What are the four great beasts in ancient China? Which side do they represent?

Four Great Beasts In ancient China, the four most frightening and powerful beasts were Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu. Qinglong 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, and the tortoise and snake are one. So there are "Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku, Xuanwu, Tiansiling, Tongfang and Wangzhi temples." .

The ancient ancients divided the sky into four palaces, east, west, north and south, named after Qinglong (black dragon), white tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu (a turtle-shaped god). 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 horns (wooden dumplings), kang (golden dragon), shuttlecock (native raccoon), house (moon fox), heart (sun rabbit), tail (fire tiger) and dustpan (water leopard) in the East are shaped like dragons, so the East Palace is called Qinglong or Black Dragon.

The seven western stars, Kui (wooden wolf), Lou (golden dog), stomach (pheasant), Ang (Japanese chicken), Bi (moon bird), tapir (fire monkey) and ginseng (water ape), are shaped like tigers, calling the West Palace the white tiger;

In the south, wells (wooden tops), ghosts (golden sheep), willows (earth roes), stars (Japanese horses), Zhang (moon deer), wings (water snakes) and salamanders (fire insects) are connected into a bird shape, which is called Suzaku;

The northern seven-star bucket (wood), cow (golden sheep), female (earth bat), virtual (sun mouse), dangerous (moon swallow), house (fire pig) and wall (water Shu) are shaped like turtles, which is called Xuanwu.

As a result, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu have become the four gods who guard the Heavenly Palace, create evil and adjust Yin and Yang. Among the four gods, Qinglong and Baihu are mainly regarded as spirits to ward off evil spirits, and their images mostly appear in palaces, temples, gates or tombs and their artifacts. On the last occasion, the dragon is not helping the tomb owner ascend to heaven, but deterring evil spirits and defending the soul peace of the tomb owner.

There are dragons and white tigers in all directions, Suzaku Xuanwu is in harmony with Yin and Yang, and the four spirits, black dragon and white tiger, Suzaku Xuanwu Heaven, rarely appear in European and American fantasy, but in Chinese and Japanese myths and legends, they appear as incomparable Four Holy Beasts.

There are many legends about dragons, and there are also many stories about the origin of dragons. Some said it was imported from India, while others said it was transformed from China. India itself is said by the dragon god, but the status of dragons in India is not high, and there is a real thing-python.

In the era when the Five Elements Theory prevailed, the story about Qinglong began to spread slowly. According to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the Five Elements assigned five colors to the Southeast and Northwest Middle Schools, and each color was equipped with a beast and a god. East is cyan, with dragons, west is white, with tigers, south is scarlet, north is black, with martial arts, and yellow is the central positive color.

Qinglong, also known as "Black Dragon", is the God of the East in ancient mythology. Dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation. Since the Yellow Emperor entrusted it to Tianhe and weiser, it has been a symbol of the Chinese nation and even the whole of China, and its stereotype was in the Han Dynasty. Since the Great Han Dynasty, it has been identified as the symbol and representative of the emperor. In oriental legend, the dragon looks like a long snake, the head of a unicorn, the tail of a carp, a long beard, horns like deer and five claws, which is frightening. In western mythology, the dragon is more like a lizard with wings.

Among the four gods, according to Shan Hai Jing, "Southern Zhurong is a beast with human face and rides two dragons. 」; "In the west of Ru Shou, there is a snake's left ear, riding two dragons. 」; "In the East, there is Ju Mang, a bird and a face, riding two dragons. 」; "North yujiang county, black hands and feet, was two dragons. Interestingly, the dragons in Shan Hai Jing are all riding, while the snakes of the same kind with him are all being led or held or held or wrapped around their necks, which shows the difference between them. However, the five gods are different from the four gods, so I won't elaborate here. Suzaku, Xuanwu (black tortoise snake, martial arts means tortoise snake), Qinglong and Baihu represent the twenty-eight lodges in four directions respectively. Dragons are seven small houses in the East, namely, the corner, the room, the heart, the tail and the dustpan. The shapes of these seven small houses are very dragon-shaped, which can be seen from their meanings. & lt& lt Zhouyi >> The dry divination in the book includes "Six Dragons", that is, Kang Long has regrets, the flying dragon is in the sky, and it is not suitable to use the hidden dragon, or the deep is in the continent, and the dragon is in the field, and the dragons are leaderless. "Six Dragons" can be explained as follows: When the black dragon star is close to the sun, people can't see it, and it is covered by the light of the sun. We call it a hidden dragon. After that, the Dragon Horn and the everyday star appeared on the horizon at the same time, which was called Tian Jianlong, and then all the black dragon stars appeared, that is, "or deep in the mainland." When the stars in "Black Dragon" rose to the highest point and crossed the southern sky, people saw "flying dragons in the sky". After that, the dragon body began. And "leaderless" cannot be explained as the last link of this astronomical cycle. If you put the dustpan outside, the dragon without the dustpan will roll in, but in ancient Chinese, the words "qun" and "Juan" are just function words, which means that the last sentence means that the black dragon falls from the sky and its head hangs below the horizon, so the word "dragon" itself is an ancient astrolabe.

