In ancient times, Chiyou, a vicious monster leader, led a group of demons, constantly invading the world, bringing great trouble and threat to people's lives. In order to protect humanity, the Yellow Emperor led his subordinates to resist, and finally succeeded in defeating Chiyou and restoring peace and order.
After the Yellow Emperor's victory over Chiyou, he decided to commemorate this important victory with the image of the 12 zodiac signs. He entered the names of twelve animals into the almanac, using their names as the year of each year. The twelve animals are rats, oxen, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, and pigs.
However, when people carefully counted these twelve animals, they found that the Yellow Emperor had forgotten an important animal - the cat!People can't help but wonder why the Yellow Emperor forgot about the existence of the cat and omitted it from the zodiac
The story dates back to before the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou. At that time, the Yellow Emperor's troops were stationed in a dense forest, and every day people were threatened by various wild beasts. In order to ensure the safety of the soldiers and the people, the Yellow Emperor decided to recruit animals that could hunt wild beasts.
When so many animals came to enlist, the cunning cat did not appear at this critical moment. It turns out that the cat is very lazy, it prefers a quiet life and does not want to deal with other animals at all. It prides itself on its independence and elegance and is never willing to put in too much effort for the sake of others.
After the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou, he hoped that every animal that participated in the war of resistance would be rewarded and recognized. However, although the cat is not involved in the battle, its presence cannot be ignored. After all, cats play a vital role in keeping the camp safe during night patrols. But since the cat itself did not like to participate in socialization and labor, the Yellow Emperor mistakenly thought that it did not contribute to the victory and forgot about it outside the zodiac.
However, when the Yellow Emperor realized his forgetfulness, he felt deeply guilty. In order to make up for this mistake, the Yellow Emperor decided to make a special record of the cat's exploits in the almanac and set up a special status for it separately. Therefore, he regarded cats as auspicious animals to protect the family, and at the same time recorded the important role of cats in protecting people's lives.
Since then, people regard cats as wonderful beings, respect and love them. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor also instituted a special festival to commemorate the exploits of the cat, and on this day every year, people would offer food and pray for the cat.