in which individual elements have permanently assigned meanings: the correlation of animals with the countries of the world, seasons, elements, etc. is known. Animal images also encode months, days or years - usually in a 12-year cycle, in particular among the peoples of Central and Southeast Asia. Thus, in China, months were associated successively with the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In Tibet and Mongolia - with a mouse, a cow, a tiger, a hare, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a sheep, a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a pig. In Ancient Greece, the conductors of the Sun were considered to be a cat, a dog, a snake, a crab, a donkey, a lion, a goat, an ox, a hawk, a monkey, an ibis, and a crocodile. Muslims associated ten animals with heaven: the ram, the donkey, the lapwing, the whale, the horse, the ox, the dove, the camel, the dog and the ant.
For example, in the legends of South American Indians, each of the constellations embodies the soul of one of the animals, and the further development of such myths leads to the construction of a system of correspondences between 12 constellations and the same number of animals. In its main features, this system is close to the system that existed in Ancient Babylonia, where the identification of 12 zodiac signs, later adopted by Greek and other European traditions, was based on it. These systems show similarities with ancient Chinese and other East Asian ones, on the one hand, and American Indian ones, on the other. Based on all these systems, which can either be the result of independent parallel development, or a consequence of the diffusion of the same set of ideas (as is assumed in relation to the ancient Chinese cycle of 12 animals of the Eastern horoscope, which apparently developed under the influence of the Western Asian one) , a natural picture of the movement of heavenly bodies was constructed, described through mythological symbols - animals.
The main legends that are supposedly taken as a basis
The eastern calendar is based on the orbital period of Jupiter (the largest planet in the solar system), which will complete five revolutions during this time. The Jovian year is equal to 12 Earth years and is close to the period of changes in solar activity (about 11 years). Chinese sages attached special significance to the number five. It corresponded to the five primary elements of the Universe: Fire, Wood (or sky), Metal, Earth, Water. These primary elements (or elements) formed ten “celestial trunks”. Each of them was combined with one of 12 animals - signs of the “earthly branches”, which gave the name to a particular year in the 60-year cycle.
If you multiply these numbers, you get a full cycle of 60 years.
Each element has its own color: Wood - green, Water - blue/black, Metal - white, Earth - yellow, ocher, Fire - red. The eastern horoscope is inextricably linked with the Chinese calendar. Recently, the eastern horoscope has become no less widespread than the European one that is already familiar to us.
The elements are arranged in a kind of circle, and the order of placement is not very difficult to remember: wood, when burned, produces fire; fire, burning, gives earth (ash); metal is extracted from the earth, from ores; water appears as droplets on cold metal; and water grows a tree, etc.
You can determine your element by the last digit of your year of birth:
- “4” or “5” - Tree (color green, blue);
- “6” or “7” - Fire (color red, pink);
- “8” or “9” - Earth (color yellow, lemon, ocher);
- “0” or “1” - Metal (white);
- “2” or “3” - Water (color black, blue).
The color given to the coming year is the color of one of these elements. The tree is green (or blue). Fire - red, Earth - yellow, Metal - white, Water - blue (or black).
In the East, it is customary to give the same color for two years in a row. Let's say the years 1980, 1981 are white; 1982, 1983 - blue (black); 1984, 1985 - green (blue); 1986, 1987 - red; 1988, 1989 - yellow, then again “white” and so on.
Finding out the color of any year (whichever year you want!) is quite easy to do. First, divide the number of the year by ten. For example, 1991 divided by 10 is 199 and the remainder is 1. The remainder is what is important to us. If the remainder is 0 or 1, this is a “white” year; if 2 or 3 - “blue” (black), Year of Water; 4 or 5 - “green” (blue), Year of the Tree; 6 or 7 - “red”, Year of Fire; 8 or 9 - “yellow”, Year of the Earth. It turns out that 1989 is the Year of the Yellow (earth) Snake, 1990 is the Year of the White (metal, iron) Horse, 1991 is the Year of the White Ram.
The interpretation of color in the East is as follows: blue refers to cold and fear, green - wind and anger, red - heat and joy, yellow - dampness and anxiety, white - sadness and dryness. In ancient times, it was believed that the “red” years - the Years of Fire - were always hot, and, for example, the “yellow” Years of the Earth were damp, with heavy rains.
