Illustration of four ancient Chinese beasts

Four beasts are Qinglong, Baihu, zhuque, and Xuanwu. Qinglong is the god of the East; white tiger is the god of the West; zhuque is the god of the South; Xuan Wu is the god of the north, and the tortoise and the snake are combined. Therefore, "Qinglong, White Tiger, zhuque, Xuan Wu, four spirits of the sky, to the Quartet, the king of the palace que diange to learn the law .".

In the ancient times, the ancients divided Heaven into four palaces, east and west, respectively, named after Qinglong (canglong), White Tiger, zhuque, and Xuan Wu (a god of turtles. In fact, the sky is divided into four parts, which are formed by seven major star links in each part and named in its shape.

The East angular, Kang, Shi, Fang, heart, tail, and Arn shapes are like dragons. Therefore, the East Palace is called Qinglong or canglong;

The western dipper is like a tiger in the shape of Qi, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Jiao and Shen;

The southern well, Ghost, Liu, Star, Zhang, wing, and yunlian are birds, called zhuque;

The dipper, ox, female, virtual, dangerous, chamber, and wall in the north are like turtles, and Xuan Wu is called.

As a result, Qinglong, Baihu, zhuque, and Xuanwu became the four gods of the city's God guard, evil spirits, and yin and yang. Among the four gods, Qinglong and white tigers are mainly regarded as the spirit of the evil spirits, and their images are displayed on the gongque, dianmen, gate, or tomb buildings and their artifacts, in the last case, the dragon did not promote the tomb owner to heaven, but to deter evil spirits and protect the soul and peace of the tomb owner.

Oriental Qinglong

There are many legends about the dragon, and there are also many sayings about the origins of the dragon, some of which are imported from India, and some are changed from Chinese stars. India itself is in the dragon god, but the dragon's position in India is not high, it is also a real thing-Python.

In the age when the five elements were prevalent, the story about Qinglong began to be gradually circulated. The five elements were matched with five colors in the Southeast and northwest Based on the yin and yang elements, and each color with a beast and a god; the East is blue, with a dragon, the West is white, with a tiger, south is Zhu color, with a bird, the north is black, with Wu, yellow for the central color.

Among the gods of the four sides, according to the saying of the mountain sea Sutra, 'Southern zhu rong, the animal is a human face, riding two dragons. '; 'Western takeover, with a snake in the left ear, and two dragons. ';' The east has a grain, a bird's face, and two dragons. ';' North Xinjiang, black hands and feet, take two dragons. ', The interesting thing is that the dragons in the mountains and seas are riding, while the snakes of the same kind are being held, operated, or around the neck, showing the differences between the two; however, the five gods on the five sides are not the same as the four gods on the four sides. Zhuque, Xuanwu (black, ), Qinglong, and Baihu represent the 28 DDH of the Quartet respectively, the dragon is the seven chinanetcenter in the east-Cape, Kang, Huang, Fang, heart, tail, and Ling. The shape of the seven chinanetcenter is extremely dragon-like, from their meaning, we can see that the angle is the Dragon's horn, the Kang is the neck, the Yi is the book, but the neck root, the room is the bladder, the threat, the heart is the heart, the end is the end, and the end is the end.

In addition, some people refer to it as 'fire' in the Dragon heart, which is related to the rain. Because Qinglong belongs to wood, it is also the year of Jupiter. After the rise of Taoism, these four spirits were also named by people, which is easy for humans to call. Qinglong was called 'meng zhang', white tigers were called 'jianbing ', and zhuque was called 'lingguang ', xuan Wu is the "Zhi Ming", and in many dynasties there are also some kings who take Qinglong as their own year, such as Wei mingdi of the Three Kingdoms, the historical records also show that the Xia Dynasty belongs to the mude dynasty, so he has a record of Xiang Rui, where 'qinglong was born outoutpu.

In China after the ancient times, gonglong is the first with a horn; dual-horn is called the dragon, and the single-horn is called the dragon; the non-angular is called the dragon, which is often called the Mother and Child dragon in ancient times; the status of Dragon is much higher than that of India. Because the Chinese dragon is a god, a supreme, and a symbol of the Emperor. It is also the representative of the East, the five elements are wood, but also because the blue is wood, so there are left Qinglong, right White Tiger.

The star is to use the eight stars in the East, the seven stars in the east-angular, Kang, Xing, Fang, heart, tail, ghost, the ancients think of them as the image of the dragon, because they are located in the east, according to the yin and yang five lines to the five sides of the color, the oriental color, so the name is 'qinglong '.

While there is also the saying that the people have the dragon sex, And the Yilin and pig are born when the cattle are handed over.

The so-called dragon child is not like the dragon saying. It is like this --

The eldest son is called a prisoner: He loves music, so he often stands on the piano head. For example, Hu Qin of the Han nationality and Hu Qin of the Bai nationality. The maturon of Mongolia may also be a variant of the prisoner.

The second son is yarn: he was killed by the same body, so he was mostly placed on the weapons to view enemy troops. At the same time, it is also used to look more majestic.

