What are the representative beasts in China?

The four most terrifying and powerful beasts in ancient China 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. Therefore, there are "Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku, Xuanwu, Tiansiling, Tongfang and Wangzhi Palace Que." Qinglong controls the power of lightning for nine days, the color is blue, belonging to wood, guarding the east, guarding the East Palace White Tiger controlling the power of tornado and storm (summoning all animals), the color is white, belonging to gold, guarding the West Palace Suzaku controlling the power of burning flame (three wonders of heaven and earth), and the color is red, belonging to fire, guarding the south and guarding the Nangong Xuanwu.

Other beasts

There are other beasts, such as Kirin, Wei Xiao, Yellow Bird, Gluttony, Peng, and Liu Er Macaques.

1. Spirit animal Kirin

Kirin, phoenix, dragon and turtle are also called "Four Spirits", and Kirin is the first of the "Four Spirits". As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there was a legend of Kirin in China. The most detailed record is "Justice in Shi Mao", which says: "Woods, moose, horse's feet, oxtail, yellow hair, round hooves, and meat at the ends of the horns-"Legend has it that Kirin is gentle, does not have insects, does not fold grass, has horns on its head and raw meat on its horns, and is a virtuous benevolent beast. Therefore, emperors of all dynasties loved forests and regarded them as people.

The legendary unicorn Kirin: This is an animal. Later, he succeeded Huanglong as the leader of the sacred beast, the central guardian. Guard the palace and control the power of the earth. The color belongs to yellow, which belongs to earth. Kirin uses earth to make water (Xuanwu), Xuanwu uses water to make fire (Suzaku), Suzaku uses fire to make gold (White Tiger), White Tiger uses gold to make wood (Qinglong), and Qinglong uses wood soil (Kirin).

2. god beast

Also known as Tianlu and exorcism. It is a kind of god beast in ancient myths and legends of China. It has the head of a dragon, the body of a horse and the feet of a lion. It is shaped like a lion, has a gray coat and can fly. Fierce and mighty, responsible for patrolling the sky to prevent monsters, plagues and diseases from disturbing the heaven.

God beast stratification

The beast is divided into four layers: Kirin, Phoenix, Tortoise and Dragon. Four gods: Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu; Four evils: chaos, Qiong Qi, _ _, gluttony.

1. Qinglong

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. mythical animals

Among the four gods, according to Shan Hai Jing,' Southern Zhurong is a beast with a face and rides two dragons.' ; In the west of Ru Shou, there is a snake in the left ear. You can ride two dragons. ; In the East, there is Ju Mang, who is a bird and a man, riding two dragons. ; In the north, Yu Jiang, with dark hands and feet, rode 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. The dragon is the seven lodges in the East-horn, clang, car, room, heart, tail and dustpan. These seven lodges are all dragon-shaped. As can be seen from their meanings, horns are the horns of dragons, and clanging is dragons. 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. After the rise of Taoism, these four spirits were also given names to facilitate human beings to call them. Qinglong is called Meng Zhang, White Tiger is called prison soldier, Suzaku is called Lingguang, and Xuanwu is called Zhiming. In many dynasties, emperors took Qinglong as their national title, such as Wei Mingdi in the Three Kingdoms, and there were also records that the Xia Dynasty belonged to the Mude Dynasty, so he had'. mythical animals

In China after ancient times, the male dragon had horns on his head; Double horns are called dragons, and single horns are called dumplings; Those with horns are poisonous snakes. In ancient times, there were often large and small Ssangyong in Yu Pei, and it was still called mother and son poisonous snakes. The status of dragons is much higher than that of India. Because it is sacred and supreme in the dragon, it is also a symbol of the emperor. It is also the representative of the east, and the five elements belong to wood. Because cyan belongs to wood, there is the saying of Zuo Qinglong and you Bai Hu. Among the 28 stars, seven stars in the East-Jiao, Kang, Bian, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji-are used among the stars. The ancients imagined them as Jackie Chan. Because it is located in the east, the five parties are colored according to the theory that the east is blue, so it is named' Qinglong'. There is also a saying among the people that dragons are lustful. When you have sex with a cow, you will have a unicorn, and when you have sex with a pig, you will have an elephant. The so-called dragon gives birth to nine children, unlike the dragon. The eldest son's name is qiúniú: He is plain and loves music, so he often stands on the piano head. Such as Hu Qin of Han nationality and Qin Sang of Bai nationality. Ma Touqin in Mongolia may also be a variant of prison cattle. The second son's name is Zhipi (yázì): he is flat and loves to kill people, so he is often put on weapons to deter the enemy. At the same time, it is used in ceremonial ceremonies to appear more solemn. The third son's name is cháofēng: it is an animal-shaped dragon, which looks a bit like a dog. It is easy to find, so it is often placed in the corner of the temple. It is said that it can kill demons and eliminate disasters. The first Si Er is Plough: people like to roar, so they put it on the clock, mostly in the image of Plough. It is said that it lives by the sea, but it is very afraid of whales. Once a whale attacks, it screams in fear. Therefore, people make the wooden pestle into the shape of a whale, which makes the bronze bell particularly loud. The fifth son is sister-in-law (suānní): shaped like a lion. It's imported, and it was introduced to China with Buddhism, so it's a bit like Buddha. It is so quiet and likes fireworks. Therefore, it is often placed on the Buddha's seat or incense burner to protect the dharma. The sixth son is Baxia: also known as _ _ (bx) and Pteris vittata (should be a beggar) (bāxià), which looks like a turtle. Legend has it that in ancient times, it often carried three mountains and five mountains to make waves. After being appeased by Yu Xia, he made many contributions to Yu Xia. After flood control became an attack, Yu Xia accepted its advantages and let it recover on its own. So China's stone tablets are mostly carried by it. The seventh son is an armadillo: he looks like a tiger. Legend has it that it upholds justice and can distinguish right from wrong, so the god beast

