Ancient Gods (Stars) in China

"Historical Records Zen": "There is spirit in the northeast of Chang 'an, which is a five-mining, and people are crowned. Or the northeast, the home of the gods; In the west, so is the tomb of God. Pei Qian's explanation led zhangyan to say, "God, the sun will shine. Sunrise in the northeast, the name of the house is Yanggu; "Before sunset in the west, this tomb was called Dream Valley."

Stars are the star gods of Han folk beliefs and Taoist worship. Refers to "four elephants" and "twenty-eight lodges".

There is a patron saint in the east, west, north and south, namely: Qinglong, Suzaku, White Tiger and Xuanwu.

Twenty-eight nights, also known as "twenty-eight homes" or "twenty-eight stars". In ancient China, in order to observe the astronomical phenomena and the movements of the five stars of the sun, the moon and the moon, 28 stars were chosen as observation marks, which were called "Twenty-eight Hostels". Divided into four groups on average, each group has seven nights, with four directions of east, west, north and south and animal images such as Qinglong, white tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu (collectively called tortoise and snake), which are called "four elephants" in Taoism. The concept of four elephants and twenty-eight lodgings was formed very early, and it was recorded at the beginning of the Warring States Period. Later, in the Book of Rites Quli, it was said: "Before the trip, Zhu bird followed Xuanwu, left Qinglong and right White Tiger." Confucius said, "Zhu Bird, Xuanwu, Qinglong and Baihu are also named after these four places." In the Han Dynasty, the book Shang Shu Kao Ling Yao said: "Twenty-eight nights are the vitality of the sky and the essence of everything. Therefore, the Oriental Corner, Kang, Bian, Fu, Heart, Tail and Basket are seven nights, and their shape is like a dragon, which is called Zuo Qinglong. Nanjing, Ghost, Willow, Star, Zhang, Wing and Bird stayed for seven nights, which looked like quail birds and were called' former Suzaku'. In the west, there are Wei Xiao, Lou, Wei, Chang, Bi, Gou and Shen for seven nights, which are shaped like tigers and called' right white tigers'. North, fighting, cows, women, emptiness, danger, rooms and walls are seven nights. Shaped like a tortoise and snake, it is called' post-Xuanwu'. " (1) Taoism personifies this celestial phenomenon and gives it a name, color and work to pay tribute to it. "Seven Stars Cloud" Volume 24 "Twenty-four Nights" said: "A is the God of Guanyang, the Lord of Stars, the God of Jiuyang, surnamed Bin Ming, dressed in green and mysterious clothes, and the Lord of Stars. B follows the official Yin God, who is the Lord of Kangxing God. There are four Yin gods, surnamed Sima. The horse's head is naked, dressed in red light clothing, holding a sword, and prospering the Lord. " (2) The remaining 26 lodgings are of this kind. The book "Five-star Hostel in Taishang Shen Dong: The Classic of Sun and Moon Mixing" describes the appearance and behavior of these 28 hostels. As the saying goes, "The essence of the horn star often swims in the temple behind beginning of spring, asking about Zen rituals, ... or swimming in restaurants to drink, ... asking for it from insiders, showing more people's health and sowing skills." "Kang, Bian, the essence of Samsung in the room, often walk with the sun and the moon, dressed in Tsing Yi, ... swimming in the crowd or in Lent, ... is asking for trouble and saving the world with others." (3) The other 24 stay in this category.

Sifang and Siling have only been regarded as backers since ancient times, and their status is not very high.

However, since the Song Dynasty, Xuanwu God has been revered separately, becoming a famous Zhenwu emperor and Tian Xuan God, and being worshipped as a Taoist god.

The four gods, namely, Qinglong, Suzaku, Baihu and Xuanwu, are the sacred animals guarding the southeast and northwest in ancient Chinese legends. Their order is southeast and northwest: Qinglong, Suzaku, Baihu and Xuanwu. There are records of 28 stars in early summer. Every star is made up of several stars, and some names appear in The Book of Songs and Historical Records. According to the position of 28 stars, it is divided into seven nights of Qinglong, seven nights of Suzaku, seven nights of Baihu and seven nights of Xuanwu. The specific names are as follows:

Seven nights in Qinglong: Jiao Mujiao Kang Jinlong Nyctereute Fang Ri Rabbit Heart Moon Fox Tail Fire Tiger Basket Water Leopard

Seven Nights of Suzaku: Muan Jing Ghost Golden Sheep, Liu Tu, Stellar Horse, Zhang Yue Deer Wing, Fire Snake and Water Insect.

White tigers in the seven nights: the golden dog, the stomach soil, the pheasant and the Bigou fire monkey.

Seven nights in Xuanwu: unicorn, ox, Taurus, female soil, bat, virtual sun mouse, dangerous moon, swallowing room fire, pig wall water.