Saner: it is an animal-shaped dragon. It looks a bit like a dog. It is good at looking at it, so it is on the corner of the temple. It is said that the magic can be captured and the disaster can be eliminated.

The fourth is Pu prison: people put it on the clock if they like to scream, most of which are Pu prison images. It is said that it lives on the beach, but is very afraid of whales. Once a whale launches an attack, it will be scared. As a result, people make the Tornado into the whale shape to make the copper bell exceptionally loud.

Fifth, they look like lions. It is a foreign product that is introduced into China along with Buddhism, so its character is a bit like Buddha. It is quiet and fireworks. Therefore, it is often placed in the Buddha's place or on the incense burner, let it for the Buddha's door.

The sixth is the Overlord: Also known as the hacker, it looks like a turtle. It is said that in Ancient Times, it often backs up three mountains and five mountains to make waves. After receiving services by Xia Yu, Xia Yu made a lot of contributions. After the flood, Xia Yu made his achievements and let him back up. Therefore, the stone tablet in China is backed by it.

The seventh story is Hu HU, also known as the charter. It is said that it hosts justice, and can understand right and wrong. Therefore, it is placed at the top of the guard door, the door lobby, and the cards that are quietly avoided by officials during the tour to maintain the awe-inspiring spirit of the public hall.

The eighth is negative attention: because of its love for literature, Duo security is two in the stone tablet.

Mozi is a fish-shaped dragon, also known as Shanwei. It is said that in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Indian 'mojiyu 'was introduced along with Buddhism. It is a theme in Buddhist scriptures and under the seat of the rain god that can extinguish the fire. Therefore, the kiss changed from this, so it is installed at both ends of the roof, for Disaster Tolerance and fire extinguishing effect.

Western white tigers

Among the four holy beasts in China, the other is often compared with the Dragon's "White Tiger". Tigers are the heads of beasts, their mighty power, and the ability to take down ghosts in the legend, it has also become an animal of the sun, often followed by a dragon, 'yun from the dragon, the wind from the tiger 'has become the best partner for downgrading the ghost thing.

White Tigers are also the god of war and the God of Destruction. Bai Hu has a variety of magical powers, such as anti-evil, Disaster Tolerance, blessing, and punishing evil, fortune and fortune. And it is one of the four spirits, of course, also changed from star to star. It is located in the seventh Western place among the 28 stars: Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Shen and Shen. So it is the representative of the West, and its white is because it is the West, the West belongs to gold in the five lines, and the color is white. So it is called the White Tiger, not because it is white, but from the five lines.

In addition to the four spirits in Taoism, including Qinglong and white tigers, when connected to the fengshui division to explore the cemetery, the terrain protruding on the left and right sides of the terrain can be used as the place of the tomb, each with a unique title, the left Qinglong and right white tigers are called as guards, and the decoration is also the same in the public hall. Qinglong Baihu is painted on the right column to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, the term "lead mercury, kan li, water fire, yin and yang" was borrowed from the term "Taoist Alchemy. While the Taoist Alchemy is divided into internal and external (the internal and external alchemy medicine, the author did not dare to be very sure), Inidan is in the yin and yang five lines, longyang, was born from, off belongs to fire, therefore, yun'dragon goes out of the fire', HU Yin, was born in Kan, Kan belongs to water, so yun'tiger comes to the water'. After the combination of the two, Yi Yin and Yi Yang reconcile each other, it is called Tao Ben, which is represented by the gods and spirits. Another argument is that, for example, genius, wood represents the East, for example, Qinglong; For love gold, gold represents the West, and for redemption, gold is white, it is said as Bai Hu. Jin can kill the wood, so the sentiment is more damage, and the essence of the two eight, so that it is combined into one, then the gold and wood, the dragon and tiger from the Fu Dan, in the human body, the liver is the dragon, the kidney is the tiger, while the Dan is still the meaning of yin and yang, the dragon is the lead, the tiger is the mercury.

In the eyes of the ancients, tigers are terrible and respectable. What's terrible is that it eats humans and animals. What is respectable is that it is extremely powerful and can avoid evil. In some ancient books, such as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "Customs and definitions": 'tiger painted at the door, the ghost did not dare to enter ', 'tiger, yang thing, also the length of the beasts. Attackers are able to find their best matches. This person suffered evil, burning tiger skin to drink. You can also break evil by hitting its claws. This verification is also performed. 'The ancients also believed that the white tiger was a kind of auspicious: 'd to the birds and beasts. '

The original Star of the West was a bear and an owl, but later the Ancient Ship's totem was changed from a bear to a dragon. When the Yellow Emperor went east, the dragon's totem was taken to the east, and combined with the 'oriental dragon constellation ', Zhu bird became the new home of the Phoenix totem in the kingdom of heaven when it unified the south, the combination of the two tribes finally became 'Dragon and Phoenix chengxiang '. As the ancient totem is the East Phoenix and the West dragon, as the star elephant is the East Dragon and the West Zhu bird. After the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was formally established, and the five elements of thought were also mature. After tianxiao was re-divided, Zhu bird went to the south and worshipped Zhu ronghuoshen. The West worships white tigers. In the tribal struggle and migration, the dragons in the north and the east moved to the east, the Phoenix in the east moved to the south, and the tigers in the south moved to the north. The whole country showed a big turnover concept movement. In the Han Dynasty, the concept of the five elements became a unified idea, and then made up Xuanwu to complete the "four-party God.