It was placed above and below the prison gate, in the lobby of the gate and at the top of the card that officials quietly avoided when patrolling, in order to maintain the awe-inspiring atmosphere of the court. Eight negative _ (fü xì): Because I love literature, I often put it in two stone tablets. Mozi is a fish-shaped dragon, also known as the seven tails (Chρwěn). According to legend, it was introduced from India with Buddhism around the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It is something under the rain god in Buddhist scriptures, which can put out fires. So the kiss was changed, so it was placed at both ends of the roof to eliminate disasters and put out fires.

2. White tiger

In Four Holy Beasts, China, another dragon is often compared with the "white tiger"; The tiger is the leader of all animals. Its strength and legendary ability to subdue ghosts make it a beast belonging to Yang, and it often goes out with dragons. The cloud follows the dragon and the wind follows the tiger' to become the best partner for subduing 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 and getting married. 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. In addition to the four spirits in Taoism, including dragons and white tigers, and even when Feng Shui masters explore cemeteries, the terrain protruding from the left and right sides in front of the terrain can be used as burial rooms, which have unique titles, called Zuo Qinglong and Right White Tiger, to take the meaning of their guards, and also have the same decoration in the court. The left and right pillars are painted with dragons and white tigers to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, Dragon and Tiger were borrowed as Taoist alchemy terms, referring to the consent words of "lead, mercury, fire, water, yin and yang". Taoist alchemy is divided into two parts: internal alchemy and external alchemy (I'm not sure). As far as Yin-Yang and Five Elements are concerned, Inner Dan means that dragons are born in fire, so the cloud' dragons are born in fire', while tigers are born in ridges and ridges belong to water, so the cloud' tigers are born in water'. After the two elements are combined, one yin and one yang are mutual. Another way of saying this is that sex belongs to wood, and wood represents the East. In divination, it is an earthquake, so it is a dragon. Love belongs to gold, gold represents the west, and the hexagrams are exchanged, which is golden white, so it is called white tiger. In the eyes of the ancients, the tiger is a terrible thing and a respectable thing. The terrible thing is that it will eat people and animals. Respectably, it can ward off evil spirits because of its great power. In some ancient books, such as Ying Shao's Custom Yi Tong. Sacrifice in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Draw a tiger on the door, ghosts dare not enter", "A tiger is a penis, and all animals are long. Can resist sharpness and eat ghosts. Today, people have to burn tiger skin to drink after they die. Beating its paws can also cure evil. This is also a fact. " The ancients also thought that the white tiger was an auspicious feeling:' virtue is a hundred birds and beasts.' mythical animals

