The Rat of the Chinese Zodiac

The Rat carries the banner of "Zi" and stands at the top of the Chinese Zodiac. Why do you think a rat, and why do a rat take the lead? In this regard, the ancients often referred to "the hour is midnight" as talk assistance. The materials quoted in "Guangyang Miscellaneous Records" of the Qing Dynasty regarded the child mouse and the ugly cow as the role of opening the world: Yang, when the rat gets the order, the son belongs to the rat ." Next, "the earth is created by the ugly". Before the ugly cow creates the earth, the existing rat opens the sky. There is another saying that in ancient times, the world was in chaos, and the rat bit the chaos and separated the world. The mouse built this marvelous achievement in creating the world, and it is naturally well-deserved to be ranked first in the Zodiac.

" Rat across the street, people cry." This sentence makes clear, modern man is really annoying mouse. The reason is that it is one of the notorious four evils, stealing food and spreading diseases. However, in ancient times, many ethnic groups and tribes regarded mice as their ancestors, and they were quite proud of it. At that time, they had festivals dedicated to sacrifice to mice, praying for the protection and blessing of their ancestors. The images of mice are seen everywhere in all aspects of their daily lives. The painted and carved mice are everywhere. There are still some interesting anecdotes about mice circulating among the people, creating many cute images of mice, such as those stealing oil, and then deriving many customs related to mice.

There are many theories about the interesting stories of mice stealing oil and drinking. The following Gu Yifang will give you a few examples:

One

Three mice went to steal oil and drink together. But the oil tank is so deep that they can't drink the oil at all. They came up with a great way, one biting the tail of the other, hanging down the bottom of the tank to drink oil. The first mouse was the first to hang down and drink oil. It thought at the bottom of the tank: There is only so little oil, it is better to drink and be full. The second mouse caught in the middle also thought: There is not much oil below, if the first mouse drank it all, wouldn’t I want to drink northwest wind? The third mouse thought on it: oil So few, wait for them to eat and drink, where can I have my share? So, the second mouse cruelly let go of the first mouse’s tail, and the third mouse quickly let go of the second mouse’s tail. tail. They scrambled to jump into the tank, but they could never escape from the tank again.

Second

The three mice went to steal oil and drink together. An oil bottle was found, and the three mice discussed, one stepping on the shoulder of the other, taking turns to drink the oil. So the three mice began to stack the arhats. When the last mouse just climbed onto the shoulders of the other two, the oil bottle fell over for more than one reason. Finally, it alarmed people and the three mice ran away . Back to the mouse den, everyone had a meeting to discuss why it failed. The top mouse said, I didn’t drink the oil, and pushed the oil bottle down because the second mouse underneath shook a bit, so I pushed the oil bottle down. The second mouse said, I shook a bit, but I felt When the third mouse twitched, I shook. The third mouse said: yes, yes I seemed to hear a cat cry outside the door, so I trembled. Then none of the three mice drank the oil.

Third

The ugly cow is in the top position on the zodiac list. The mouse is not convinced, so he just wanted to say in his heart: Since it is a critic, I want to compare with the cow to see who is older. The big guy can’t straighten his laughter waist. The mouse is about to be bigger than the cow, and the mouse said: Everyone is not allowed to speak, only listen to who is older. The mouse stands on the back of the cow to meet people. The cow is the size that people are used to seeing, and this one rides on the cow. The mouse on the body. I just heard everyone exclaiming: Damn, this mouse is so big and powerful. Later, the remaining Chinese zodiac admitted that the mouse is bigger and more powerful than the cow. He also made it to the top of the zodiac list.

Fourth

Little mouse, go to the lampstand, steal oil and drink, but can't get off, don't worry about the mouse, hug a civet cat to coax you.

No. 5

Little mouse, go to the lampstand, steal oil and eat, but can't get down. Grumblingly rolled down.

These little stories about mice and little ballads are all handed down from the folks and some modern little stories.

There are many other folk customs about the rat. Let's take a look at where there are customs associated with the rat.

In the Jianghan Plain, Hubei, my country, Xiaochuye is regarded as the day of the rat's wedding, which is commonly known as "the mouse adds the box." On that day, every family will put the flour cakes with flowers in a dark place. Older children are not allowed to make noise. If the rats are disturbed, they will go to the house to make trouble in the coming year.

In the old days, there was a custom of avoiding mice in Shanghai. Rats go out to find food and fall to the ground, which is called "rats lost". It is said that seeing them is mostly unlucky, and it must be solved if they are sick or disasters. The way to solve the problem is to beg for white rice along the street, go home to cook, and then it can be resolved after eating.

In the Indian state of Rajasthan, people worship rats as "sacred objects", and a famous rat temple has also been established. Rajasthani people admire mice very much. If they are engaged to someone or travel a long distance, they must first go to the mouse temple to worship for three days and three nights. In the rat's inner courtyard, there are scattered many pots with a diameter of more than one meter, which contain milk. Water or grains, coconut meat, small plates and noodles are filled with sugar, and all around are fluffy mice.

Taiwan residents think that the third day of the junior high school is a small year. Legend has it that the third day of the junior high school is the rat's wedding day. Therefore, the lights are not lit in the middle of the night, and rice, noodles, and salt are sprinkled on the ground. People should rest in bed early to avoid affecting the happy event of the rat. (Chinese Zodiac http:///shengxiao/ )

There is a custom of "steaming blind mice" in some areas of Qinghai. Every year on the 14th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the family’s noodles are made into twelve mice (without eyes) and then steamed in a steamer. After the Lantern Festival , they are served on a table, burn incense and light lamps, and beg the mice to eat grass roots without hurting them. Crop to ensure a bumper harvest this year.

Rat