Taoism has four gods: Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu. What are they?

Qinglong originated from the worship of stars in ancient times. Qinglong was originally the God of the East in China's ancient mythology, and one of the seven lodging and four elephants in Taoism.

And the white tiger is also the god of war and war. The white tiger has many magical powers, such as avoiding evil, avoiding disasters, praying for blessings, punishing evil and promoting good, getting rich and getting married. And it is one of the four spirits, and of course it is also changed from the stars.

Suzaku does not belong to the phoenix, but belongs to one of the four spirits and four elephants. Like the other three, it comes from the stars and is the general name of the seven small houses in the south: well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and Qi. Think of it as Suzaku.

Xuanwu is a spiritual thing composed of turtles and snakes. Xuanwu was upgraded to the "Zhenwu Emperor" in the north by later Taoist priests. Different from the other three spirits. Other green dragons and white tigers only became the gatekeepers of the mountain temple, while Zhu Bird became the Xuan Nv for nine days.

The four beasts are in charge of the four directions, among which the blue dragon is the most noble, the white tiger dominates power, Suzaku symbolizes happiness, and Xuanwu means immortality. At the same time, because of their brave bodies, Qinglong and Baihu are mainly regarded as gods to ward off evil spirits, and their images mostly appear in palaces, temples, gates or tombs and their artifacts.

Extended data:

In Shang dynasty, the ancients divided the sky into four palaces, east, west, north and south, named after Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu respectively. In fact, the sky is divided into four parts, which are connected by seven main stars in each part and named after their shapes.

The horn, sound, interaction, room, heart, tail and dustpan in the East are shaped like dragons, which are called Qinglong.

In the west, Que, Lou, Stomach, Zan, Bi, Dog and God are shaped like tigers and are called white tigers.

In the south, well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and net are connected in a bird shape, which is called Suzaku.

The fighting, cattle, women, emptiness, danger, houses and walls in the north are shaped like turtles, which is called Xuanwu.

Therefore, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu respectively guard the celestial officials, eliminate evil and adjust yin and yang. In "Three Auxiliary Huang Tu", it is recorded that the four celestial spirits of black dragon, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu are square. Zuo Qinglong, You Baihu, Thousand-handed zaku, and Hou Xuanwu, the four spirit beasts guard the four palaces in the east, west, north and south, and are the gods of the four directions.

Later, the four elephants were gradually personified by Taoism because of their absorption and evolution, and were given the titles, namely, Qinglong, Baihu and Suzaku. Xuanwu is the "king of the Ming Dynasty". The secret of prolonging life of the seven-yuan Ziting in the Big Dipper is in Taoist books. It is said that there is a dragon named Meng Zhang on the left, and a white tiger named prison soldier on the right. There is a suzaku named Lingguang in front, a Xuanwu named Zhiming behind, a festival building and a bell and drum behind, all of which surround me.

Baidu Encyclopedia: Qinglong White Tiger Suzaku Xuanwu