The original West Star gods were bears and owls, and later, because of the totem of the ancient Qiang people, when bears became dragons. When the Yellow Emperor developed eastward, the dragon totem was brought to the east and merged with the' Oriental Black Dragon Constellation', and Zhu Bird became the new home of the celestial phoenix totem when the south was unified, and eventually became a' dragon and phoenix' because of the integration of the two tribes. As an ancient totem, it is the East Phoenix and the West Dragon, and as an astrology, it is the East Black Dragon and the West Zhu Bird. After the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was formally established, and the five elements thought also became mature. The astronomical phenomena were re-divided, and the Zhu bird was placed in the south, where it was sacrificed with Zhu Rong Vulcan. The west worships the white tiger. In the tribal struggle and migration, the dragon in the northwest moved eastward, the phoenix in the east moved southward, and the tiger in the south moved northward, showing a great conceptual movement throughout the country. By the Han dynasty, the concept of five elements had become a unified thought, and with Xuanwu, the' God of the Four Sides' was completed. "Ancient History of Tiangong" records, "Black Dragon in the East Palace, Zhu Bird in the South Palace, Fairy Pool in the West Palace, Gong Bei Xuanwu." This is not a white tiger, but a salty pool. Salty pond is the star of staple food. Mainly in autumn, because the grain is harvested in autumn, it is released in autumn. But it's not an animal. How can it be combined with dragons, birds and turtles into four spirits? In "Justice": "The three stars in the fairy pool are among the five cars, and the sky hits the south, and the fish and birds are also there." Therefore, the song dynasty questioned:' black dragon, Zhu bird, Xuanwu, seven nights are considered together. As for Xianchi, don't be a star and stay away from 28 nights. There is another explanation for the salty pool, which is where the sun bathes. In Huai Nan Zi. Astronomy:' The sun rises in the valley, bathes in the salty pool and blows on the hibiscus, which is called morning light'. It can be seen that Xianchi was originally regarded as the sunrise place by Qiang people. Xianchi is also an alkali lake, which should be Minshan area or Shantou Lake in Qinghai. It can be proved that the astrology worshipped by primitive people does not have the concept of dragon and white tiger. "Book of Rites Li Yun" said:' Return to the dragon in the face of the wind is called the Four Spirits. Replace the salty pool that does not belong to animals with Kirin. Later generations have the habit of four spirits, four elephants and four tigers.

. Moreover, because the White Tiger is a god of war and an axe, many brave generals are said to be the stars of the White Tiger, such as Luo Cheng and Xue and his son in the Tang Dynasty. In addition, the white tiger was absorbed and released by Taoism, deified and became the keeper of various temples.

3. Suzaku

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 stars, which is the general name of the seven nights in the south: 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 pheasant, peacock, vulture, mandarin fish, mysterious bird (devouring beast

Son) and so on. It is also said that it was made by the 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 poem Ode to Xuanniao in Shang Dynasty:' Xuanniao was born in Shang Dynasty and rich in soil. The ancient emperor ordered martial arts soup, and appropriate sites were everywhere. "The descendants of the Shang Dynasty in the middle said that their ancestor Qi was born by a mysterious bird and established a powerful Shang Dynasty. So Xuanniao became the ancestor of merchants. " Historical records. Yin Benji also recorded this history:' Yin Qi, her mother Zhu Di, the daughter of Emperor Rong, was the second princess of Di Ku. After three people bathed, I saw the mysterious bird and its eggs. Judy took them and swallowed them, so she got pregnant and gave birth to a contract. "In addition to the Shang Dynasty, the ancestors of Qin, Manchu and Silla in South Korea during the Warring States period were also related to the fairy who swallowed 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.

4. Xuanwu

Xuanwu is a spiritual thing composed of turtles and snakes. Xuanwu originally meant Xuan Ming, a martial arts beast.

The ancient sounds are connected. 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; It turned out that the underworld was in the north, and the divination of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty was' its divination will be in the north', so Xuan Ming became a northern god again. 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. Qu Li Shang said:' OK, there are Zhu birds in front and Xuanwu in the back'' Xuanwu' is a tortoise and snake. Supplementary Notes on Hong Xingzu's Songs of the South. Travel far:' 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. "Selected Works" Volume 15 Zhang Heng's "Four Fu Xuan" said: "Xuanwu leaves its shell, and the snake bends and corrects itself." Shan Li notes the cloud:' When a turtle meets a snake, it is called Xuanwu.' Wang Liangchuan in the History of the Later Han Dynasty: "Hong Fu Nv" says: "Wang Liang is the Lord of Xuanwu." Li Xian pointed out: "Wu Wu, the God of the North, is a combination of tortoise and snake." Xuanwu is the god of water and the god of the north. Wang Liangchuan in the later Han Dynasty: "Xuanwu is the name of the water god." "Rebuilding the Integration of Weft Books" Volume 6 "Introduction to Emperor Hetu":' Born in Xuanwu, North China? Town north, the main wind and rain. However, Xuanwu was promoted 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, and Zhu Bird became the Xuan Nv of another day. Xuanwu gained value in the Song Dynasty and was personified. This is inseparable from the help of the emperors of the Song Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, Zhenwu and Tian Peng were legendary generals in heaven. In the first year of Tianxi, something happened in the military camp. In "The Original" for seven years:' Someone saw a snake in the camp, and the sergeant built a real martial arts school because of it. In April of the following year, the spring was inexhaustible, and the sick people drank more. When Zhenzong heard this, he wrote a letter and built a landscape there, named it' Xiangyuan'. This is probably the earliest Zhenwu Temple in China. It is often said by later generations that during the reign of Yang Di, the Jade Emperor became one of his three souls, Empress Lezheng, tired of the world, abandoned Wudang Mountain for practice, and successfully ascended to heaven, defended the north and lived in Xuanwu, posthumous title.