February 17, 2015
An interesting article:
also see here:
"The Chinese word yang in oracle-bone script - the ancient characters found on bones used for divination in the Bronze Age - looked like an animal with two horns and a pointy face, said Professor Ho Che-wah, head of the department of Chinese literature at Chinese University.
But the character could be translated to goat, sheep or ram in English.
Ho said that while sheep had a long history in Chinese society, the country's culinary past suggested the goat as the most likely animal to have been included in the zodiac.
"In ancient China, people ate six types of animals - horse, cow, goat, pig, dog and chicken. Goat is therefore included in the zodiac, too," Ho said.
Goats also had a higher status among the six animals in Chinese society, as in the past, only rich people and the aristocracy could afford to eat them.
The Chinese word for "envy" originally referred to a person salivating over a goat, Ho added."
“gung1 hei2 faat3 coi4”
