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有关十二生肖的英文介绍
?
It's
interesting that we have 12 Chinese zodiacs in
China, and
you have 12 signs in your
culture.
?
More
than
30,000
years
ago,
the
Chinese
animal
signs
are
a
12-year
cycle
used
for
dating
the
years.
They
represent
a
cyclical concept of time, rather than
the western linear concept
of time. The
Chinese lunar calendar is based on the cycles of
the
moon,
and
is
constructed
in
a
different
fashion
than
the
western solar calendar. In the Chinese
calendar, the beginning
of
the
year
falls
somewhere
between
late
January
and
early
February.
?
In
traditional
china,
dating
methods
were
cyclical,
cyclical
meaning something
that is repeated time after time according to
a pattern.
?
A
popular
folk
method
which
reflected
this
cyclical
method
of
recording
years
are
the
twelve
animal
signs.
Every
year
is
assigned an animal name
or sign according to a repeating cycle:
mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon,
snake, horse, sheep, monkey,
rooster,
dog and pig. You might found out that many Chinese
people
strongly
believe
that
the
time
of
a
person's
birth
is
primary factor in determining that
person's characteristics.
?
According to one legend, Buddha invited
all the animals to his