The giant dragon takes off, the golden snake dances wildly, and amidst the joyful songs and laughter, another Year of the Snake is about to arrive. In the traditional order of the twelve zodiac signs, the Year of the Snake follows the Year of the the Year of the Loong. In the long-standing Chinese culture, the virtual dragon is derived from the actual snake. Dragons are born of snakes, and snakes are proud of dragons. Chinese people are descendants of the dragon, and the dragon has already become one of the spiritual symbols of countrymen. And the snake totem also existed in the long history and culture of the Chinese nation. Let's taste the rich snake culture together during the family reunion of the Chinese New Year. Why is there a snake in the Chinese zodiac? Among the twelve zodiac animals, snakes are not the most ferocious, but if you choose the most terrifying animal, it is undoubtedly the snake. What is the reason? Although tigers are much more ferocious, they roam in remote high mountains and dense forests. If you ask anyone who has seen a tiger, apart from watching it in the zoo, there are very few people who unexpectedly encounter it in the wild. On the contrary, many people who have lived in rural areas have seen snakes. Snakes, with slender bodies, are almost no different from the ropes used for cutting grass and tying wheat in rural areas. Their skin color is often close to the color of their living environment, and they often sneak around people but are difficult to detect. If you're not careful, or step under your feet while walking, or grab the grass while mowing. When a snake's angry eyes are wide open, ready to entangle and attack a person, it's strange that you're not scared and scream out loud. The terrifying snake may have been lurking quietly in the wall holes, beams, and eaves of your home for countless years. Do you think it's terrifying! Empty words without evidence, there are thousand year old texts as evidence. The Book of Jin, Biography of Le Guang, once recorded the scene of a cup, bow, and snake shadow. Le Guang once invited a friend to have a banquet at home, but later one of his friends fell seriously ill in bed. Upon hearing the news, Le Guang quickly went to visit and asked about the cause, only to find out that his friend always saw a small snake floating in his cup while drinking. After drinking the wine, there is no snake shadow in the cup. There is no reason why so many small snakes are not sick as they crawl through their stomachs and intestines. After listening, Le Guang smiled and brought his friend home. He pointed to a snake shaped bow hanging high on the wall and said it was the one causing trouble. My friend's doubts were dispelled, and my illness was cured without treatment. It can be seen that ancient people were so afraid of snakes, afraid for a long time, so afraid that they would endanger themselves when they saw the snake's shadow! But why is such a terrifying snake listed among the twelve zodiac animals? There is such an interesting legend. Long ago, snakes and frogs were good friends. At that time, snakes had legs, while frogs did not have legs. The legless frog is very diligent, helping the ancestors eliminate pests and protect crops. Snakes are extremely lazy, they lie down when they are full, and if someone disturbs their dreams, they bite them. The land god was very angry and accused the Jade Emperor of the crime of snakes. After verification, the Jade Emperor rewarded diligence and punished laziness, and cut off the four legs of the snake to give to the frog. The snake is punished, reflecting on its mistakes, and every time it reflects, it sheds a layer of skin to show its renewal. Snakes, in order to make up for their mistakes, drag their long bodies to burrow and lurk, silently hunting mice and pests, dedicating themselves to their work until death. Not only do snakes die after death, but they also "donate" their organs to humans as medicine for treatment. Coincidentally, the Jade Emperor was about to confer the twelve zodiac animals, and the repentant snake joined this glorious ranks. This answer should be included in the excellent answer sheet, but it is a completely fictional legendary story. Looking at the family tradition of snakes, the reason why they can be included in the twelve zodiac animals may be due to a unique character. Most animals rely on their feet, claws, and wings to walk, jump, or fly. Snakes, without feet, claws, or wings, can walk as fast as they fly, and cannot even catch up with humans. It's not an exaggeration to say that snakes walk like flies. There is a type of golden snake that travels from tree to tree without having to descend to the roots and climb up. It constantly twists its body in the air and quickly lands on the top of another tree, known as a flying snake. The survival ability of snakes is strangely strong, they can run on the ground, swim in water, drill in holes, and fly on trees. In the eyes of our ancestors, snakes were one of the most magical animals, so magical that people were both afraid and envious. Perhaps people's reverence for this magical and mysterious animal is the reason why snakes became the ancient totem of the Chinese nation, and also an important reason why snakes are listed among