Have you ever wondered why there are 12 zodiac animals? If not, we invite you to read the article below to learn about the origins and the heavenly stems and earthly branches associated with these 12 zodiac animals.
The Origin of the 12 Zodiac Animals
For a long time, many people have mistakenly believed that the 12 zodiac animals originated from China. However, recently, in a research project on ancient Vietnamese language, linguist Nguyễn Cung Thông discovered that the origins of the 12 zodiac animals actually come from Vietnam.
Language as the Ancestors’ Charm
According to Eastern culture, the calendar is established based on the regular cycles of the Moon. Therefore, the 12 zodiac animals correspond to 12 hours in a day, 12 months in a year, and 12 years in a cycle—these are important foundations for calculating the calendar and serve as indicators to interpret each person’s destiny according to their zodiac sign.
Historically, Vietnam and China have had a period of cultural exchange for at least 2000 years. These cultural exchanges have overlapped and intertwined, making it difficult to distinguish the unique characteristics of each nation. Additionally, few ancient documents remain, and those that do are primarily found in ancient Han texts, complicating research efforts significantly. This has prompted linguist Nguyễn Cung Thông to diligently seek out the linguistic mysteries of his ancestors, which he believes are the “charms” that descendants need to solve.
Vietnamese 12 Zodiac Animals in the Zodiac
Mr. Thông stated that he began his research on the Vietnamese language in the early 1970s in Australia. During a study on the origins of the 12 zodiac animals, he discovered several ancient Vietnamese words that had been used to refer to the zodiac animals long before they appeared in China. In the final days of the Year of the Ox, at the Vietnam Institute in Westminster, California, he presented his intriguing findings on the topic of “Traces of Ancient Vietnamese in Chinese.”
“Exploring the origins of the names of the twelve zodiac animals is an opportunity to trace back to the roots of the Vietnamese language. The names of the 12 zodiac animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Cat, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. At first glance, these twelve branches seem to originate from China because they are Sino-Vietnamese terms. However, when analyzing the Vietnamese words and noticing the differences, I compared them within the borrowing language system, and the truth is not as it seems,” Mr. Thông explained.
According to Mr. Thông, the names of the 12 zodiac animals, when pronounced in Mandarin and transcribed in pinyin as zi, chou, yín, măo, chén, sì, wè, wèi, shèn, yòu, xù, hài… have no relation to the current names of the 12 zodiac animals in Chinese. Even when tracing back to the sounds of ancient Chinese, there is still no correlation with the names of the animals from earlier times. Thus, if any nation uses similar names for the 12 animals as those of today, that nation must have a very close connection to the origins of these zodiac names.
From this, he began his research to find out why, in the 12 zodiac animals of China, the Cat was replaced by the Rabbit. “The Chinese use the rabbit instead of the cat (the symbol of the Mão/Mẹo branch) because in Chinese culture, the rabbit is a very important animal often represented by the character Thố, and in Beijing dialect, there is no specific term for cat. Only the Vietnamese refer to the cat for the Mão branch: the vowel e or iê are older forms of a like kẻ/giả, vẽ/hoạ, xe/xa, khoe/khoa, hè/hạ, chè/trà, keo/giao, beo/báo… Therefore, the cat is also a more commonly present animal in Vietnamese life,” Mr. Thông explained.
Why Did Vietnam Lose Its “Brand”?
In fact, there have been many works by various authors attempting to prove that Chinese culture originated from Vietnamese culture, such as author Lê Mạnh Mát in his book “The History of Vietnamese Music – From the Era of Hùng Kings to the Lý Nam Đế Period” or author Nguyễn Thiếu Dũng in “The Origins of the I Ching”… Most of these books show that the cultural borrowing flowed from the South during ancient times, rather than from North to South (as with surrounding countries) during the Han and Tang dynasties when Chinese culture was at its peak. However, none of the authors have addressed the origins of the names of the 12 zodiac animals, and very few utilize the structure of ancient Chinese characters along with phonetic variations in their explanations.
According to Mr. Thông, aside from the two branches Rat/Mouse and Cat which are the most recognizable, the remaining branches, when compared in terms of phonetics and semantics, also yield surprisingly interesting results.
For example, the case of the Monkey, which is the ninth branch in the Zodiac chart. If we look at how the character for Monkey is written in the field component with a longer middle stroke compared to how the character for Khôn (a foundational character of the I Ching from ancient times) is written, we find that the earth component combined with the character for Monkey creates a harmonious sound. This shows a direct connection between Monkey and Khôn, but ancient Vietnamese had the word “khọn” referring to monkeys (in some places in Huế or Nghệ An, people still use the phrase “tuồng mặt con khọn” to refer to useless people). Therefore, Monkey indeed refers to the monkey; even though the phonetic transformation from th to kh is rare in modern Vietnamese, remnants of paired words still exist, such as: thân- cận- gần, thận- cẩn (cautious, careful).