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One day, Buddha invited all the animals who wanted to come to his holiday (according to other versions, Buddha invited the animals in honor of his departure from this world), and promised those who came to pay tribute by giving a gift. In addition, as a sign of honor and distinction, each of them was to receive a year, which henceforth would be called only by the name of one animal.
Only twelve animals responded to Buddha's call. But in order to get to Buddha, it was necessary to swim across a wide river, and Buddha suggested organizing a competition: whoever swims first will get the first year, whoever comes second will get the second, and so on.
The cat was very puzzled by this, as she was afraid of water, and asked the rat what she should do. Then a bull appeared nearby, who suffered from poor eyesight and also did not know what to do. The clever rat suggested that the cat ride on the back of the bull and control it so that it would not go astray. Everyone agreed, but when the crossing was being made, the calculating rat pushed the cat into the water, leaving her with nothing. Since then, the rat has been the mortal enemy of any cat.
Of course, the mighty Bull arrived first. But when he shook himself off to appear before the Buddha in proper form, he shook his tail, and a Rat flew off his tail, right at the feet of the Buddha! She bit him painfully on the tail so that the Ox would throw the Rat to the Buddha! So the Rat became the first of the twelve animals, and the Ox only the second! Tiger, who was in his third year, was a little behind the Bull. Since then, the Ox and the Tiger have always competed with each other!
The competition between the Ox and the Tiger so captivated the Buddha that he did not consider what kind of animal came in fourth! Or a Cat, or a Hare or a Rabbit. Over the years, it is impossible to establish the truth, and various eastern peoples still have different interpretations regarding the owner of the fourth year. The fifth was the Dragon, the sixth was the Snake, the seventh was the Horse. Here a strip of fog began to flow along the river, and again it was unclear who was eighth - the Goat or the Sheep (or maybe the Ram).
Ninth in line was the Monkey. Why did the nimble monkey come so late? She just didn't want to take any risks and kept a close eye on the swimmers. Only after making sure that the event was safe did she enter the water.
The Rooster came tenth (and maybe the Chicken, who can sort them out, wet ones). He was delayed because he told his large family at length and in detail how they should live in his absence.
The Dog galloped up eleventh. In the morning she had a lot of household chores to do, and, barely having managed with them, she - heated - rushed into the water. They say she coughed for a long time.
And finally, the last to appear was the Boar (according to other sources, he sent the Pig instead). He was in no hurry: not very ambitious, not too picky. Buddha gave him the last, but the best year: the year of the Pig is distinguished by abundance and tranquility.
Having become the owner for a whole year, the animal passed on its typical features to him. As for a person, now, depending on what year he was born, it was possible to determine his character and fate. A person born under one of these signs also acquired the typical traits of an animal - its strength or weakness, kindness or anger, pride or modesty.
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One day, the Jade Emperor from heaven sent his servant to earth to bring twelve of the most beautiful animals in the world to reward them. Having descended to the ground, the servant immediately saw the Rat and invited her to the emperor. The audience with the emperor was scheduled for six o'clock in the morning.
The joyful Rat immediately ran to preen itself before such an important meeting! After wandering around the earth, the servant decided that the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster and Dog were very beautiful animals, and he also invited them to the Emperor. It remains to choose the last animal. While traveling around the world, he was told a lot about the beauty of the Cat, so he searched for him for a very long time.
But I personally couldn’t find it. Then the servant asked the Rat to find the Cat and give him the invitation! The Rat complied with the request and conveyed the invitation. And the Cat was very lazy, he loved to sleep, and did not like to get up early, he asked the Rat to wake him up in the morning. The rat agreed. And only then I realized that the cat is very beautiful! And he will definitely outshine the Rat in the eyes of the emperor. The Rat couldn’t allow this to happen and decided not to wake the Cat.
The next day, eleven animals gathered at the Emperor's, but the Cat was not among them, he was sleeping peacefully. The animals decided to put on a show for the Emperor. The Rat became the most cunning and inventive. She climbed onto the Bull's back and began to play the pipe, thereby conquering the king and causing a storm of delight in him. For this, the king awarded her first place. I gave second place to the Ox for his kindness, third to the Tiger, fourth to the Rabbit for his beautiful fur coat, fifth to the Dragon for his unusual appearance, sixth to the Snake for wisdom, seventh to the Horse, eighth to the Sheep, ninth to the Monkey for his dexterity, tenth to the rooster and tenth to the Dog. - eleventh. Then they noticed that the last twelfth animal was gone. The servant had to return to earth and urgently look for the last symbol of the year. The Pig was the first to catch his eye, although she was not beautiful, but the servant no longer had time to choose, and he invited her.