the twelve zodiac animals. The long history of snake worship has led to a miraculous sense of awe that makes snakes worth hundreds of times more and extraordinary, forming a long-standing snake worship. During the Chu Han conflict, Liu Bang emerged victorious, and the mysterious story of his snake slaying uprising was widely circulated in ancient times. According to the Annals of Emperor Gaozu in the Records of the Grand Historian, when Liu Bang was the chief of the pavilion, he escorted a group of laborers to Lishan to build a tomb for Emperor Qin Shi Huang. One day, the explorer returned and said that there was a big snake blocking the way ahead and they dared not pass through. When Emperor Gaozu was drunk, he said, 'How can a brave warrior be afraid?' He then drew his sword and struck the snake. The snake then split into two and opened its way. Later, someone saw an old woman crying at the snake cutting site and asked her why she was crying? The old woman replied, "My son, the son of the White Emperor, has transformed into a snake and is now in power. Now, it is the son of the Red Emperor who has beheaded him, so I am crying." It is speculated that after Liu Bang became emperor, he realized his lowly background and showed off his superhuman courage with the courage to slay snakes. The majestic emperor established his power by cutting off snakes, which, even though they died, were still glorious, bringing the snake tribe into the "glorious era". Liu Bang's use of snakes to establish prestige is not the first of its kind, as it was recorded earlier in the Shan Hai Jing. In the book, it is written: "Kuafu walked with the sun, entering the sun; thirsty, wanting to drink, drinking in the river and Wei; the river and Wei were insufficient, drinking in the north from the Great Ze. Before he arrived, he died of thirst. Abandoning his staff, he transformed into Deng Lin." The giant Kuafu raced with the sun, chasing to the westernmost point but failed to catch up, watching the sun set. He, who was extremely thirsty, drank up the Yellow River and Wei River water, but still couldn't bear the thirst. He wanted to rush to Dazhe in the north to drink water, but died of thirst halfway through. His fallen cane turned into a peach grove. Why does Kuafu race against the sun? This may indicate that the ancestors of China once observed the sun and studied astronomy. In that primitive era, due to limited conditions, it failed and only left a strong will like a burning peach blossom, inspiring future generations. However, the author of the Classic of Mountains and Seas felt that it was not yet in place, so they tried their best to elevate the image of Kuafu. The technique of raising oneself is to use a snake as a backdrop, allowing Kuafu to "hold a green snake in his right hand and a yellow snake in his left hand". This spirit is rare in the world! In Chinese creation mythology, human ancestors are Fuxi and N ü wa. There is a myth in the book "Customs and Traditions" about N ü wa creating humans: "It is said that when heaven and earth were opened up, there were no people, and N ü wa kneaded yellow soil to make humans." There is also another myth that says that when the flood overflowed, all the ancestors were submerged, and only the siblings Fuxi and N ü wa survived in the world. The Heavenly Emperor ordered the siblings to marry, which led to the birth of numerous descendants of the Chinese nation. What was the physique and appearance of the legendary ancestors Fuxi and N ü wa? The Chu Ci: Tianwen "states:" N ü wa had a body, but who made it? "Wang Yi's annotation:" N ü wa had a human head and a snake body. "Guo Pu's annotation of the" Shan Hai Jing: Da Huang Xi Jing "also believes that" N ü wa, an ancient goddess and emperor, had a human face and a snake body, which changed seventy times in a day. "When viewing the portraits of Fuxi and N ü wa by ancient people, both ancestors had human faces and snake bodies, and the two snake bodies were twisted into one, making it difficult to part. Legend has it that the ancestors of China had a "human face and snake body", which shows that the worship of snakes by the descendants of Yan and Huang has a long history, dating back to the early days of chaos. The snake discovered in archaeological discoveries has a long history in Chinese civilization, which is the only civilization in the world that has not been interrupted and has developed to this day. After several generations of scholars' continuous efforts, the research results of major projects such as the Chinese Civilization Exploration Project have empirically verified China's million year human history, 10000 year cultural history, and over 5000 year civilization history. A glimpse reveals the entire leopard, and using snake culture as a telescope, one can glimpse the glorious history of civilization spanning five thousand years. Looking north, the colored pottery urn unearthed from the Hongshan Culture Site in Liaoning Province is decorated with patterns on its belly. These patterns have a red background and black stripes, some with two stripes, some with three stripes, and the patterns are quite similar to snakes. According to expert research, these painted pottery jars date back approximately 5000 years. Looking