生肖鼠
狡黠富足能产鼠
Crafty and productive Chinese Zodiac-Rat
四害之一的“鼠”居于十二生肖之首，自古以来就令人不可思议。它相貌委琐，鬼鬼祟祟，破坏力强，落得个“老鼠过街，人人喊打”的千古骂名。因此清人王有光在《吴下谚联》卷二对鼠居首的排列顺序大为不满：“且以猪为末，犹可言也，以鼠为头，其谁服之。夫以龙之神灵，虎之威猛，风雨拥卫之物，乃颓乎基间，虽驾猪之上，已屈鼠之下矣，其不悖哉！”
With a petty look, the rat leads a sneaking existence and brings great troubles to humans all the time. An old saying “A rat crossing the street is chased by all” gives expression to people’s sharp disgust towards the notorious creature in China. Deemed as a member of four pests, rat, however, claims the first and most prominent position on the Chinese zodiac related
, which has been questioned by people from ancient time till now. ’s place in his works:“Placing the pig at the bottom can be justified while who can be convinced of the rat to represent the zodiac cycle? Well, the divine Dragon and the powerful tiger, considered as all-mighty creatures, although prior to the pig, is it sheer unreasonable to be put behind the small rat?
可见，从常理上是无法解释鼠居首现象的，于是人们结合鼠狡黠的特点附会出各种生动有趣的传说。不过，较为合理的解释是：鼠在地支子时（夜里23时至凌晨1时）四处活动，所以用子时与鼠相配反映了时间与动物活动规律的关系。明人郎瑛《七修类稿》有类似的解释：“子为阴极，幽潜隐晦，以鼠配之。鼠藏迹也。”子时是一天当中最黑暗之时，老鼠此时出没便于隐藏行迹，二者相配，也是时间与鼠的习性相称的结果。至于“鼠咬天开”的传说也大同小异。清人刘献廷《广阳杂记》记载：“天开于子，不耗则其气不开。鼠，耗虫也，于是，夜尚未央，正鼠得令之候，故子属鼠。”此传说非常富有想象力，认为远古时宇宙混沌一片，只有消散了混沌之气，才能出现光明。而老鼠正是消损事物的能手，夜半之时，它最为活跃，咬破黑暗，带来光明。因鼠耗尽了混沌之气，故有了“耗子”的别名。
由此看来，鼠昼伏夜出的习性是使它能够在十二生肖中独占鳌头的主要原因，与其口碑不佳及相貌可鄙无甚关系。
鼠的另一个别名是“老鼠”，可是从表面上看，这个称谓名不符实。它目光短浅，相貌卑琐，心术不正，成语“鼠目寸光”、“獐头鼠目”、“贼眉鼠眼”就是根据这些特点而产生的；它体态小，成语“鼠肝虫臂”、“鼠肚鸡肠”分别比喻轻贱微末的人和气量狭窄的人，俗语“老鼠尾巴生疮，有脓也无多”形容微不足道；它嗜偷成性，成语“鼠窃狗偷”用以比喻小偷小摸的可耻行为，俗语“老鼠货”喻指偷来的东西，“沙滩老鼠”、“棺材老鼠”、“电老鼠”等分别喻指
偷窃游泳者换下的衣物、殡仪馆发死人财、偷电的人；它阴险多疑，成语“鼠心狼肺”、“胆小如鼠”、“首鼠两端”、“鼠迹狐踪”分别用以形容人阴险狠毒、胆小怕事、见风使驼、行迹鬼祟；它遇事善逃，成语“抱头鼠窜”、“鼠窜狼奔”、“鼠窜蜂逝”等形容仓皇逃窜的狼狈样子。老鼠好磨牙，于是就有了 “鼠牙雀辩”这一成语，比喻喜欢逞口舌之利搬弄是非„„如果要细数老鼠的种种劣迹，就难免令人厌恶不已，于是有了“鼠雀之辈”、“鼠辈”、“鼠子”等词语讽刺那些鄙陋委琐之徒。后魏卢元明《剧鼠赋》惟妙惟肖地描写了鼠的丑恶面目：“须似麦穗半垂，眼如豆角中劈，耳类槐叶初生，尾若酒杯余沥。乃有老者，羸髋疥癞，偏多奸计，众中无敌。”读罢，一个鄙俗不堪、老奸巨滑的老鼠形象便显现在眼前。
虽然老鼠从里到外都难与当之无愧的“老虎”相比，但是从社会、民俗和文化学的角度来看，鼠具有顽强的生命力，它善处逆境、繁殖力强；既是无恶不作的害人精，也是充满灵性的小生灵。俗语“鼠变虎”恰恰反映出人们早已看穿了鼠的阴险老辣之处，当它谋得虎位时，定会比老虎更凶狠，寓示着小人如果得志，便会猖狂霸道，令人生畏。所以，从这种意义来理解，鼠堪称“老鼠”之名。
对鼠居生肖之首及其别名的解释，反映出人们对它的认识充满了矛盾心理：厌恶与羡慕混杂，无奈与媚俗交织。因此，鼠被赋予了丰富的象征意义。
broadly, "rodent".
CHINESE ZODIAC - RATThe Chinese astrological cycle begins with the year of the Rat; consequently those born within this category like to be first, pioneers, at the forefront of ... Year of the Rat - Chinese Zodiac Rat SignAre you born under the Chinese zodiac sign of the Rat?
Occupying the 1st and most prominent position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Rat symbolizes such character traits as wit, imagination and curiosity. Rats have keen observation skills and with those skills they’re able to deduce much about other people and other situations. Overall, Rats are full of energy, talkative and charming but they have a tendency to become aggressive.