The legend says that the Cat woke up, realized that the Rat had fooled him and rushed as fast as he could to the Emperor's palace. The cat ran into the hall, but it was too late. All 12 Animals of the Year have been confirmed. And even despite the fact that the king really liked the cat, nothing could be changed.
They say that since then the Cat has been terribly offended by the Rat and there has been a long-standing irreconcilable enmity between them.
Material used:
Article by astrologer Valery "Animals of the Eastern Horoscope" and the vast expanses of the Internet http://lora-noc7.livejournal.com/
Table of distribution of animals by year for quick search:
Refers to the Chinese millennial calendar and the Feng Shui directions of the compass school. It is known that each year, month and main direction in the Lo Pan compass corresponds to some kind of animal. In any Lo Pan compass, the most important ring is the “24 Mountains” ring, which consists of the hieroglyphs of 12 animals, four trigrams and 8 celestial trunks. Twelve animals are associated with the elements and seasons of the year. For example, the year according to the Chinese calendar begins on February 3-4 with the month of the tiger, the first month of spring. And the tiger symbolizes the yang tree, since in spring the most powerful element is the tree. There are peculiar relationships between animals, some are friends and love each other, others attack or clash.
Here are basic descriptions of the 12 animals, as well as the dates of the years they belong to.
RAT(creativity). Yang water, winter, December. Born under the sign of charm and aggressiveness. At first glance she seems calm, balanced and cheerful. But this apparent appearance hides constant excitement. It is enough to talk with her longer to discover her nervousness, anxiety and choleric temperament. Any rat prefers to live by cunning rather than by labor and often achieves a lot in life at the expense of others who work hard for it. Years: 1900/12/24/36/48/60/72/84/96.
BULL,(diligence, hard work). Yin earth, end of winter, January. Patient and silent, reserved and slow, inconspicuous and balanced, precise and methodical, the Ox hides an original mind under a somewhat rustic appearance. He has the gift of inducing frankness, this is one of the trump cards of his success. He is a contemplative. Maybe that's why he loves solitude. He is a true hard worker who brings prosperity to his family. Years: 1901/13/25/37/49/61/73/85/97.
TIGER(master of the situation, aggressive invader of territory). Yang tree, beginning of spring, February. Tiger is a frontier. He is undisciplined and has a short temper. It's hard to resist his magnetism. Always goes forward, despises established authority, hierarchy and conservative minds. Loves all types of activities that involve risk. This is a warrior, sensitive, emotional and capable of deep thoughts and strong love. Years: 1902/14/26/38/50/62/74/86/98.
RABBIT(calm, charming person). Yin tree, spring, March. The cat always falls on his paws. This is the lucky one. Gifted, ambitious, pleasant companion, modest, reserved, refined, virtuous. He speaks well and knows how to evaluate himself, but he is superficial and his best qualities are superficial. He is a socialite and loves to receive guests. Usually he does not lose his balance, is calm and unperturbed. Conservative, strives for comfort and safety. Years: 1903/15/27/39/51/63/75/87/99.
THE DRAGON(Showman, bright personality). Land of yang, end of spring, April. The Dragon has an excess of health, vitality, and activity. Open and pure, he is incapable of pettiness, hypocrisy or slander. Scrupulous, demands a lot, but brings much more. Proud, capable, strong-willed, resilient and generous. He is influential and does not need anything all his life. He is the winner! Years: 1904/16/28/40/52/64/76/88/2000.
SNAKE(wisdom, spirituality). Yin fire, beginning of summer, May. An intellectual and philosopher, she is not talkative and thinks deeply. Dresses elegantly and pretentiously. Intuition is highly developed and is trusted more than facts. Calm by nature, she makes decisions quickly and always resolutely brings things to completion. But be vigilant, think before you turn to the Snake for help: it tries to wrap itself around the debtor and strangle it. Just. Because of the tendency to exaggerate. Years: 1905/17/29/41/53/65/77/89/2001.
HORSE(honesty, activity). Fire yang, summer, June. She's personable, she's well-behaved, she knows how to dress. Loves shows, theater, concerts, everything connected with a crowd. Knows how to give a compliment, is cheerful, talkative, attractive and popular. Can succeed in politics, is brilliant, loves and knows how to manage people. The mind grasps people's thoughts before they are expressed. A hard worker, dexterous in handling money, a good financier. Years: 1906/18/30/42/54/66/78/90/2002.