Spirit beast-Qinglong

brief introduction

Qinglong is one of the four elephants in China traditional culture. According to the theory of five elements, it is a spirit beast representing the East, a blue dragon, and its orientation is east to left, representing spring. The orientation of the white tiger is west to right, representing autumn; Suzaku's orientation is south and front, representing summer; The orientation of Xuanwu is north and back, representing winter.

Among the 28 constellations in China, Qinglong is the general name of the seven eastern stars (horn, sound, phase, room, heart, tail and dustpan).

Oriental Su Qi

Also known as the Black Dragon, the Black Dragon's seven eastern nights-horn, bell, mutuality, room, heart, tail and dustpan, are all dragon-shaped. From their meanings, we can see that the horn is the dragon's horn, the bell is the neck, the bian is the root of the neck, the room is the arm, the threat and the heart are the heart.

Related statement

There is still a part of the dragon's heart, which some people call' fire', which is related to sunny and rainy days, and because Qinglong is a wood, it is also the age of Jupiter. In many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their national title. For example, Wei Mingdi in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an example. It is also recorded in the history books that the Xia Dynasty belonged to the Mude Dynasty, so there is a good omen that' Qinglong was born in the suburbs'.

The story of Qinglong

In the era when the Five Elements Theory prevailed, the story about Qinglong began to spread slowly. According to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the Five Elements assigned five colors to the Southeast and Northwest Middle Schools, each with a beast and a god. Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, Xuanwu, Tiansi Spirit, taking the square as the square, the king ordered the palace pavilion to take the method. "。 " Bao Puzi Miscellaneous English quoted the Immortal Classic to describe the image of the old gentleman in Taishang, saying that there were twelve green dragons on the left, twenty-six white tigers on the right, twenty-four suzaku in front and seventy-two Xuanwu in the back. Very imposing, really imposing. Later, the four elephants were gradually personified and had their titles. According to the Secret of the Seven Yuan Purple Extension in the Arctic, the name of Qinglong is Meng Zhang Shen Jun, the name of White Tiger is Shen Jun, the name of Suzaku is Ling Shen Guang Jun, and the name of Xuanwu is Meiji Shen Jun. Soon, the belief in Xuanwu (Zhenwu) gradually expanded, and it stood out from the four elephants and became the "Great Emperor". Qinglong and Baihu are included in the list of door gods, specifically guarding the Taoist temple gate. Fan Zhineng's "Yueyang Geography" in the Song Dynasty said: "There are two gods in Laozi Temple, one is called Qinglong and the other is called Baihu." Shu Guan, a private record of Changshu, said: "There are two great gods at the entrance of the Taoist temple, the dragon god on the left and the white tiger god on the right.

Related records

The forty-four volumes of Taizhi call Qinglong Dongdou as follows: "Jiao Su Tianmen, Kang Su Ting, Chang Su Tianfu, Su Fang Tian Yi Xing Jun, Xin Su Uranus Jun, Wei Su Tian Ji Xing Jun, Ji Su Tian Lu Xing Jun." As for its image, there are seven clouds in The Collection of Doors and Tongjiao: "Oriental Dragon Horn, full of pride, spits clouds and glows, thunders, flies to octupole, walks around the four ghosts and stands on my left. In addition, Taoism also uses it in alchemy. For example, Volume 72 of "Seven Chapters of Clouds" quotes the Dan of the four ancient gods, saying: The dragon is a dragon, and the oriental wood is also mercury. It is clear and unwilling, not turbid, not desirable, far away, and infinitely hidden, so it is called dragon.

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place name

Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, see Qinglong County;

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Planning steering Committee

Year number in the history of China:

Qinglong (Wei): The titles of Cao Cao and Cao Sao in the Three Kingdoms period, from 233 to 237, counting five years.

Qinglong (Hou Zhao): The year after Jian 'an, that is, one year, that is, 350 years.

Qinglong (Houyan): The year number of Houyan Lanhan is only one year, that is, 398 years.

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Common saying

Male genitals have no pubic hair, which used to be called Qinglong.

In Four Holy Beasts, China, another kind of dragon is often compared with the tiger; Tigers are the leaders of many animals. Its strength and legendary ability to subdue ghosts make it a beast belonging to Yang, and it often goes out with dragons. "Cloud follows dragon, wind follows tiger" becomes the best partner to subdue ghosts.

And the white tiger is also the god of war and war. White tiger has many magical powers, such as avoiding evil, avoiding disasters, praying and punishing evil, promoting good, making a fortune, getting married and so on. And it is one of the four spirits, and of course it is also changed from the stars. Among these 28 stars, there are 7 in the west: osmium, building, stomach, ang, bi, Gou and Shen. Therefore, it is the representative of the west, and its whiteness is due to the west. The five elements belong to gold and the color is white. So it is called white tiger not because it is white, but because it comes from five elements. White tiger, the god of the west in ancient mythology. The figure is like a tiger and the white tiger is fierce, so it becomes a symbol of dignity. At the same time, the white tiger also symbolizes power and the army, so many places named after the white tiger in ancient times are related to the military, such as the white tiger flag in the ancient army and the white tiger statue on the military symbol.

