On the Earthly Branches and Chinese Zodiac Signs

Original Text

或问：地支有属相，而天乾则无者，何也？答曰：天干动而无相，地支静而有相。盖轻清者天也，重浊者地也，重浊之中，乃有物焉。故子属鼠，丑属牛，寅属虎，卯属兔，辰属龙，巳属蛇，午属马，未属羊，申属猴，酉属鸡，戍属犬，亥属猪。此十二属相亦有奇偶之分，盛衰之用。奇者鼠、虎、龙、马、猴、犬，一则属阳，六兽之足皆单；偶者牛、兔、蛇、羊、鸡、猪，二则属阴，六兽之足皆双。唯蛇无足又何取义？盖巳在月二乃纯阳之月，在时乃春阳之时，数则偶而时则阳，故用蛇以象之，蛇乃阴物，不用其足而象巳著疑，亦讳言乎阴之意尔，况亦有双头者。可验十二相即三十六禽中取其首者拟之，自有阴阳之别，单双之分，此造化之所以为妙也。

寅，木也，其禽虎，戌，土也，其禽犬，丑、未亦土也，丑禽牛，未禽羊，木胜土，故犬与牛羊为虎所服；亥，水也，其禽豕，巳，火也，其禽蛇，子亦水也，其禽鼠，午亦火也，其禽马，水胜火，故豕食蛇，火为水所害，故马食鼠屎而腹胀。然亦有不相胜者。午，马也，子，鼠也，酉，鸡也，卯，兔也，水胜火，鼠何不逐马？金胜木，鸡何不啄兔？亥，豕也，未，羊也，丑，牛也，土胜水，牛羊何不杀豕？巳，蛇也，申，猴也，火胜金，蛇何不食獮猴？獮猴，畏鼠者也，啮獮猴者，犬也。鼠，水，獮猴，金也，水不胜金，獮猴何故畏鼠？戌，土也，申，猴也，土不胜金，猴何故畏犬？十二辰之禽以气性相克则尤不相应。大凡含血之虫相服，至于相啖食者，以齿牙钝利、筋力优劣自相胜服也。

Interpretation

Someone asked, "The Earthly Branches have animal signs, but the Heavenly Stems do not. Why is that?" The answer is, "The Heavenly Stems are in motion and have no corresponding forms, while the Earthly Branches are static and have corresponding forms. Generally speaking, the light and clear part constitutes the sky, and the heavy and turbid part forms the earth. Among the heavy and turbid things, there are objects. Therefore, Zi corresponds to the Rat, Chou to the Ox, Yin to the Tiger, Mao to the Rabbit, Chen to the Dragon, Si to the Snake, Wu to the Horse, Wei to the Goat, Shen to the Monkey, You to the Rooster, Xu to the Dog, and Hai to the Pig. These twelve animal signs also have the distinction between odd and even, and the functions of prosperity and decline. The odd ones are the Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, and Dog. Firstly, they belong to Yang, and the feet of these six animals are all odd in number. The even ones are the Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster, and Pig. Secondly, they belong to Yin, and the feet of these six animals are all even in number. But why is the Snake, which has no feet, included? Well, Si corresponds to the second month, which is a month of pure Yang, and in terms of time, it is the time of spring Yang. Although the number is even, the time is Yang. So the Snake is used to represent it. The Snake is a Yin creature. Using the Snake to represent Si without considering its lack of feet may seem questionable, but it also implies an avoidance of directly referring to Yin. Moreover, there are also two - headed snakes. It can be verified that the twelve animal signs are selected as the representatives from the thirty - six animal symbols. There are naturally differences between Yin and Yang, and distinctions between odd and even. This is where the wonder of creation lies."

In the earthly branches, Yin corresponds to wood, and its associated animal is the tiger; Xu corresponds to earth, and its associated animal is the dog. Chou and Wei also correspond to earth, with the associated animals being the ox for Chou and the sheep for Wei. Since wood overcomes earth, dogs, cattle, and sheep are subdued by tigers. Hai corresponds to water, and its associated animal is the pig; Si corresponds to fire, and its associated animal is the snake. Zi also corresponds to water, and its associated animal is the rat; Wu also corresponds to fire, and its associated animal is the horse. Since water overcomes fire, pigs eat snakes. Fire is harmed by water, so horses eating rat droppings will bloat. However, there are also cases where the supposed overcoming relationship does not hold. Wu represents the horse, Zi represents the rat, You represents the rooster, and Mao represents the rabbit. Since water overcomes fire, why doesn't the rat chase the horse? Since metal overcomes wood, why doesn't the rooster peck the rabbit? Hai represents the pig, Wei represents the sheep, and Chou represents the ox. Since earth overcomes water, why don't cattle and sheep kill the pig? Si represents the snake, and Shen represents the monkey. Since fire overcomes metal, why doesn't the snake eat the monkey? Monkeys are afraid of rats, and it is dogs that bite monkeys. The rat corresponds to water, and the monkey corresponds to metal. Since water does not overcome metal, why is the monkey afraid of the rat? Xu corresponds to earth, and Shen corresponds to the monkey. Since earth does not overcome metal, why is the monkey afraid of the dog? The supposed overcoming relationships based on the qi - nature among the animals associated with the twelve earthly branches do not match the actual situation. Generally speaking, among blood - containing animals, when they subdue or even prey on each other, it is determined by the sharpness of their teeth and the superiority or inferiority of their physical strength.