GOAT(home). Yin earth, end of summer, July. Elegant, artistic, in love with nature. Drives those around him to despair with his whims. Shy and feminine, loves to complain. She likes to be talked about, guided and advised. Not knowing which direction to choose, he always relies on others. She has good taste and talent, but she is not capable of leading, since she was created for obedience. Smart. Of the year: 1907/19/31/43/55/67/79/91/2003.
MONKEY(ability to use technology). Yang metal, early autumn, August. The most eccentric character of all the signs. The soul of society, but cunning and cunning. Very selfish. Playful, amiable, even helpful, she covers up her pitiful opinion of others with her ostentatious politeness and affability. The monkey is an intellectual. I read everything, knows a lot of things, is aware of everything that happens in the world. She is well educated and has an excellent memory. She is resourceful and capable of solving the most difficult problems with amazing speed. Years: 1908/20/32/44/56/68/80/92/2004.
ROOSTER(original ideas, fashion). Yin metal, autumn, September. He does not mince words and sometimes acts sharply aggressive. He really says what he thinks. But this is a tendency towards selfishness: he is indifferent to the vulnerability of others and believes that there is no reason to spare them. Likes to be noticed and dresses accordingly. At the same time, he is deeply and completely conservative, he thinks that he is completely right and knows what he is doing. Does not trust anyone, relying only on himself. Brave and courageous. Years: 1909/21/33/45/57/69/81/93/2005.
DOG(loyalty, home protection). Land of yang, end of autumn, October. Always restless, as if on guard, never resting. Closed, rarely shows her feelings. She is stubborn and often a cynic: she is feared for her harsh and unpleasant remarks. Always acts bravely against injustice. A skeptic, but her critical mind, sense of humor and greatness of spirit save her from pettiness. Doesn't like gatherings or crowds. But at the same time she is loyal, faithful, honest and has a sense of duty. You can rely on her: she won’t betray you. Years: 1910/22/34/46/58/70/82/94/2006.
PIG(kind, loving comfort). Yin water, beginning of winter, November. Knightly character. Gallant, helpful, scrupulous to the extreme. Naive, trusting, defenseless. Will never sell. She has few friends, but she keeps those few throughout her life and is capable of making great sacrifices for them. Attentive. He will never argue or argue with you if he loves you. Thanks to his sensitivity, he can achieve success in art. Smart, but simple-minded. Helpless against hypocrisy and gets confused in attempts to justify itself. Years: 1911/23/35/47/59/71/83/95/2007.
The Eastern or Chinese calendar consists of five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and 12 animals (rat, bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). The full cycle of such a calendar is 60 years.
Let's figure it out: Why does each year in the Chinese calendar correspond to a certain animal? Why exactly twelve of them? And why are they arranged in this order?
There are several legends about this:
Legend one
The first legend is about how the Jade Emperor - the supreme deity of the Taoist pantheon, the lord of heaven - chose twelve animals, each of which rules a year once every twelve years.
The Jade Emperor ruled the sky and everything in the heavens. And he never went down to earth, so he was interested in the appearance of all creatures living on earth. One day the emperor summoned his chief adviser.
“I have ruled the heavens for a long time,” the emperor said to the adviser, “but I have never seen these strange animals and I don’t know what they look like.” I would like to know their characteristic features and properties. I would like to see how they move and hear the sounds they make. How smart are they and how do they help people?
“There are thousands of different creatures on earth,” the adviser answered the emperor, “some of them run, others fly, and others crawl.” It will take a very long time to collect all earthly creatures. Do you really want to see them all?
No, I can't waste that much time. Select twelve of the most interesting animals and bring them to me so that I can sort them by color and shape.
The adviser went through all the animals he knew in his head and decided, first, to invite the rat, but asked her to also convey the invitation to her friend the cat. He also sent invitations to the bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster and dog and ordered them to appear before the emperor tomorrow at 6 o'clock in the morning.
The Rat was very flattered by this invitation, she immediately went to convey the good news to her friend the cat. The cat was also very happy, but was worried that at 6 am it was very early and he might oversleep. Therefore, he asked the rat to wake him up in time. All night the rat thought about how cute and shiny the cat was and how ugly she would look in comparison to him in front of the emperor. And she decided that the only way to make sure that the cat didn’t get all the praise was to not wake him up in the morning.
