十二生肖的真正意义 The true meaning of the Chinese zodiac signs
第三系列 The third series
周恩来对十二生肖排列的解释十分有意思：
周恩来说：
「第一组是老鼠和牛。老鼠代表智慧，牛代表勤奋。智慧和勤奋一定要紧紧结合在一起。如果只有智慧而缺乏勤奋，那就会变成浅薄的聪明；而单纯勤奋却不动脑筋，那就会变得愚笨。因此，这两者必须相辅相成，这是我们祖先对我们的第一组期望和要求，也是最重要的一组。」
「第二组是老虎和兔子。老虎代表勇猛，兔子代表谨慎。勇猛和谨慎必须结合在一起，方能达到所谓的胆大心细。如果勇猛缺乏谨慎，就会变得鲁莽；而只有谨慎而缺乏勇猛，谨慎就会变成胆怯。这一组也非常重要，因此排在第二位。」
「第三组是龙和蛇。龙代表刚猛，蛇代表柔韧。所谓刚者易折，太刚容易断裂，但是如果只有柔软的一面，就会失去主见。因此，刚柔并济是我们历代的祖训。」
「接下来是马和羊。马代表勇往直前，羊代表和顺。如果一个人只顾着勇往直前，不顾及周围，必然会与周围环境不断发生冲突，最终可能无法达到目标。但是，一个人如果只顾及和顺，而失去了勇往直前的动力，就会迷失方向，目标也会渐行渐远。因此，勇往直前与和顺的特性必须紧密结合在一起。」
「再接下来是猴子和鸡。猴子代表灵活，而鸡在以前的年代没有钟表，人们是根据鸡鸣来确定一天的开始，所以鸡的定时打鸣代表着稳定。灵活和稳定必须紧密结合在一起。如果只有灵活而缺乏稳定，再好的计划最终也无法取得成果。但是如果只有稳定而缺乏灵活性，就会变得死板，没有变通的空间，那样我们今天也不会过上好日子。只有它们之间的和谐统一，一方面保持稳定，维护整体的和谐与秩序，另一方面又能不断变通、前进，才是最根本的要义。」
「最后是狗和猪。狗代表忠诚，猪代表随和。如果一个人过于忠诚而缺乏随和性，就会排斥他人。反之，如果一个人过于随和而缺乏忠诚，就会失去原则。因此，无论是对民族国家的忠诚、对团队的忠诚，还是对自己理想的忠诚，都必须与随和性紧密结合在一起，这样才能真正保持内心深处的忠诚。这正是我们中国人一直坚持的外圆内方，君子和而不同的精神。每个中国人都有自己的生肖，有的属猪，有的属狗，这又代表着什么意义呢？实际上，我们的祖先期望我们能够圆融、不偏不倚，懂得取舍平衡。比如，属猪的人能够在自己的随和本性中追求忠诚；而属狗的人则能够在忠诚的本性中做到随和。」
"The explanation of the Chinese
zodiac arrangement by Zhou Enlai is also very interesting:
Zhou Enlai said:
"The first group is the Rat and
the Ox. The Rat represents wisdom, while the Ox represents diligence. Wisdom and
diligence must be closely combined. If one has wisdom but lacks diligence, it
becomes mere cleverness; and if one is diligent but doesn't use their brain, it
becomes foolishness. Therefore, these two qualities must be combined. This is
the first expectation and requirement our ancestors had for us, and it is also
the most important group."
"The second group is the Tiger
and the Rabbit. The Tiger represents courage, while the Rabbit represents
caution. Courage and caution must be closely combined to achieve what is called
'boldness with caution.' If courage is separated from caution, it becomes
recklessness; and if there is only caution without courage, it becomes
timidity. This group is also very important, so it ranks second."
"The third group is the Dragon
and the Snake. The Dragon represents strength, while the Snake represents
flexibility. The so-called 'hardness leads to breakage'; being too rigid leads
to breakage. But if one is only soft, they lose their initiative. Therefore, combining
strength with flexibility has been the ancestral teaching throughout the
generations."
"Next are the Horse and the
Goat. The Horse represents advancing courageously towards a goal, while the
Goat represents harmony. If one only focuses on advancing towards a goal
without considering their surroundings, they will inevitably collide with their
environment continuously and may not reach their goal in the end. However, if
one only focuses on harmony with their surroundings and loses the drive to
advance, they will lose direction and their goal will become distant.
Therefore, the characteristics of advancing courageously and being harmonious
must be closely combined. This is the fourth expectation our ancestors had for
the Chinese people."
"Then there are the Monkey and
the Rooster. The Monkey represents flexibility, while the Rooster, in ancient
times when there were no clocks, people relied on the crowing of the rooster to
determine the start of the day, so the rooster crowing on time represents stability.
Flexibility and stability must be closely combined. If one is only flexible
without stability, even the best policies will not yield results in the end.
But if one is only stable without flexibility, like stagnant water or a rigid
board, we wouldn't have the good days we enjoy today. Only when they are
harmoniously combined, maintaining stability and overall harmony and order on
one hand, and continuously adapting and progressing on the other hand, is the
fundamental essence."
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