Similarly, in the case of the Dragon. Many people have long believed that the dragon is a symbol of northern royalty, and it was later chosen as one of the 12 animals in the Zodiac. However, few know that the dragon was originally the ancestral animal of the ancient Vietnamese and that the Vietnamese had their own terms to refer to it. The term Thìn/Thần has remnants in the current Beijing dialect corresponding only to chén – this sound can relate to the sounds trần, trầm, thần in Sino-Vietnamese. However, according to researcher Nguyễn Cung Thông, if we restore the ancient sound of Thìn/Thần as tlan (Ancient Vietnamese – where the sound r turns into l) and trăn, lươn (the sound ts – disappears), rắn, trình (a type of fish similar to an eel), rồng/long (where the vowel o replaces a like nôm/nam, vốn/bản…) and the tendency towards monosyllabization leading to compound forms like tlăn – thằn lằn, tlian – thuồng luồng… shows traces of dragons in southern languages.
Explaining the reasons behind the “confusion” regarding the origins of the 12 zodiac animals, Mr. Thông stated, “With the significant influence of Chinese culture, from the Han Dynasty and later during the Tang and Song dynasties… under the pressure of the ruling class from the North, the names of the 12 totem animals were gradually replaced by human images, heavily influenced by Chinese culture. From the concrete nature of neighboring animal species, the 12 zodiac animals became abstract and even influenced human fate (divination). However, the dazzling veneer of Chinese characters and Sino-Vietnamese cannot change the grassroots culture (vernacular) in the lives of the Vietnamese people.
This new discovery has proven the development of the ancient Vietnamese people in their calendrical calculations and the establishment of a flourishing rice civilization in Southeast Asia.
How Ancients Calculated Time Using Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
- Ancient people believed that Heaven is the fundamental source, while Earth is the manifestation. To establish Heavenly Stems, the ancients took the odd numbers of the River Diagram (1, 3, 5, 7, 9), doubling the middle number 5 to encompass both the yin stems (Ất, Đinh, Kỷ, Tân, Quý) and the yang stems (Giáp, Bính, Mậu, Canh, Nhâm), resulting in a total of 10 stems in the order: Giáp, Ất, Bính, Đinh, Mậu, Kỷ, Canh, Tân, Nhâm, Quý.
- Earthly Branches are taken from even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10). Doubling the middle number 6 creates 12 branches: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Cat, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, which include both yang branches (Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Dog) and yin branches (Ox, Cat, Snake, Goat, Rooster, Pig).
- In ancient times, people used the sun as the point of reference. “When the sun rises, work begins; when the sun sets, one rests.” On cloudy days when the sun is not visible, there was no basis for timekeeping. Legend has it that a person named Đại Nhiêu established the Ten Stems and Ten Branches to calculate time.
The Ten Stems and Ten Branches combine to create the Sixty-Year Cycle (called Ngyên). The calendar of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties (in China) differs from one another. Currently, the calendar of the Xia Dynasty is used, starting the year from the month of the Tiger.
The method of calculating time using heavenly stems and earthly branches is also somewhat related to the behavior of the animals.
- Rat (11 PM – 1 AM): The time when rats are most active.
- Ox (1 AM – 3 AM): The time when the ox is chewing cud, preparing to plow.
- Tiger (3 AM – 5 AM): The time when the tiger is at its most ferocious.
- Rabbit (5 AM – 7 AM): In Vietnam, this is called a cat, but in China, it is referred to as a rabbit, during the time when the moon (Jade Rabbit) is still shining.
- Dragon (7 AM – 9 AM): The time when a group of dragons gather for rain (quần long hành vũ). Dragons are simply imaginary creatures created by humans, not real beings.
- Snake (9 AM – 11 AM): The time when snakes do not harm people.
- Horse (11 AM – 1 PM): The horse has a high level of positivity.
- Goat (1 PM – 3 PM): The time when goats graze without affecting the regrowth of grass.
- Monkey (3 PM – 5 PM): The time when monkeys enjoy howling.
- Rooster (5 PM – 7 PM): The time when chickens begin to head to their coop.
- Dog (7 PM – 9 PM): The time when dogs must stay alert to guard the house.
- Pig (9 PM – 11 PM): The time when pigs are in the deepest sleep.
Today, alongside the use of the solar calendar to align production schedules with the global market, Vietnam continues to utilize the 12 zodiac animals for several important purposes such as calculating age, selecting auspicious dates for significant events like weddings, house construction, and grand openings. Without delving into the pros and cons that the lunar calendar brings—these 12 zodiac animals can be considered an intangible cultural heritage passed down through generations. It is essential for us to preserve this unique cultural aspect before it becomes “forgotten” in the increasingly strong process of integration that we are currently experiencing.
