c142qiZZ_20200121 Photo Credit: World Citizen Cultural Center Constellations are related to animals: constellation zodiac circle = circle of small animals; zo animal + di small + ac (adjective); zo -> zoo zoo, zoological garden, zoology, zoology Of course, after going through a long history, the constellations of the zodiac have evolved to this day, and the phenomenon of "existence in name but special in reality" has inevitably occurred: the name is still there, but the content is different. Some are not animals, such as "Libra" Libra is a scale that represents balance.
Some are people, such as "Gemini" Gemini is a pair of twins, Image Manipulation Service "Virgo" Virgo is an innocent girl. Some are a combination of people and other animals/objects, such as "Aquarius" Aquarius is a bottle pourer, "Sagittarius" Sagittarius is a centenarian archer. 12 zodiac animals are also found in Greek and Indian cultures The Chinese zodiac and the twelve constellations of astrology seem to have the same purpose. Modern Chinese scholar Guo Moruo even argues that the twelve zodiac signs were modeled after the Babylonian zodiac in the Han Dynasty. It is also? Not also? There are different opinions in the academic circle, and there seems to be no conclusion at present. But what is certain is that the zodiac is not unique to Chinese culture.
Looking at ancient and modern China and abroad, in addition to the above-mentioned Greece and Babylon, Egypt, India, Africa, and many other cultures can also see similar traces, although the species and order of the twelve animals are different. Are these heroes seeing the same thing, or is there a common source? We have no way of knowing for the time being, but the zodiac has long been deeply rooted, and has developed a unique set of customs and life attitudes in the Chinese world, which has influenced us profoundly and greatly for thousands of years.