Suzaku can also be said to be a phoenix or a mysterious bird. Suzaku is one of the four spirits, and like the other three spirits, it comes from the star, which is the general name of the seven southern nights: well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and bird. Think of it as Suzaku. Scarlet, like fire, the south belongs to fire, hence the name Phoenix. It also has the characteristics of being far from fire, also called fire phoenix, just like the immortal birds in the west.

According to ancient books, Phoenix is a beautiful bird, and its singing and manners are the king of birds. It can bring auspicious feelings to the world, and at the same time it has the special spirituality of' don't be an unripe phoenix tree, don't eat bamboo, and don't drink water from a spring'. Because it is the length of feather worm, it gradually becomes a pair with the legendary dragon with the length of scale worm.

There are many prototypes of Phoenix. Such as golden pheasants, peacocks, vultures, mandarin ducks, blackbirds (swallows), etc ... Some people say it is a Buddhist Dapeng golden winged bird. According to the phoenix myth, the phoenix has a chicken's head, a swallow's chin, a snake's neck, a fish's tail and five-color stripes. There are five kinds of phoenixes, divided by color: red for phoenixes, green for phoenixes, white for swans, and yellow for purples.

Xuanniao's statement comes from The Book of Songs. Ode to Shang Dynasty. Xuanniao said:' Destiny Xuanniao, born in Shang Dynasty, is rich in soil. The ancient emperor ordered martial arts soup, and appropriate sites were everywhere. "In the middle, the descendants of the Shang Dynasty said that their ancestor, Qi, was born by a mysterious bird and established a powerful Shang Dynasty. Therefore, the mysterious bird became the beginning of the merchant. " Historical records. Yin Benji also recorded this history: "Yin Qi's mother's name is Judy and she has a velvet daughter. She is the second princess of Di Ku, ................................................................................................................................. Besides Shang Dynasty, the origin of Qin, Manchu and Silla in Warring States is also related to the fairy swallowing the eggs of the mysterious birds. Whether it is a mysterious bird or a phoenix, with the development of Taoism, it evolved from birds, peacocks or pheasants ... to a fairy who is half human and half bird, and to pass on the art of war to a fairy who is completely human.

In Beijing, there were three temples dedicated to Xuan Nv, namely Jiutian Niangniang Temple and Xuan Nv Temple. There are also Xuan Nv temples in the north and south.

Xuanwu is a spiritual thing composed of turtles and snakes. Xuanwu originally meant Xuanming, and the ancient sounds of Wu and Ming are interlinked. Wu means black; Ghost means yin. At first, Xuan Ming described the tortoise divination as follows: the tortoise's back is black, and the tortoise divination is to let the tortoise go to the underworld to ask his ancestors, bring back the answers and show them to the world in the form of divination. Therefore, the earliest Xuanwu is the tortoise. Since then, the meaning of Xuanming has been expanding. Turtles live in rivers, lakes and seas (including turtles), so Xuan Ming became a water god; The tortoise lives long, and Xuan Ming has become a symbol of immortality; The first underworld was in the north. In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, Oracle Bone Inscriptions divined that "divination will point to the north", so Xuan Ming became a northern god again. Xuanwu, also called "Zhenwu", commonly known as "Zhenwu Emperor", is the god worshipped by Taoism. According to legend, the prince of Gu Jing Le Wang was born fierce and traveled in the East China Sea. When he met the immortal, he gave him a sword and went to Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province to practice. After 42 years of success, it rose during the day and became the Northern Xuanwu Army of Weizhen. But in the Song Dynasty, it was renamed Zhenwu because it was forbidden to use mysterious figures. Xuanwu is also said to be a big turtle in the North Sea. This turtle was once used as a pillar to support the whole Penglai Fairy Mountain. Because of its profound spiritual awareness, after years of hearing and seeing, it finally came to fruition. Therefore, there are many tortoise-borne tablets in the imperial mausoleum, which is the secret of Xuanwu. In addition, Xuanwu is also called Xuanming, so it is also called Beiming. Hearing this name, it is estimated that many readers will associate it with Bei Ming's return to the sea and Jin Yong's "The Legend of the North Ghost" written by Xiaoyao. Xuanwu, like other three spirits, is also derived from the 28 stars on earth: bucket, ox, female, air, danger, house and wall. However, people after ancient times have the following explanations for Xuanwu. Xuanwu is a tortoise. Book of rites "Quli" in the cloud, "before the trip, Zhu bird and then Xuanwu. . "Xuanwu" is a tortoise and snake. Supplement to Hong Xingzu's Biography of Chu Ci: "Xuanwu is called tortoise and snake. Located in the north, it is called Xuan. With a scale, it is called martial arts. Xuanwu is a combination of snakes, turtles and snakes.

However, Xuanwu was upgraded by later Taoist priests to the Northern Emperor-Emperor Zhenwu. Different from the other three spirits. Other green dragons and white tigers only worked as gatekeepers of mountain temples, and Zhu Bird worked as Xuan Nv for nine days.