At six o'clock in the morning, all the animals except the cat lined up in front of the Jade Emperor, who began to slowly examine them. Having reached the last animal, he turned to the adviser and said:
All animals are interesting, but why are there only eleven of them?
The adviser could not answer and immediately sent a servant to earth, ordering him to deliver to heaven the first animal that he met. The servant went down the country road and saw a peasant carrying a pig to the market.
Please stop,” the servant begged. - I need your pig. The Jade Emperor wishes to see this creature immediately. Think of the great honor - after all, your pig will appear before the ruler of heaven himself.
The peasant appreciated the servant's words and gave him his pig. And she was immediately taken to heaven.
And at this time the rat, afraid that it would go unnoticed, jumped on the back of the bull and began to play the flute. The emperor liked this unusual animal so much that he gave him first place. The emperor gave second place to the bull - after all, he was so generous that he allowed the rat to sit on his back. The tiger received third place for its brave appearance, and the rabbit received fourth place for its delicate white fur. The emperor decided that the dragon looked like a powerful snake with paws, and placed him in fifth place. The snake received sixth place for its flexible body, the horse - seventh for its elegant posture, and the ram - eighth for its strong horns. The agile and restless monkey got ninth place, the rooster got tenth place for its beautiful feathers, and the vigilant guard dog got eleventh place. The pig stood at the end: it may not have been as interesting as the other animals, but it still made it to heaven and was therefore awarded last place.
When the ceremony came to an end, a cat ran into the palace and began to beg the emperor to evaluate him too, but it was too late: the emperor had already chosen twelve animals. Seeing the rat standing in first place, the cat rushed at her with the intention of killing her because she did not wake him up. That is why, to this day, the cat and the rat remain bitter enemies.
Legend two
One day Buddha invited all the animals inhabiting the earth to his place for the New Year. To those who came first to congratulate him and express their respect, he promised to give a whole year, which will henceforth be called by their names. The mouse was ahead of everyone. A bull came for her, then a tiger, a cat, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a goat, a monkey, a rooster, and a dog. The pig came twelfth. Having received its own year, each animal, as it were, passed on typical traits of its character to it, and man acquired the properties inherent in the animal in whose year he was born.
Legend three
Before Buddha left the Earth, he called all the animals to him to say goodbye to them. But only 12 of them came to this call: the cunning Rat, the diligent Ox, the brave Tiger, the quiet Rabbit, the strong Dragon, the wise Snake, the elegant Horse, the artistic Goat, the quick-witted Monkey, the colorful Rooster and the faithful Dog. The last one to run out into the sacred clearing was the happy Pig. She was a little late, but was not at all embarrassed by this circumstance.
Parting with the animals, the enlightened Buddha gave each of them one year of reign as a sign of gratitude for coming to say goodbye to him.
In former, distant times, there lived a brave hunter, a sharp shooter. He always hit without missing a beat and never came home empty-handed.
But one day he walked through the forest all day and until the evening he did not meet either an animal or a bird. Tired, exhausted, he went to bed. He sleeps and sees a strange dream: a yellow fog fell on him, and then a motley fog approached. The hunter wakes up and sees a yellow fog approaching him. He got scared, grabbed his bow, put in an arrow, but a human voice came from the fog:
- Don't shoot at me, brave hunter, I won't harm you. The fog became even thicker, denser and turned into a yellow snake with motley, thundering wings. The motley-winged serpent said:
- Let's be friends, brave hunter, sharp shooter. I need your help. For many years I have been waging war with the yellow-winged snake and cannot defeat it. Together we will defeat him.
“I’m ready to help you,” said the hunter.
“Then let’s go to the valley where the battle will be,” said the motley-winged serpent.
They came to a wide valley.
“Our battle will be long,” said the motley-winged snake. - We will rise to the sky three times and descend to the ground three times. When we rise for the fourth time, my enemy will overcome me, will gain the upper hand; when we go down, he'll be on top and I'll be on the bottom. At this time, do not yawn: I will turn his yellow head towards you, and you shoot at his only eye. This eye is in his forehead, in the very middle of his forehead. Now hide in this hole, soon the yellow-winged snake will rush from the sky right at me.
The hunter hid in a hole.