south, many tombs from the Three Kingdoms and Two Jin periods have been discovered in the Wu Yue region. Porcelain soul vases, also known as "soul vases" and "barns," are popular in tombs for accompanying burials. The relief patterns on these porcelain pieces are mostly birds and snakes. Why decorate the barn with birds and snakes? Agricultural cultivation is most afraid of pests and rodents. Pests often occur during the growth process of rice, and the tender and watery leaves are often eaten by small insects, resulting in reduced grain production. Birds can peck at these pests and are the guardians of crops. Once the rice ripens, it's time for the mice to enjoy a feast. They greedily fill their stomachs and even plunder recklessly, hiding the rice grains in their own caves. And snakes are the natural enemies of mice, even if mice burrow into their burrows, snakes can still track and pursue them. Sculpturing birds and snakes on a barn known as the "Soul Bottle" is intended to safeguard food security. Looking far to the west, the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Museum in Gansu Province houses a snake patterned painted pottery pot. The snake pattern on the pottery pot is depicted in black, with a round and slightly pointed snake head; The snake has a fine neck, slightly thicker curls, and a slender tail that stretches out, giving it a strong appearance. This snake is vivid and lifelike, appearing to be a sketch but lacking in freehand charm. This pot belongs to the Majiayao culture type, dating back about 5000 years. Serpentine decorations are also present in the unearthed cultural relics in southwestern Sichuan. Snake eagle yin-yang shaped artifacts were unearthed from the Sanxingdui site, and snake shaped stone carvings were also unearthed from the Jinsha site in Chengdu. Looking to the east, the ancestors used snake shaped patterns to decorate their daily necessities even earlier. About 7000 years ago, the Hemudu people evolved snakes into geometric patterns and carved them on various pottery. In the Liangzhu culture period, the ancestors liked to carve lifelike snake shapes on pottery and jade. A pottery piece unearthed from the Yuhang Site Group in Zhejiang Province is decorated with snake patterns; Two pottery bean fragments unearthed from the Mingshanhou site in Fenghua, Zhejiang, are decorated with snake patterns; A pottery tripod with snake patterns was unearthed from the Caoxie Mountain site in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province; A pottery piece collected from the Jinshan Tinglin Site in Shanghai, decorated with snake patterns; The belly and lid of a pottery tripod unearthed from the Fuquan Mountain site in Qingpu, Shanghai, are decorated with snake patterns; The two through ear pots and one pottery bean unearthed from the same site are both decorated with snake patterns... Snake patterns on pottery jars, pottery beans, and pottery tripods are not uncommon and numerous. Experts believe that snakes had an impact on the material and spiritual life of our ancestors at that time, and were likely to have become sacrificial objects or tribal totems. Focusing on the Central Plains, snake morphology and patterns are still present in archaeological discoveries. Snake patterns have been found on cultural relics unearthed from the Yangshao Culture Site. The bird dragon colored pottery basin unearthed in the Weinan area of Shaanxi Province features a bird with a "bird head and snake body", and the decoration is no different from that of a snake. The Han Dynasty portrait stone tablet "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" in Nanyang, Henan Province, features a round moon carved in the upper left corner, with a toad lying in the center of the moon; The main body of the picture is engraved with Chang'e in a flying state. Clouds linger in the blank space of the screen, with nine stars scattered. What is striking is that this graceful and immortal Chang'e is actually a human body with a snake tail. In recent years, dragon disks unearthed from the Taosi site in Xiangfen, Shanxi have frequently appeared on the screen. If you have seen the physical object, you will find that the pottery plate is surrounded by what seems to be a snake. However, upon careful observation, this snake is already quietly changing. Its body does not have snake patterns, but rather crocodile like markings; The square ears on both sides of the head are different from snakes without ears; Teeth are saw shaped, different from snake teeth; A branched object in the mouth, resembling a Golden Harvest. This is a snake that is transforming into a dragon according to human wishes. The Taosi Dragon Plate is thought-provoking and immediately reminds me of the fable of adding unnecessary details to a snake. Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty recorded in his book "Strategies of the Warring States: Qi Ce II" that those who had temples in Chu were given wine as a tribute to their ancestors. She said to each other, "A few people may not have enough to drink, but one person may have more than enough to drink. Please draw the ground as a snake, and the one who becomes the first will drink." One person's snake becomes the first, draws wine, and drinks it with their left hand