Shanhaiguan Museum congratulates the Spring Festival.

The Chinese zodiac celebrates the New Year.

In 2023, the traditional Chinese Year of the Rabbit will come as scheduled. On the occasion of the arrival of the Spring Festival, Zhengzhou Shanhaigu Museum grandly presents its collection of fine cultural relics of the 12 Zodiacs to congratulate you on the Spring Festival. These exquisite objects have entrusted people's emotional expression of animals, full of magical ideas and rich history and culture. Through these precious cultural relics of the zodiac, we can feel the love, appreciation, understanding, conception and fantasy of Chinese ancestors for the animals of the zodiac, and appreciate the beautiful yearning of people in ancient and modern times for the prosperity of the six animals.

Tracing the origin of Chinese zodiac

The Chinese zodiac, also known as the Twelve Yuan Chen, the Twelve Twelve Gods, the Twelve Zodiacs or the Twelve Elephants, consists of twelve animals: rats, cows, tigers, rabbits, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs and the legendary dragons. The zodiac signs correspond to the twelve earthly branches in the year of Ganzhi, and each zodiac sign corresponds to a year, with twelve years as a cycle. At the same time, the Chinese zodiac also corresponds to the twelve months of the year and the twelve hours of the day. It can be said that the Chinese zodiac is always present in the life of China people. According to legend, the zodiac was established by the Yellow Emperor, and the earliest literature records can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. There are countless works with the theme of the zodiac in ancient cultural relics and works of art, including stone carvings, bronzes, ceramics, clay sculptures, paintings, paper-cuts, wood carvings, jade carvings, tooth carvings, etc., and various materials and artistic expressions emerge one after another.

In terms of materials, the figurines of the twelve zodiac animals collected in Zhengzhou Shanhaiguan Museum are not only newly discovered, but also jade figurines with an earlier age. They have become precious historical relics that are not easy to obtain in the study of the beginning and development of the image of the twelve zodiac animals, and their academic and artistic values are self-evident.

As an important part of China's traditional culture, the formation of the Zodiac reflects the animal worship consciousness of early human beings, and embodies the friendly relationship between people and animals in China. In addition, more people regard the zodiac as the mascot of the Spring Festival and become a symbol of the traditional culture.

The 12 Zodiacs are not only integrated into the life of China people as ordinary creatures, but their natural habits are endowed with many cultural meanings, rising from animals to deities and receiving respect and worship. Only the combination of natural creatures and cultural deities can form a complete impression of Chinese zodiac animals. Since the beginning of the zodiac, it has been regarded as a symbol of people's desire for peace and lasting. Each zodiac has rich meanings and legends, such as: the mouse represents wisdom, the cow represents diligence, the tiger represents bravery, the rabbit represents caution, the dragon represents fortitude, the snake represents flexibility, the horse represents perseverance, the sheep represents harmony, the monkey represents flexibility, the chicken represents stability, the dog represents loyalty, and the pig represents easygoing.

Spring Festival is free, and Qingshan is interested. Last night the bucket handle of the big dipper turned to the east, and this morning began again. It's the New Year again, and we are ready to continue the bright future, to celebrate the new year and welcome the new year, and to look forward to the beautiful time when thousands of families will always exchange new peaches for old ones. Step on the New Year's drum, resonate with the times at the same frequency, and be full of expectation, and ride the wind and waves sometimes, and set my cloudy sail straight and bridge the deep, deep sea.

In the new year, old diseases should be cured, and hope is like early spring. Zhengzhou Shanhai Dujia Museum will continue to launch more fine exhibitions.

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