Soon a yellow-winged serpent rushed from the sky. The battle has begun. The snakes, grappling, rose to the sky three times and sank to the ground three times. The forces were equal. But then they rose to the sky for the fourth time, and the yellow-winged serpent defeated the motley-winged one. When they descended, the Yellowwing was on top and the Spottedwing was below. But the mottled wing quickly turned the head of his enemy towards the hunter. The sharp shooter was just waiting for it. The string of his bow was drawn. A moment was enough for him to shoot an arrow and pierce the yellow eye of the yellow-winged serpent. And then a yellow poisonous fog fell to the ground, from which all the trees in the forest withered and all the animals died. The hunter was saved by a motley-winged snake. He covered his friend with mighty dense wings and kept him under them for three days and three nights until the yellow poisonous fog dissipated.
And when the sun shone again, the motley-winged serpent said:
- We defeated a formidable enemy. Thank you, hunter. The yellow-winged snake caused a lot of harm. Every day he swallowed three beasts and devoured the fiery serpents, my subjects. If it weren't for you, he would have killed me and eaten all the fire snakes. Let's go visit me. You will see my palace, my subjects, my old parents.
The hunter agreed, and he and the serpent descended into a deep pit, and from there, through an underground passage, they entered a palace sparkling with gold and precious stones. On the floor lay fiery snakes curled into rings. One hall was followed by another, even richer one. And so they came to the largest hall. In it, two old motley-winged snakes sat near the hearth.
“These are my parents,” said the snake. The hunter greeted them.
“This hunter saved me and my entire khanate,” said the snake. - He killed our old enemy.
“Thank you,” said the old snake’s parents. - For this you will receive a reward. If you want, we will give you as much gold and precious stones as you can carry. If you want, we will teach you seventy languages, so that you can understand the conversations of birds, animals and fish. Choose!
“Teach me seventy languages,” said the hunter.
“Better take gold and jewelry,” said the snake’s old parents. - Life is not easy for someone who knows seventy languages.
“No, I don’t want gold, teach me languages,” the hunter asked.
“Well, have it your way,” said the old motley-winged snake. - From now on you know seventy languages, from now on you hear the conversations of birds, fish and animals. But this is a secret. You must keep it from people. If you let it slip, you will die that same day.
The hunter left the khanate of the motley-winged serpent and went home. He walks through the forest and rejoices: after all, he understands everything that animals and birds say among themselves. A hunter came out of the forest. Here is the yurt. “I’ll go into it,” he thinks. And the dog barks:
- Don't come here. Although this is a rich yurt, our owner is stingy. Here you won’t only get meat, they won’t give you milk.
The hunter moved on. Near another yurt a dog barks:
- Come here, traveler. Even though this is a poor man’s yurt, our host is kind and will treat you. We have only one cow, but the owner will give you milk, we have only one black ram, but the owner will kill the last ram for the guest.
The hunter entered the poor man's yurt. The owner greeted him politely and seated him in a place of honor. The host's wife served the guest a bowl of milk. The poor man invited the hunter to spend the night, and in the evening he slaughtered a black sheep for him. As they ate, the dog whined:
- Good guest, drop the lamb shoulder, I’ll grab it and run out, the owner won’t be angry with you.
The hunter dropped his spatula. The dog grabbed her and ran away. And then she barked:
- A kind guest treated me to a delicious spatula. I won’t sleep all night, I’ll guard the yurt.
The wolves came at night. They stopped near the poor man’s yurt and howled:
- Now we will rein in the horse!
- My master has only one horse, he cannot be eaten. If you come any closer, I'll bark loudly. The owner will wake up, his guest-hunter will wake up, and then you will be in trouble. Better go there to the rich man, pick up his fat gray mare, he has a lot of horses, and his dogs are hungry, they won’t want to bark at you.
Eastern or Chinese calendar consists of from five elements(wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and 12 animals(rat, bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). The full cycle of such a calendar is 60 years. The current cycle began in 1984 - the year of the wood rat.
Let's figure it out: Why does each year in the Chinese calendar correspond to a certain animal? Why exactly twelve of them? And why are they arranged in this order?
There are several legends about this:
Legend one
The first legend is about how the Jade Emperor - the supreme deity of the Taoist pantheon, the lord of heaven - chose twelve animals, each of which rules a year once every twelve years.
The Jade Emperor ruled the sky and everything in the heavens. And he never went down to earth, so he was interested in the appearance of all creatures living on earth. One day the emperor summoned his chief adviser.
