I want to know the legends and pictures about "Green Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Suzaku?"
Category: Culture/Art gt; gt; Folk Tradition
Analysis:
There are many legends about dragons,
Dragon’s There are also many theories about its origin. Some say it was introduced from India, and some say it was formed by Chinese stars. India itself is said to be about the dragon god, but the status of the dragon in India is not high, and there is also a real thing - a python.
In the era when the Five Elements theory was popular, stories about the Green Dragon slowly began to spread; Five Elements masters assigned five colors to the southeast, northwest, and middle according to the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, and each color matched The previous mythical beast and a god; the east is cyan, with the dragon, the west is white, with the tiger, the south is vermilion, with the bird, the north is black, with the martial arts, and yellow is the central color.
Among the gods from all directions, according to the Book of Mountains and Seas, ‘Zhurong from the south has a beast body and a human face, riding two dragons. ’; ‘To the west, there is a snake in the left ear, riding on two dragons. '; 'There is Jumang in the east, with the body of a bird and the face of a human, riding on two dragons. ’; ‘In the Yu border in the north, a man with black body and limbs rides on two dragons. ', a more interesting point is that the dragons in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are all ridden, while the snakes of the same kind are held, manipulated or wrapped around the neck, showing the difference between the two; but in the Five The five gods of Fang are quite different from the four gods of Sifang, so I won’t go into details here. Suzaku, Xuanwu (black tortoise and snake, Wu means turtle and snake), Qinglong and White Tiger respectively represent the twenty-eight constellations of the four directions. The dragon represents the seven constellations of the east - Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji. And the shape of these seven constellations is very similar to the shape of a dragon. It can be seen from the meaning of their words that the horn is the horn of the dragon, the horn is the neck, the di is the root of the neck, the room is the shoulder and the side, and the heart is the base of the neck. The heart, the tail is the tail, and the Ji is the end of the tail.
Also in the part of the dragon’s heart, some people call it the ‘big fire’, which is related to sunshine and rain. And because Qinglong belongs to wood, it is also the year of Jupiter in that year. After the rise of Taoism, these four spirits were also given human names to make it easier for humans to call them. The green dragon was called "Mengzhang", the white tiger was called "Jianbing", the red bird was called "Lingguang", and the Xuanwu was called "Zhi Ming". Among the many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their reign name, such as Emperor Wei Ming of the Three Kingdoms. In the historical records, it is also said that the Xia Dynasty was a dynasty of Mu De, so it had the auspicious title of "Qinglong was born in the suburbs". Records of trillions.
In ancient China, the one with horns on its head is called a male dragon; the one with two horns is called dragon, the one with single horn is called Jiao; the one without horns is called Chi. In ancient jade pendants, there were often two dragons, big and small, which are still Called mother and son Chi; the dragon's status is much higher than that in India. Because in China the dragon is a divine creature, the supreme being, and the symbol of the emperor. It is also a representative of the East. Among the five elements, it belongs to wood. Because cyan belongs to wood, there is a saying that it is a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right.
Among the twenty-eight constellations, the seven constellations in the east are used - Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji. The ancients imagined them to be the image of dragons. Because they are located in the east, they are arranged according to the five elements of Yin and Yang. According to the theory of color matching for the five directions, the east is green, hence the name 'Green Dragon'.
Among the four sacred beasts in China, another one that is often compared with the dragon is the 'white tiger'; the tiger is the leader of all beasts, and its might and legendary ability to subdue ghosts make it also a white tiger. It has become a mythical beast belonging to the yang zodiac, and often goes out with the dragon. "Yun follows the dragon, and the wind follows the tiger" become the best partners to conquer ghosts.
The White Tiger of the West is also the god of war and killing. The white tiger has many magical powers such as avoiding evil, warding off disasters, praying for prosperity and punishing evil, promoting good deeds, making wealth, and getting married. And it is one of the four spirits, and of course it is also made of stars. Among the twenty-eight constellations, there are seven in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Xi, and Shen. Therefore, it is the representative of the West, and its white color is because it is the West. The West belongs to gold among the five elements, and its color is white. So it is called White Tiger not because it is white, but because of the five elements.
In addition to the four spirits in Taoism, including the green dragon and white tiger, when Feng Shui masters explore cemeteries, the protruding terrain on the left and right in front of the terrain, which can be used as tombs, all have unique titles. They are called green dragons on the left and white tigers on the right, taking the meaning of their protection. The same decoration is also found in the court hall, with green dragons and hundreds of tigers painted on the left and right pillars to suppress evil spirits.