The symbol of the rat is considered to be one of the most prominent symbols of the Chinese zodiac cycle. After all it is the first symbol of the entire twelve year cycle hence it must be special. When you compare the general perceptions that people have about the rat between the western and the Chinese culture we find them to be diametrically opposite.
To the west the rat is no more than a pest but for the Chinese their long history and tradition of the zodiac symbols has placed the rat on an elevated position. Besides, it was the deep insight and observation skills of the Chinese philosophers of ancient times that enabled them to see the innate qualities with which the rat has been endowed. As it is the Chinese are known for their great observation skills. In the case of the rat they were able to see that by nature the rat’s natural disposition bears some likeliness with certain human characteristics. The observers drew a complete character sketch of this zodiac symbol that illustrates all those qualities that the rat displays in his natural environment.
The rat is considered to be a rather intelligent creature. It has been observed that the rat is a rather perseverant and hardworking animal that works its way creatively to meet its end objectives. Objectivity is one of the virtues attributed to the rat. If the rat is part of some thing it likes to be in total control of it. In its essence the rat’s personality is described as a perfectionist. Hence the people born in the year of the rat are not only labeled with the zodiac sign they are considered to have these qualities deep down inside of themselves. The extent to which each individual is able to realize the qualities that his zodiac sign has varies according from individual to individual.
One of the things that make the Chinese zodiac symbol of the rat special is the fact that it is the very first animal of the entire zodiac cycle. What is even more interesting is how it managed to claim that position. There are many legendary stories that tell us about the clever run of the rat to end up in the top spot. Considering that the zodiac calendar consists of much bigger and stronger creatures than the rat a person who is unaware of the history and origins of the Chinese zodiac may not be able to comprehend how come the rat is the first of the animals to represent the zodiac cycle. The race that determined the order of the twelve animals of the zodiac calendar is where the rat displayed his true intelligence. It knew that it stood no chance against the other animals had it relied on its own brawn. Rather it used its brain and actually rode the entire duration of the race on the ox’s back that was all set to claim the top spot. On reaching close to the finish line however the rat made a jump for it and deprived the ox of the first position thereby attaining the position of being the first zodiac symbol of the twelve year calendar.
