The four great beasts, Qinglong White Tiger, became guardians, and Suzaku became Xuan Nv. Why did Xuanwu become the Zhenwu Emperor?

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; Zhu is known as 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.

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The horn, horn, room, heart, tail and dustpan of the East Palace are shaped like dragons, so it is called Qinglong or Black Dragon.

The seven western stars, Kui, Lou, Stomach, Ang, Bi, Horn and Shen, are shaped like tigers, calling the West Palace the White Tiger.

The well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and net in the south are bird-shaped, called suzaku;

The northern seven-star bucket, cow, female, virtual, dangerous, room, wall, its shape is like a turtle, named Xuanwu.

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As a result, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu have become the four gods who guard the heavenly officials, create evil and regulate 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.

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Qinglong, one of the four great beasts, guards the East and is also in charge of the water needed by the earth. Its figure consists of the characteristics of nine animals, such as snake head, eagle claw, antlers, Tiger Claw, bull's eye, horse mane and fish scales.

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 appointed it as the Emperor of Heaven and weiser, it has always been a symbol of the Chinese nation and even the whole of China, and it was definitely shaped in the Han Dynasty. Since the Great Han Dynasty, the dragon 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.

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 yin and yang and five elements, hence the name? Qinglong? .

There is also a folk saying that dragons are lustful, that is, having sex with cows will give birth to unicorns, and having sex with pigs will give birth to elephants. The so-called dragon gives birth to nine children, unlike the dragon.

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White tiger-one of the four sacred animals, guarding the western sacred animals, the only real animal in Four Holy Beasts; It is said that it is auspicious to see the white tiger, which can manipulate the wind to attack the enemy at will.

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.

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.

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Suzaku, one of the four sacred animals, guards the sacred animals in the south. In China's ancient thoughts, Four Holy Beasts evolved from the Four Spirit Beasts, while Suzaku evolved from the Phoenix.

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 records, Phoenix is a beautiful bird, and its singing and manners are the king of birds. It can bring auspicious feelings to the world, but also has the special spirituality of non-phoenix tree, non-bamboo, non-drinking water and non-drinking water. Because it is the length of feather worm, the dragon with the length of scale worm has gradually become a pair in legend, one is changeable and the other is beautiful, which has become a folk custom.

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.

The view of Xuanniao comes from The Book of Songs, Ode to Shang Dynasty and Xuanniao. The fate of mysterious birds and the birth of business are all clouded. The ancient emperor ordered Wu Tang, which was in the square.

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.

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Xuanwu, one of the four great beasts, guards the northern beasts. Previously, Xuanwu was originally two monsters in a sea-the green turtle and the red snake. Later, before Tian Xuan became a Taoist priest, he was taken over by God, wrapped the red snake around the green turtle and stepped on it. Finally, he was appointed as a sacred animal to protect the northern starry sky.

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 turtle divination as follows: the turtle's back is black, and the turtle divination first invited the turtle to ask questions in the underworld, brought back the answers and showed 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 original underworld was in the north. What was Oracle Bone Inscriptions's divination in the Shang Dynasty? Is it going north? So Xuan Ming became the North God again.

However, 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, and Zhu Bird became the Xuan Nv of another day. Xuanwu gained value in the Song Dynasty and was personified. As for the life experience of Zhenwu Emperor, it is often said by later generations that during the reign of Yang Di, the Jade Emperor reincarnated one of his three souls as the Empress Lezheng, who was tired of the world and abandoned his position to practice in Wudang Mountain, successfully ascended to heaven and defended the north, and lived in Xuanwu, posthumous title.

Generally speaking, ability is one thing, and luck is also very important.