After the rise of Taoism, dragon and tiger were borrowed as the terminology of Taoist alchemy, which refers to the synonyms of "lead and mercury, Kanli, water and fire, yin and yang", etc. Taoist alchemy is divided into internal and external (internal elixir for refining qi and external elixir for refining elixirs. The author is not very knowledgeable and I am not sure). In terms of yin and yang and the five elements, inner elixir is based on yin and yang and the five elements. Dragon and yang are born from Li, and Li belongs to fire, so it is said that "dragon follows fire" "Li Chu", tiger yin, is born in the ridge, and kan is water, so it is said that "the tiger is born by the water". After the two are combined, one yin and one yang harmonize with each other, which is called the Tao. They are both the soul and the essence. representative. Another way of saying it is that nature belongs to wood, and wood represents the east. It is in the hexagram Zhen, so it is compared to a green dragon; love belongs to gold, and gold represents the west. In the hexagram, it is dui, and gold is white, so it is called a white tiger. Metal can overcome wood, so emotions can damage nature. If you use the true essence of Erba to combine them into one, then metal and wood will be seamless, and dragons and tigers will form elixirs by themselves. In the human body, the liver is the dragon and the kidneys are the elixir. Tiger, while Waidan still takes the meaning of yin and yang, with dragon as lead and tiger as mercury.
In the minds of ancient people, tigers are both scary and respectable things. The scary thing is that it can eat humans and animals. What is admirable is that it is extremely powerful and can ward off evil spirits. And in some ancient books, such as "Customs and Customs. Sacrificial Code" written by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "If a tiger is painted on the door, ghosts will not dare to enter", "Tiger is a masculine object and the leader of all beasts." Able to hold on, crush sharp objects, and eat ghosts and ghosts. Today, when a soldier encounters a bad situation, he burns the skin of a tiger and drinks it. Hitting its claws can also ward off evil. This is the test. ’ The ancients also believed that the white tiger was an auspicious sign: ‘The most virtuous bird and beast. ’
The original Western Star Gods were bears and owls, but later the totems of the ancient Qiang people changed from bears to dragons. And when the Yellow Emperor developed eastward, the dragon totem was brought to the east and merged with the "Eastern Blue Dragon Constellation", and the red bird became the new home of the phoenix totem in the kingdom of heaven when the south was unified. It was due to the fusion of the two tribes. Finally it became 'dragon and phoenix present auspiciousness'. As an ancient totem, it is an east phoenix and a west dragon; as an astrology, it is an east blue dragon and a west red bird. After the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was formally established, and the Five Elements thought matured. The celestial images were re-divided, and the red bird was placed in the south and worshiped together with the Zhurong Fire God. In the West, white tigers are worshiped. In the tribal struggle and migration, the dragon in the northwest moves eastward, the phoenix in the east moves south, and the tiger in the south moves north. The whole country shows a great turnover concept movement. By the Han Dynasty, the concept of the Five Elements had become a unified thought, and Xuanwu was added to complete the "God of the Four Directions" package.
In the ancient "Historical Records. Tiangong Shu", "Canglong in the East Palace, Zhuniao in the South, Xianchi in the West Palace, and Xuanwu in the North Palace." ’ What’s here is not the White Tiger, but the Xianchi. Xianchi is the star of grains and autumn. Since grains are harvested in autumn, it is placed in autumn. However, it is not an animal. How can it be paired with dragons, birds, and turtles to form the four spirits? In "Justice": "The three stars of Xianchi are among the five chariots, the sky is in the south, and the fish and birds are there." ’ Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, a question was raised: ‘Canglong, Zhuniao, and Xuanwu are all divided into seven constellations. As for Xianchi, there is another star, which is outside the twenty-eight constellations. There is another explanation for Xianchi, which is a place where the sun bathes. In "Huainanzi. Astronomical Chapter": "The sun rises in Yanggu, bathes in the salty pond, and brushes against the hibiscus. This is called morning brightness." It can be seen that Xianchi was originally regarded as the place where the sun rises by the Qiang people. Xianchi is also an alkaline lake, which should be a lake in the Minshan area or Qinghai. This proves that the star palaces and celestial phenomena worshiped by primitive people do not yet have the concept of green dragons and white tigers. In "Book of Rites. Liyun" it is said: "Lin, phoenix, turtle, dragon, are called the four spirits." ’ Replace Xianchi, which is not an animal, with Qilin. In later generations, it was customary to have a lin among the four spirits and a tiger among the four elephants.
And because the white tiger is the god of war, there are many fierce generals who are said to be white tiger stars throughout the world, such as: Tang Dynasty generals Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui and his son. In addition, the white tiger was absorbed by Taoism and deified, becoming the door god of various temples.
Southern Suzaku The Suzaku can also be said to be a phoenix or black bird. Suzaku is one of the four spirits. Like the other three spirits, it comes from the stars and is the general name of the seven stars in the south: Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Zhang, Yi, and Zhen. When I think of it, it's Suzaku. Zhu is red, like fire, and the south belongs to fire, so it is called Phoenix. It also has the property of being reincarnated from the fire, just like the phoenix in the West, so it is also called the Fire Phoenix.
According to records in ancient books, the phoenix is a beautiful bird, and with its singing and appearance, it is the king of birds. , has the special spirituality of not eating anything that is not bamboo, and not drinking from springs that are not sweet wine. Since it is the length of the feather insect, the dragon and the scale insect have gradually become a pair in the legend, and one is ever-changing. A person with good virtues becomes a pair that complements each other in folk customs. Moreover, because the dragon symbolizes the Yang, and the phoenix, which originally had yin and yang (the phoenix is the male and the female is the phoenix), gradually becomes pure after facing the dragon. Yin represents.
