十二生肖来历 中英

　　1. 中： 十二生肖源于何时，今已难于细考。长期以来，不少人将《论衡》视为最早记载十二生肖的文献。《论衡》是东汉唯物主义思想家王充的名著。《论衡·物势》载：“寅，木也，其禽，虎也。戌，土也，其禽，犬也。……午，马也。子，鼠刀。酉，鸡也。卯，兔也。……亥，豕也。未，羊也。丑，牛也。……巳，蛇也。申，猴也。”以上引文，只有十一种生肖，所缺者为龙。该书《言毒篇》又说：“辰为龙，巳为蛇，辰、巳之位在东南。这样，十二生肖便齐全了，十二地支与十二生肖的配属如此完整，且与现今相同。
　　2.英：In Chinese astrology each individual personality is associated with an animal sign that represents it. It is a common misconception that there are only the singular animals assigned by year. Many western descriptions of Chinese astrology descriptions draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month and hours of the day.
　　The animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself. The full 60 year cycle is a combination of the 12 animals with each of five possible elements, which distinctively vary the base animal's personality (12 x 5 = 60). The inner animal speaks directly to what motivates a person and is assigned by the month of birth. Since this dictates your love life and inner persona it is critical to a proper understanding of your compatibility with other signs. The secret animal is assigned by the hour of birth and so it is important to know the exact time of birth to determine it correctly. It is your own true sign which your personality is based on. It is important to compensate for daylight saving time or any clock adjustment performed by your country in determining this sign, as it is mapped according to the sun's location and not the local time.
　　To sum it up, while a person might appear to be a dragon they might actually be a snake internally and an ox secretively. Combined with the five elements, this makes for 8 640 possible combinations (five elements, 12 animals, 12 months, 12 times of day) that a person might be. These are all are critical for the proper use of Chinese astrology. Many Western displays of the Chinese zodiac omit these, as well as the elements, for easier consumption and understanding.

　　The 12 zodiac animals
　　The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order. The first symbol is simply the name of the animal written in Chinese, while the second symbol is the character specifically used in astrology to denote the animal sign.
　　鼠 子 Rat 牛 丑 Ox 虎 寅 Tiger 兔 卯 Rabbit 龙 辰 Dragon 蛇 巳 Snake 马 午 Horse
　　羊 未 Sheep 猴 申 Monkey 鸡 酉 Rooster 狗 戌 Dog 猪 亥 Pig
　　Legend describes the order of the zodiac was determined through a race, in which the rat cheated by standing on the ox's head and jumping ahead of him when they reached the finish line.

　　2 The Zodiac is part of an elaborate and laborious system based on Chinese astronomy, cosmology, and divination. It was used as a method for counting years, months, days and hours in the Chinese imperial court and civil calendar, and as a system for forecasting one's future and determining one's character. Although replaced in modern times by the Gregorian calendar, the Zodiac is still used today (unofficially) as a popular method of divination in many Asian and Western nations. Furthermore, the Zodiac is the preeminent calendar of old-world Asia. Its 60-year (sexagenary) cycle is still of crucial importance to modern art historians, for it helps them pinpoint the date of artwork made in much earlier times.
　　Most scholars believe the Chinese Zodiac originated sometime before 1100 BC, well before the Historical Buddha's birth in India around 500 BC. The system grew more elaborate and complex over the centuries, but its importance in China ensured its acceptance elsewhere, and thus it greatly influenced and colored the subsequent development of Buddhist traditions throughout Asia. In China, where Buddhism was introduced in the 1st & 2nd centuries AD, the 12 Zodiac animals became associated with Buddhism's 12 Heavenly Generals as early as the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD).
　　When Buddhism arrived in Japan in the mid-6th century AD, the Japanese eagerly imported both the Buddhist teachings and the Zodiac calendar -- the calendar was officially adopted in 604 AD. In Japan, the Zodiac calendar is known as Kanshi or Eto (干支 | えと), and the 12 animals of the Zodiac are known as the Juuni Shi (十二支). The Zodiac's popularity in Japan peaked during the Edo Era (1600-1868 AD), by which time each of the 12 animals were commonly associated with one of eight Buddhist patron deities. At many Japanese temples even today, visitors can still purchase small protective amulets or carvings of their patron Buddhist-Zodiac deity