“I have ruled the heavens for a long time,” the emperor said to the adviser, “but I have never seen these strange animals and I don’t know what they look like.” I would like to know their characteristic features and properties. I would like to see how they move and hear the sounds they make. How smart are they and how do they help people?
“There are thousands of different creatures on earth,” the adviser answered the emperor, “some of them run, others fly, and others crawl.” It will take a very long time to collect all earthly creatures. Do you really want to see them all?
No, I can't waste that much time. Select twelve of the most interesting animals and bring them to me so that I can sort them by color and shape.
The adviser went through all the animals he knew in his head and decided, first, to invite the rat, but asked her to also convey the invitation to her friend the cat. He also sent invitations to the bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster and dog and ordered them to appear before the emperor tomorrow at 6 o'clock in the morning.
The Rat was very flattered by this invitation, she immediately went to convey the good news to her friend the cat. The cat was also very happy, but was worried that at 6 am it was very early and he might oversleep. Therefore, he asked the rat to wake him up in time. All night the rat thought about how cute and shiny the cat was and how ugly she would look in comparison to him in front of the emperor. And she decided that the only way to make sure that the cat didn’t get all the praise was to not wake him up in the morning.
At six o'clock in the morning, all the animals except the cat lined up in front of the Jade Emperor, who began to slowly examine them. Having reached the last animal, he turned to the adviser and said:
All animals are interesting, but why are there only eleven of them?
The adviser could not answer and immediately sent a servant to earth, ordering him to deliver to heaven the first animal that he met. The servant went down the country road and saw a peasant carrying a pig to the market.
Please stop,” the servant begged. - I need your pig. The Jade Emperor wishes to see this creature immediately. Think of the great honor - after all, your pig will appear before the ruler of heaven himself.
The peasant appreciated the servant's words and gave him his pig. And she was immediately taken to heaven.
And at this time the rat, afraid that it would remain unnoticed, jumped on the back of the bull and began to play the flute. The emperor liked this unusual animal so much that he gave him first place. The emperor gave second place to the bull - after all, he was so generous that he allowed the rat to sit on his back. The tiger received third place for its brave appearance, and the rabbit received fourth place for its delicate white fur. The emperor decided that the dragon looked like a powerful snake with paws, and placed him in fifth place. The snake received sixth place for its flexible body, the horse - seventh for its elegant posture, and the ram - eighth for its strong horns. The agile and restless monkey got ninth place, the rooster got tenth place for its beautiful feathers, and the vigilant guard dog got eleventh place. The pig stood at the end: it may not have been as interesting as the other animals, but it still made it to heaven and was therefore awarded last place.
When the ceremony came to an end, the cat ran into the palace and began to beg the emperor to evaluate him too, but it was too late: the emperor had already chosen twelve animals. Seeing the rat standing in first place, the cat rushed at her with the intention of killing her because she did not wake him up. That is why, to this day, the cat and the rat remain bitter enemies.
Legend two
One day Buddha invited all the animals inhabiting the earth to his place for the New Year. To those who came first to congratulate him and express their respect, he promised to give a whole year, which will henceforth be called by their names. The mouse was ahead of everyone. A bull came for her, then a tiger, a cat, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a goat, a monkey, a rooster, and a dog. The pig came twelfth. Having received its own year, each animal, as it were, passed on typical traits of its character to it, and man acquired the properties inherent in the animal in whose year he was born.
Legend three
Before Buddha left the Earth, he called all the animals to him to say goodbye to them. But only 12 of them came to this call: the cunning Rat, the diligent Ox, the brave Tiger, the quiet Rabbit, the strong Dragon, the wise Snake, the elegant Horse, the artistic Goat, the quick-witted Monkey, the colorful Rooster and the faithful Dog. The last one to run out into the sacred clearing was the happy Pig. She was a little late, but was not at all embarrassed by this circumstance.
Parting with the animals, the enlightened Buddha gave each of them one year of reign as a sign of gratitude for coming to say goodbye to him.
Sly Rat
Zealous Bull
Brave Tiger
Quiet Rabbit
The most popular one reads:
One day, Buddha invited all the animals who wanted to come to his holiday (according to other versions, Buddha invited the animals in honor of his departure from this world), and promised those who came to pay tribute by giving a gift. In addition, as a sign of honor and distinction, each of them was to receive a year, which henceforth would be called only by the name of one animal. Only twelve animals responded to Buddha's call. But in order to get to Buddha, it was necessary to swim across a wide river, and Buddha suggested organizing a competition: whoever swims first will get the first year, whoever comes second will get the second, and so on.