There are many original forms of the phoenix. Such as golden pheasants, peacocks, eagles, swans, black birds (swallows), etc... It is also said that they were transformed into the Buddhist roc Garuda. The phoenix mentioned in the Phoenix myth has the head of a chicken, the chin of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, and has five-color patterns. There are five kinds of phoenixes, divided by color: red is the phoenix, green is the phoenix, white is the swan, and there are yellow and purple.
The explanation of the black bird comes from "The Book of Songs. Ode to Shang. Xuannio": "The black bird of destiny descended and gave birth to Shang, and its Yin earth shines brightly." The ancient emperor ordered Wutang and Zhengyu to be in all directions. ’, the descendants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties said that their ancestor Qi was born from Xuanniao and established a powerful Shang Dynasty. Therefore, Xuanniao became the founder of merchants. "Historical Records. Yin Benji" also records this period of history: "Yin Qi's mother was called Jian Di, and she had a daughter named Rong Di, who was the emperor's second concubine... The three of them were bathing when they saw a black bird carrying its eggs. Jian Di Di took it and swallowed it, and a contract was born due to pregnancy. ’ In addition to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States Period, the Shizi of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the Shizi of Xinluo in Korea were also related to fairies swallowing black bird eggs. Regardless of whether it is a black bird or a phoenix, following the development of Taoism, it was transformed from a bird, peacock, pheasant, etc... first into a half-human, half-bird fairy who taught the art of war to a complete Human fairies all follow the development of Taoism.
In the past, there were three temples dedicated to Xuannv in Beijing, called Jiutian Niangniang Temple and Xuannv Temple. There are also Xuannv temples in the north and south.
Northern Xuanwu Xuanwu is a spiritual creature composed of a turtle and a snake. The original meaning of Xuanwu is Xuanming, and the ancient sounds of Wu and Ming are connected. Wu means black; Ming means yin. Xuanming originally described turtle divination: the back of the turtle is black, and turtle divination is to ask the turtle to go to the underworld to ask the ancestors, bring the answer back, and show it to the world in the form of divination. Therefore, the earliest Xuanwu was the turtle. Later, the meaning of Xuan Ming continued to expand. Turtles live in rivers, lakes and seas (including sea turtles), so Xuan Ming became the water god; turtles live long, and Xuan Ming became a symbol of immortality; the original underworld was in the north, and the oracle bone divination of the Yin and Shang Dynasties said that "the divination must be northward", So Xuan Ming became the Northern God again.
Like the other three spirits, Xuanwu is also formed from the twenty-eight constellations in the world: Dou, Niu, Female, Xu, Danger, Room, and Wall. People after ancient times have the following interpretations of Xuanwu. ‘Xuanwu’ means turtle. "Book of Rites. Qu Li Shang" says: "OK, the first is Zhuniao and then the Xuanwu..." "Xuanwu" is the turtle and snake. "Chu Ci. Yuan Yu" Hong Xingzu's supplementary note: "Xuanwu means turtle and snake." It is located in the north, so it is called Xuan. The body has scales and armor, so it is called Wu. ‘Xuanwu’ is the fusion of snakes, the intersection of turtles and snakes.
Zhang Heng's "Si Xuan Fu" in Volume 15 of "Selected Works" says: "Xuanwu lives in the shell, and the snake winds and corrects itself." ’ Li Shan noted: ‘The cross between a turtle and a snake is called Xuanwu. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Wang Liang": "Chifu Fu" says: "Wang Liang Zhuheng made Xuanwu." ’’ Li Xian noted: ‘Suwu, the god of the north, is a combination of a tortoise and a snake. 'Xuanwu' is the god of water and the god of the north. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Wang Liang": "Xuanwu, the name of the water god." ’ Volume 6 of "Zhongxian Weishu Collection" "Hetu Emperor Lanxi": "Born from Xuanwu in the north,... controls the north and governs wind and rain." ’
But Xuanwu was upgraded by later Taoist priests to become the great emperor of the north, "Emperor Zhenwu". It is different from the other three spirits. The other Qinglong and Baihu only became the door gods of the mountain temple, while Zhuniao became Youtian Xuannv.
Xuanwu's status increased in the Song Dynasty and was personified. This is inseparable from the fact that the emperors of the Song Dynasty added fuel to the flames. At the time of Taizu in the early Song Dynasty, there were legends that Zhenwu, Tianpeng and others were the generals of heaven. In the first year of Tianxi reign of Emperor Wei Zhenzong, something happened in the military camp.
In Volume 7 of "Shijiyuan": "If a soldier in the camp sees a snake, the sergeant will build a true martial arts hall because of it." In the leap month of the second year, a spring gushed down the side of the hall, and it was inexhaustible. People who were sick were healed by drinking more. ’ Zhenzong heard about this and issued an edict to build a temple on the spot and named it ‘Xiangyuan’. This is probably the earliest Zhenwu Temple in China.
The life experience of Emperor Zhenwu is mostly said by later generations to be during the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. The Jade Emperor reincarnated one of his three souls into the Queen of Zhuole Kingdom. He hated the world and gave up his throne to practice on Mount Wudang. , successfully ascended and guarded the north, named Xuanwu.