The myth behind the Chinese zodiac - Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen

譯者: Songzhe Gao 審譯者: 庭芝 梁

「你屬什麼？」

What's your sign?

In Western astrology,

以西方天文學來說

是以你的生日來決定你的星座

it's a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar.

But according to the Chinese zodiac, or shēngxiào,

但是根據東方的「生肖」

it's your shǔxiàng, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year.

你的「屬相」指的是 你的出生年所對應的動物

And of the many myths explaining these animal signs and their arrangement,

在眾多動物生肖的傳說中

the most enduring one is that of the Great Race.

最廣為流傳的故事 就是「渡河大賽」

As the story goes, Yù Dì, or Jade Emperor, Ruler of the Heavens,

傳說中，掌管天庭的領導者「玉帝」

wanted to devise a way to measure time, so he organized a race.

想找出計算時間的方式 於是他舉辦了一場比賽

The first twelve animals to make it across the river

前 12 名渡過河流的動物

would earn a spot on the zodiac calendar in the order they arrived.

就根據牠們抵達的順序 作為農曆上的紀年

老鼠為此起了個大早

The rat rose with the sun to get an early start,

but on the way to the river,

不過，當牠到達河邊時

he met the horse, the tiger, and the ox.

牠遇見了馬、虎和牛

Because the rat was small and couldn't swim very well,

由於老鼠身形小又不諳水性

he asked the bigger animals for help.

牠請求這三隻大動物幫忙

While the tiger and horse refused,

老虎和馬都拒絕了

the kind-hearted ox agreed to carry the rat across.

最後，好心的牛同意載牠渡河

Yet, just as they were about to reach the other side,

但是，就當牠們快要抵達對岸的時候

the rat jumped off the ox's head and secured first place.

老鼠突然從牛頭上跳下來 得到了第一名

The ox came in second,

牛則成了第二名

with the powerful tiger right behind him.

身後跟著強壯的老虎

The rabbit, too small to battle the current,

嬌小的兔子 無法游過湍急的河水

nimbly hopped across stones and logs to come in fourth.

牠靈巧地跳過石頭和浮木 得到第四名

Next came the dragon, who could have flown directly across,

下一位抵達的是龍 牠本來可以直接飛過河流

but stopped to help some creatures she had encountered on the way.

但是牠在途中停下來 幫助其他動物

After her came the horse, galloping across the river.

馬在龍之後飛奔過河，趕了過來

But just as she got across, the snake slithered by.

正當馬快抵達時，蛇從牠的腳邊竄出

The startled horse reared back, letting the snake sneak into sixth place.

受驚嚇的馬高高舉起前腳 蛇便得到了第六名

The Jade Emperor looked out at the river

玉帝往河的遠處望去

and spotted the sheep, the monkey, and the rooster all atop a raft,

看見了羊、猴和公雞一起在木筏上

working together to push it through the weeds.

牠們互相合作穿過水草

When they made it across,

到達對岸後

the trio agreed to give eighth place to the sheep,

牠們三個決定把第八名讓給羊

who had been the most comforting and harmonious of them,

因為牠一路上不停鼓勵隊友 也最合作

followed by the monkey and the rooster.

猴子和雞依序排在羊後面

Next came the dog, scrambling onto the shore.

狗隨後爬上了岸

He was a great swimmer,

牠的泳技其實不錯

but frolicked in the water for so long that he only managed to come in eleventh.

但是牠玩水玩得太久 所以只得到第十一名

The final spot was claimed by the pig,

最後一名是豬

who had gotten hungry and stopped to eat and nap

牠在半路肚子餓，便停下來又吃又睡

before finally waddling across the finish line.

最後才搖搖晃晃地通過終點

And so, each year is associated with one of the animals in this order,

從此以後，就根據這些動物的名次 依序代表每一年

with the cycle starting over every 60 years.

每 60 年輪替一次

Why 60 and not twelve?

為什麼是 60 年，而不是 12 年呢？

Well, the traditional Chinese calendar is made up of two overlapping systems.

因為傳統的中國曆法 有兩種紀年系統互相搭配

The animals of the zodiac are associated with what's called

十二生肖所對應的紀年系統

the Twelve Earthly Branches, or shí'èrzhī.

稱為「十二地支」

Another system, the Ten Heavenly Stems, or tiāngān,

另一套紀年系統稱為「十天干」

is linked with the five classical elements

對應五種基本元素：

of metal, xīn,

金

wood, mù,

木

water, shuǐ,

水

fire, huǒ,

火

and earth, tǔ.

和土

Each element is assigned yīn or yáng,

每種元素又可分為 「陰性」和「陽性」

creating a ten-year cycle.

總共 10 年為一個循環

When the twelve animals of the Earthly Branches

十二地支的動物

are matched with the five elements

對應五種元素

plus the yīn or the yáng of the Heavenly Stems,

再加上每種元素的陰、陽屬性

it creates 60 years of different combinations,

總共產生 60 年的組合

known as a sexagenary cycle, or gānzhī.

每一種的組合稱為一干支

So someone born in 1980 would have the sign of yáng metal monkey,

所以 1980 年出生的是「陽金屬猴」

while someone born in 2007 would be yīn fire pig.

2007 年出生的是「陰火屬豬」

In fact, you can also have an inner animal based on your birth month,

事實上，你還能按照出生月分 算出你的「內在動物」

a true animal based on your birth date,

代表出生日期的「真實動物」

and a secret animal based on your birth hour.

以及代表時辰的「秘密動物」

It was the great race that supposedly determined

雖然渡河大賽

which animals were enshrined in the Chinese zodiac,

定義了十二生肖的動物和順序

but as the system spread through Asia,

但是當這套系統傳遍亞洲時

other cultures made changes to reflect their communities.

其他文化也將生肖做了一些改變 以適應其風俗民情

So if you consult the Vietnamese zodiac,

如果你參考越南的十二生肖

you may discover that you're a cat, not a rabbit,

你會發現你屬貓，而不是屬兔

and if you're in Thailand,

如果參考泰國的十二生肖

a mythical snake called a Naga replaces the dragon.

神秘的蛇神「那伽」取代了龍

So whether or not you place stock in what the zodiac says

所以，不論你採用哪種動物

about you as an individual,

作為你的象徵

it certainly reveals much about the culture it comes from.

牠們都代表了你家鄉的文化