What are the legends about the four great mythical beasts: Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu?
In ancient China, the four most powerful mythical beasts that frightened evil spirits the most were the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, and the black basalt. Green Dragon is the God of the East; White Tiger is the God of the West; Suzaku is the God of the South; Xuanwu is the God of the North, a combination of tortoise and snake. Therefore, it is said that "the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, and the basalt, the four spirits of heaven, align the four directions, and the king controls the palaces, palaces, and pavilions according to the law."
In ancient times, the ancients divided heaven into four palaces: east, west, north and south, named after Qinglong (blue dragon), white tiger, red bird, and Xuanwu (a turtle-shaped god) respectively. In fact, the sky is divided into four parts, and each part is shaped by the connection of the seven main stars, and is named after its shape.
The horns, Kang, Shi, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji in the East are shaped like dragons, so the East Palace is called Qinglong or Canglong;
The seven stars in the West are Kui, Lou, Wei and Ang. , Bi, horns and ginseng are shaped like tigers, so the west palace is called white tiger;
The well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, Yi and Zhen couplets in the south are in the shape of birds and are called red birds;
The seven stars in the north are Dou, Ox, Female, Xu, Danger, Room, and Wall. Their shape is like a turtle, and they are called Xuanwu.
As a result, Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, and Xuanwu became the four gods guarding the heavenly officials, warding off evil and regulating yin and yang. Among the four gods, the green dragon and the white tiger are mainly regarded as gods to suppress evil because of their brave appearance. Their images often appear on palaces, palace gates, city gates or tomb buildings and their utensils. In the last case, , the dragon no longer helps the tomb owner to ascend to heaven, but to deter evil spirits and protect the soul of the tomb owner.
The blue dragon and the white tiger have four palms, the Suzaku and the Xuanwu follow the yin and yang, and the four spiritual beasts of the sky are Canglong, white tiger, Suzaku, and Xuanwu. Although they rarely appear in European and American fantasy, they are still used in Chinese and Japanese myths and legends. , they appear as the four noble beasts.
Qinglong, also known as "Blue Dragon", is the god of the East in ancient mythology. The dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation. Ever since the Yellow Emperor appointed him to the heavens to command power in all directions, the dragon has become a symbol of the Chinese nation and even the whole of China. The more definite form was established in the Han Dynasty. From the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the dragon was identified as the symbol of the emperor. Symbols and representations. In Eastern legends, the green dragon has a body like a long snake, a unicorn head, a carp tail, a long beard on its face, deer-like antlers, five claws, and a mighty appearance. In Western mythology, the dragon is more like a lizard with wings.
White Tiger, the god of the West in ancient mythology. The shape is like a tiger, white and fierce, so it has become a symbol of nobility. At the same time, the white tiger also symbolizes might and the army, so many places named after the white tiger in ancient times are related to military matters, such as the white tiger flags in the ancient army and the white tiger statues on military talismans.
Suzaku, also known as "Suzaku", looks like a phoenix and is the god of the south in ancient mythology. Because of its bird-like shape, location in the south, and fire attribute, it often appears in the shape of a phoenix in the game. But in fact, the Suzaku and the Phoenix are two different creatures. The Phoenix is the king of birds, while the Suzaku is the spiritual beast of the sky. It is rarer, nobler and more destructive than the Phoenix. In Japanese comics and games, Suzaku appears as a powerful summoned beast or monster, such as the comic "Yu Yu Hakusho" and the game of the same name adapted from the comic.
Xuanwu, also called "Zhenwu", commonly known as "Zhenwu Emperor", is the god worshiped by Taoism. According to legend, the prince of the ancient King Jingle was born with a powerful spirit. He traveled across the East China Sea and was given a sword by the gods. He went to Wudang Mountain in Hubei to practice. After forty-two years, he became successful. He ascended to the sky in the daytime and dominated the north. He was named Xuanwu Lord. . However, the Song Dynasty tabooed the word Xuan, so it was renamed Zhenwu. Xuanwu is also said to be a giant turtle in the North Sea. This turtle was once used as a pillar to support the entire Penglai Fairy Mountain. Because of its deep spiritual enlightenment, after many years of listening to Taoism, it finally achieved enlightenment. Therefore, there are many turtles carrying stele in the imperial tombs, which is a metaphor for Xuanwu. In addition, Xuanwu is also called Xuanming, so it is also called Beiming. When hearing this name, many readers may think of Beiming Guihai, and the "Beiming Magic" written by Mr. Jin Yong's character Xiaoyaozi.
The "Four Gods" represent the four directions of east, west, south, north, and provide a more scientific reference for dividing the sky and formulating the calendar. Later, with the popularity of the Yin-Yang and Five-Elements theories, people paid more attention to the four gods' guardianship function of "controlling the four directions and avoiding bad luck" and were given higher divinity. The twenty-eight constellations have also become the object of worship. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the four gods matched the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the four colors of green, white, red and black. This has been systematically recorded in the literature of the time, such as "Huainanzi", "Historical Records" and other books, and has become a generally accepted idea. system.
In addition, bronze mirrors with the Eight Trigrams and Four Spirits pattern were also popular in the Han Dynasty, with inscriptions such as "Four Gods" and "The dragon on the left and the tiger on the right are unlucky, the red bird and the basalt follow the yin and yang", which also have religious meanings: that is, the mirror It reflects the image of a human being, and the soul is attached to it, so it is protected by the four gods to avoid evil spirits.