小譯說
「尖嘴尖牙齒，留著小鬍子，賊頭又賊腦，夜裡幹壞事。」你猜出來是什麼動物了嗎？那關於它你又知道多少呢？快和小譯一起瞧瞧吧！
The year of the Rat has come. It marks the first year of a new round of the Chinese zodiac, since the rat is the first in the cycle of 12 Chinese zodiac signs.
庚子鼠年已然來臨。鼠年象徵著又一個「十二年」的開始，因為十二生肖可是一「鼠」當先吶！
To those who might not be quite familiar with the zodiac, it is a repeated cycle of 12 years, with each year being represented by an animal. The cycle begins with the Year of the Rat, and goes through Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, ending with the Year of the Pig.
還不怎麼了解十二生肖的小朋友注意啦！十二生肖以十二年為期，每年都由一隻動物表示。這十二年以鼠開頭，緊接著是牛、虎、兔、龍、蛇、馬、羊、猴、雞、狗、豬。
It is not difficult to notice that the rat is the smallest animal in the group, so how comes it ranks on top of the list? Well, there are several explanations.
我們很容易就會發現，老鼠是十二隻動物裡體型最小的，但憑什麼「鼠」它最先呢？說法嘛，有以下幾種。
One Explanation: Terrestrial Branches
說法一：地支紀時
The 12 Chinese zodiac signs are based on the 12 Terrestrial Branches. Ancient Chinese people invented the system based on observations of the orbit of Jupiter, which has a 12-year rotation basis.
十二生肖是十二地支的形象化代表。木星的公轉周期為12年，古代中國人通過觀察木星運動，發明了地支紀時。
Chinese people named each of the Terrestrial Branches, and use them to mark the year, month, date, as well as different periods of the day. Therefore, Jupiter is also known as the "Year Star" in ancient China.
中國人為十二地支命名並用之紀年、紀月、紀一天中的不同時辰。因此，古代中國將木星稱之為「歲星」。
The order of the zodiacs was based on their habits and activity time during the day. For example, the rats usually come out around midnight, therefore it is arranged at the beginning of the Terrestrial Branches, referring to the period between 23:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.
十二生肖的順序是由動物的習性和活動時間決定的。比如，老鼠總是出沒於午夜，而午夜11點到次日凌晨1點為子時，因此，「鼠」代表十二地支中的「子」。
Likewise, the ox is the second because the animal ruminates after 1:00 am, and the tiger comes next for it is believed to start wondering around preying between 3:00 to 5:00 in the morning. The same order was transplanted to the arrangement of the 12 zodiac signs.
同樣，牛在凌晨1點後反芻，因而位居第二；凌晨3點到5點，老虎會開始四處狩獵，因而位列第三。其他動物的順序也是根據這種原理排列的。
Without any records on archives, this is the most believable explanation, since it is more of a summary of the ancient people's observation of nature. Most of the ancient systems used by the Chinese were created in the same way.
這種說法總結了前人對自然的觀察和發現，儘管史無記載，卻是最可信的一種說法。在古代中國，大多數的發明都是靠這種原理產生的。
Another Explanation: folk stories
說法二：民間故事
Where there is unknown, there are mythology and folk stories. Mystery generates stories and legends.
哪裡有未知的事物，哪裡就有神話和民間故事。未知的事物總會衍生故事和傳說。
Being the smallest of the 12 animals and the one on top of the list, the rat has been faced with various kinds of questions and challenges since the very beginning. There are many stories to explain this.
儘管在十二生肖中體型最小且位居榜首，老鼠在最初的時候仍然遭到了不少質疑和挑戰。這在很多故事中都有講到。
In the most widely known version, Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, known as a deity and ancestor of the Chinese people, called on all animals to get registered for the 12 zodiac when the country firstly settled and the animals were placed in a "first come, first serve basis."
先說一個最廣為人知的版本吧。黃帝是中國人民崇尚的神仙，也是我們的祖先。華夏部落統一之初，黃帝要排十二生肖紀年，於是他召集所有動物前來參加，並且「先到先得」。
All the animals got up early in the morning and hurried to the destiny except the rat, which found a shortcut by hiding on the ox's back. When the Yellow Emperor starts to give them orders, the rat standing on the head of the ox was named first.
除了老鼠，所有動物都起了個大早，急急忙忙往黃帝那裡去。原來，老鼠躲在了牛背上，倒省了不少事兒。黃帝開始給動物們排順序時，老鼠站在了牛頭上，因此成了第一位。
In some other versions, the rat was also said to have forgotten to wake up the cat, which therefore lost the qualification to be listed as one of the zodiac signs. Since then, the friendship died and they became enemies.
還有故事說，老鼠忘了叫醒貓，貓因此失去了位列十二生肖的資格。自此以後，老鼠和貓便結下梁子，成了冤家。
Everybody knows that folk stories are fictional, but it doesn't stop them from being told from generation to generation.
眾所周知，民間故事皆為虛構，但它們仍然代代相傳。
The image of rat in the Chinese zodiac
老鼠的形象
No matter how the rat made into the Chinese zodiac in the first place, being part of the group has already changed its destiny and expanded the cultural connotations of the little animal.
不管老鼠究竟如何位居榜首，作為十二生肖的一員，它的命運早已改變，其文化內涵也隨之豐富起來。
The zodiac sign of the rat represents qualities like intelligent, flexible and vigorous. People born in the Year of the Rat are also believed to be blessed with such qualities. In some Chinese Kung Fu novels, the rat was also personalized in characters with chivalrous spirits.
「鼠」代表著聰明、機敏和活潑。人們相信，鼠年出生的人也會有同樣的特點。中國的一些武俠小說也將老鼠擬化成人，賦以俠義之氣。
There are also a lot of poems, proverbs, fairy tales themed around the animal, and it has been depicted by artists in traditional Chinese paintings and statues.
關於「鼠」的詩句、諺語和童話故事有很多，藝術家們筆下的「鼠」在國畫和雕塑中也有體現。
But their image is not always positive. In Chinese culture, rats could also be considered cunning, greedy, and sneaky. In the Year of the Rat, the little animal is again in the limelight.
「鼠」也有負面形象。中國文化也將「鼠」視作狡猾、貪婪、卑鄙的象徵。鼠年到，小老鼠再次廣受關注。
儘管鼠年開頭不易，但相信風雨過後有彩虹！願你有「鼠」不清的快樂，「鼠」不完的幸福。2020，「鼠」你最棒呀！
本文為百度翻譯原創內容
翻譯：張卓 （北語）
編輯：Patricia
文章來源：CGTN