生肖鼠
狡黠富足能产鼠
Crafty and productive Chinese Zodiac-Rat
四害之一的“鼠”居于十二生肖之首，自古以来就令人不可思议。它相貌委琐，鬼鬼祟祟，破坏力强，落得个“老鼠过街，人人喊打”的千古骂名。因此清人王有光在《吴下谚联》卷二对鼠居首的排列顺序大为不满：“且以猪为末，犹可言也，以鼠为头，其谁服之。夫以龙之神灵，虎之威猛，风雨拥卫之物，乃颓乎基间，虽驾猪之上，已屈鼠之下矣，其不悖哉！”
With a petty look, the rat leads a sneaking existence and brings great troubles to humans all the time. An old saying “A rat crossing the street is chased by all” gives expression to people’s sharp disgust towards the notorious creature in China. Deemed as a member of four pests, rat, however, claims the first and most prominent position on the Chinese zodiac related
, which has been questioned by people from ancient time till now. ’s place in his works:“Placing the pig at the bottom can be justified while who can be convinced of the rat to represent the zodiac cycle? Well, the divine Dragon and the powerful tiger, considered as all-mighty creatures, although prior to the pig, is it sheer unreasonable to be put behind the small rat?
可见，从常理上是无法解释鼠居首现象的，于是人们结合鼠狡黠的特点附会出各种生动有趣的传说。不过，较为合理的解释是：鼠在地支子时（夜里23时至凌晨1时）四处活动，所以用子时与鼠相配反映了时间与动物活动规律的关系。明人郎瑛《七修类稿》有类似的解释：“子为阴极，幽潜隐晦，以鼠配之。鼠藏迹也。”子时是一天当中最黑暗之时，老鼠此时出没便于隐藏行迹，二者相配，也是时间与鼠的习性相称的结果。至于“鼠咬天开”的传说也大同小异。清人刘献廷《广阳杂记》记载：“天开于子，不耗则其气不开。鼠，耗虫也，于是，夜尚未央，正鼠得令之候，故子属鼠。”此传说非常富有想象力，认为远古时宇宙混沌一片，只有消散了混沌之气，才能出现光明。而老鼠正是消损事物的能手，夜半之时，它最为活跃，咬破黑暗，带来光明。因鼠耗尽了混沌之气，故有了“耗子”的别名。
由此看来，鼠昼伏夜出的习性是使它能够在十二生肖中独占鳌头的主要原因，与其口碑不佳及相貌可鄙无甚关系。
鼠的另一个别名是“老鼠”，可是从表面上看，这个称谓名不符实。它目光短浅，相貌卑琐，心术不正，成语“鼠目寸光”、“獐头鼠目”、“贼眉鼠眼”就是根据这些特点而产生的；它体态小，成语“鼠肝虫臂”、“鼠肚鸡肠”分别比喻轻贱微末的人和气量狭窄的人，俗语“老鼠尾巴生疮，有脓也无多”形容微不足道；它嗜偷成性，成语“鼠窃狗偷”用以比喻小偷小摸的可耻行为，俗语“老鼠货”喻指偷来的东西，“沙滩老鼠”、“棺材老鼠”、“电老鼠”等分别喻指
偷窃游泳者换下的衣物、殡仪馆发死人财、偷电的人；它阴险多疑，成语“鼠心狼肺”、“胆小如鼠”、“首鼠两端”、“鼠迹狐踪”分别用以形容人阴险狠毒、胆小怕事、见风使驼、行迹鬼祟；它遇事善逃，成语“抱头鼠窜”、“鼠窜狼奔”、“鼠窜蜂逝”等形容仓皇逃窜的狼狈样子。老鼠好磨牙，于是就有了 “鼠牙雀辩”这一成语，比喻喜欢逞口舌之利搬弄是非„„如果要细数老鼠的种种劣迹，就难免令人厌恶不已，于是有了“鼠雀之辈”、“鼠辈”、“鼠子”等词语讽刺那些鄙陋委琐之徒。后魏卢元明《剧鼠赋》惟妙惟肖地描写了鼠的丑恶面目：“须似麦穗半垂，眼如豆角中劈，耳类槐叶初生，尾若酒杯余沥。乃有老者，羸髋疥癞，偏多奸计，众中无敌。”读罢，一个鄙俗不堪、老奸巨滑的老鼠形象便显现在眼前。
虽然老鼠从里到外都难与当之无愧的“老虎”相比，但是从社会、民俗和文化学的角度来看，鼠具有顽强的生命力，它善处逆境、繁殖力强；既是无恶不作的害人精，也是充满灵性的小生灵。俗语“鼠变虎”恰恰反映出人们早已看穿了鼠的阴险老辣之处，当它谋得虎位时，定会比老虎更凶狠，寓示着小人如果得志，便会猖狂霸道，令人生畏。所以，从这种意义来理解，鼠堪称“老鼠”之名。
对鼠居生肖之首及其别名的解释，反映出人们对它的认识充满了矛盾心理：厌恶与羡慕混杂，无奈与媚俗交织。因此，鼠被赋予了丰富的象征意义。
broadly, "rodent".
CHINESE ZODIAC - RATThe Chinese astrological cycle begins with the year of the Rat; consequently those born within this category like to be first, pioneers, at the forefront of ... Year of the Rat - Chinese Zodiac Rat SignAre you born under the Chinese zodiac sign of the Rat?
Occupying the 1st and most prominent position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Rat symbolizes such character traits as wit, imagination and curiosity. Rats have keen observation skills and with those skills they’re able to deduce much about other people and other situations. Overall, Rats are full of energy, talkative and charming but they have a tendency to become aggressive.