Of course, the mighty Bull came first. But when he shook himself off to appear before the Buddha in proper form, he shook his tail, and a Rat flew off his tail, right at the feet of the Buddha! She still clung to the Bull on the other side, and when he swam, she bit him painfully on the tail so that the Bull would throw the Rat to the Buddha! So the Rat became the first of the twelve animals, and the Ox only the second! Tiger, who was in his third year, was a little behind the Bull. Since then, the Ox and the Tiger have always competed with each other!
The competition between the Ox and the Tiger so captivated the Buddha that he did not consider what kind of animal came in fourth! Or a Cat, or a Hare or a Rabbit. Over the years, it is impossible to establish the truth, and various eastern peoples still have different interpretations regarding the owner of the fourth year. The fifth was the Dragon, the sixth was the Snake, the seventh was the Horse. Here a strip of fog began to flow along the river, and again it was unclear who was eighth - the Goat or the Sheep (or maybe the Ram).
Ninth in line was the Monkey. Why did the nimble monkey come so late? She just didn't want to take any risks and kept a close eye on the swimmers. Only after making sure that the event was safe did she enter the water.
The Rooster came tenth (and maybe the Chicken, who can sort them out, wet ones). He was delayed because he told his large family at length and in detail how they should live in his absence.
The Dog galloped up eleventh. In the morning she had a lot of household chores to do, and, barely having managed with them, she - heated - rushed into the water. They say she coughed for a long time.
And finally, the last to appear was the Boar (according to other sources, he sent the Pig instead). He was not in a hurry: not very ambitious, not too picky. Buddha gave him the last, but the best year: the year of the Pig is distinguished by abundance and tranquility.
Having become the owner for a whole year, the animal passed on its typical features to him. As for a person, now, depending on what year he was born, it was possible to determine his character and fate. A person born under one of these signs also acquired the typical traits of an animal - its strength or weakness, kindness or anger, pride or modesty.
There is another legend
One day, the Jade Emperor from heaven sent his servant to earth to bring twelve of the most beautiful animals in the world to reward them. Having descended to the ground, the servant immediately saw the Rat and invited her to the emperor. The audience with the emperor was scheduled for six o'clock in the morning. The joyful Rat immediately ran to preen itself before such an important meeting! After wandering around the earth, the servant decided that the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster and Dog were very beautiful animals, and he also invited them to the Emperor. It remains to choose the last animal. Traveling around the earth, he was told a lot about the beauty of the Cat, so he searched for him for a very long time.
But I personally couldn’t find it. Then the servant asked the Rat to find the Cat and give him the invitation! The Rat complied with the request and conveyed the invitation. And the Cat was very lazy, he loved to sleep, and did not like to get up early, he asked the Rat to wake him up in the morning. The rat agreed. And only then I realized that the cat is very beautiful! And he will definitely outshine the Rat in the eyes of the emperor. The Rat couldn’t allow this to happen and decided not to wake the Cat.
The next day, eleven animals gathered at the Emperor's, but the Cat was not among them; he was sleeping peacefully. The animals decided to put on a show for the Emperor. The Rat became the most cunning and inventive. She climbed onto the Bull's back and began to play the pipe, thereby conquering the king and causing a storm of delight in him. For this, the king awarded her first place. I gave second place to the Ox for his kindness, third to the Tiger, fourth to the Rabbit for his beautiful fur coat, fifth to the Dragon for his unusual appearance, sixth to the Snake for wisdom, seventh to the Horse, eighth to the Sheep, ninth to the Monkey for his dexterity, tenth to the rooster and tenth to the Dog. - eleventh. Then they noticed that the last twelfth animal was missing. The servant had to return to earth and urgently look for the last symbol of the year. The Pig was the first to catch his eye, although she was not beautiful, but the servant no longer had time to choose, and he invited her.
The legend says that the Cat woke up, realized that the Rat had fooled him and rushed as fast as he could to the Emperor's palace. The cat ran into the hall, but it was too late. All 12 Animals of the Year have been confirmed. And even despite the fact that the king really liked the cat, nothing could be changed.
They say that since then the Cat has been terribly offended by the Rat and there has been a long-standing irreconcilable enmity between them.
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