The symbol of the rat is considered to be one of the most prominent symbols of the Chinese zodiac cycle. After all it is the first symbol of the entire twelve year cycle hence it must be special. When you compare the general perceptions that people have about the rat between the western and the Chinese culture we find them to be diametrically opposite.
To the west the rat is no more than a pest but for the Chinese their long history and tradition of the zodiac symbols has placed the rat on an elevated position. Besides, it was the deep insight and observation skills of the Chinese philosophers of ancient times that enabled them to see the innate qualities with which the rat has been endowed. As it is the Chinese are known for their great observation skills. In the case of the rat they were able to see that by nature the rat’s natural disposition bears some likeliness with certain human characteristics. The observers drew a complete character sketch of this zodiac symbol that illustrates all those qualities that the rat displays in his natural environment.
The rat is considered to be a rather intelligent creature. It has been observed that the rat is a rather perseverant and hardworking animal that works its way creatively to meet its end objectives. Objectivity is one of the virtues attributed to the rat. If the rat is part of some thing it likes to be in total control of it. In its essence the rat’s personality is described as a perfectionist. Hence the people born in the year of the rat are not only labeled with the zodiac sign they are considered to have these qualities deep down inside of themselves. The extent to which each individual is able to realize the qualities that his zodiac sign has varies according from individual to individual.
One of the things that make the Chinese zodiac symbol of the rat special is the fact that it is the very first animal of the entire zodiac cycle. What is even more interesting is how it managed to claim that position. There are many legendary stories that tell us about the clever run of the rat to end up in the top spot. Considering that the zodiac calendar consists of much bigger and stronger creatures than the rat a person who is unaware of the history and origins of the Chinese zodiac may not be able to comprehend how come the rat is the first of the animals to represent the zodiac cycle. The race that determined the order of the twelve animals of the zodiac calendar is where the rat displayed his true intelligence. It knew that it stood no chance against the other animals had it relied on its own brawn. Rather it used its brain and actually rode the entire duration of the race on the ox’s back that was all set to claim the top spot. On reaching close to the finish line however the rat made a jump for it and deprived the ox of the first position thereby attaining the position of being the first zodiac symbol of the twelve year calendar.