In ancient times, "Historical Records. tiangongshu": 'Dong Gong canglong, Zhu niao in the south, xigong xianchi, beigong Xuanwu. 'The here is not the white tiger, but the salty pool. The salt pool is the star of the main grain. The main grain is harvested in the autumn, so it is placed in the autumn, but it is not an animal, how can we match dragons, birds, and turtles with four spirits? In justice: 'samsung xianchi is in five cars, and Tianyan is south, and the fish and birds are also located. 'Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, I have raised a question: 'canglong, Zhu niao, Xuanwu, and various qidu. As for the salty pool, you can stay away from the 28 th Night. There is also an explanation of the salty pool, which is the place where the sun is bathed. In "Huai Nan Zi. Astronomy": 'The Sunday is in the Silicon Valley, the bath is in the salty pool, and the flushin is in fussang, which is the morning lim '. It can be seen that the xianchi city was originally seen as a sunrise by the Qiang people. The xianchi city, that is, the alkali water lake, should be the taro Lake in the pishan area or Qinghai. It can be proved that the Star Palace and tianxiao that the original man worships do not have the concept of Qinglong and white tigers. In the book of Rites and rites, the so-called: 'lin fengguilong, called the four spirits. 'Replace the salty pool that does not belong to the animal with the unicorn. In the future, there will be a habit of four spirits and four elephants and tigers.

Since the white tigers are the god of war, many of them will be said to be full of the white tigers, such as Luo Cheng, Tang Dynasty generals, Xue rengui, and others. In addition, the white tigers were swallowed up by Taoism and turned into gods. They became the door gods of various temples.

Southern zhuque

Zhuque can also be said to be a phoenix or xuanbird. Zhuque is one of the four spirits, and like other three, it is from the star, is the general name of the seven chinanetcenter in the South: Well, Ghost, Liu, Star, Zhang, wing, Ghost. It seems like a zhuque. Zhu is red, like a fire, the South is a fire, so it is named Phoenix. It also has the ability to repeat itself from the fire. It is also called the fire phoenix, just like the dead birds in the West.

In the records of ancient books, Phoenix is a kind of beautiful birds. With its singing and manners as the king of birds, it can bring auspicious information to the human world, and it also has a non-Wutong, non-bamboo does not eat, non-spring does not drink 'special spirit, and because it is the length of the 'feather adge', so the length of the dragon and the 'scalad' has gradually become a pair of legends, A variety of products, a beautiful virtue, has become a pair of complementary folk customs, but also because the dragon symbolizes the ultimate Yang, and the original also has the yin and yang Feng (Feng Wei Xiong, female for growth) after comparison with the dragon, it gradually became the representative of pure Yin.

Phoenix has many prototype types. For example, Rooster, peacock, e, pig, and Na (swallow... It is also said that the golden-wing birds of the Buddhist Dapeng have become. In Phoenix mythology, Phoenix contains the head of a chicken, the chin of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, and five-color lines. Phoenix also has five varieties, which are divided by color: Red is Phoenix, blue is a yellow bird, white is a swan, and yellow and purple.

The Xuan niao's statement is from the Book of Songs, Shang Song, and Xuan niao: 'The Life Of The Xuan niao, the fall of the commodity, and its Yin tu manmanmang. The ancient Emperor Mingwu Tang and Zhengyu Sifang. 'The descendant of Yin Shang said that his first lease was born by xuanbird and a powerful Shang Dynasty was established. Therefore, Xuan bird became the beginning of a merchant. "Historical Records. Yin Ben" also records this history: 'yin Qi, Mother Yue Jian Di, a daughter of velvet, for the Emperor Xi Fei ...... Three-person bath, see Xuan bird with its eggs, Jian di take and swallow it, because of pregnancy. 'The apart from the Yin Shang, the Qin and the beginning of manqing in the Warring States period and the beginning of sinoluo in North Korea are also related to the fairy swallowing the Xuan bird eggs. No matter whether it is xuanbird or Phoenix, It is developed along with Taoism, and it is made up of a bird, a peacock or a pheasant, etc... First it became a fairy of half-human and half-poultry who passed on the war of man to a completely human fairy. They all developed along with Taoism.

In the past, there were three temples dedicated to Xuan female in Beijing, called the Jiu Tian Niang temple and Xuan female Temple. There are also Xuan female temples in the North and South.

Xuanwu north

Xuan Wu is a kind of spirit that combines turtles and snakes. Xuan Wu's intention is Xuan Ming, and Wu and Ming ancient voices are connected. Wu means "black", and "Ming" means "Yin. Xuan Ming first described the turtle: the turtle's back was black. The Turtle asked the turtle to go to the room to answer the question and bring the answer back, presented to the world in the form of Bu ge. Therefore, the earliest Xuanwu is the tortoise. In the future, the meaning of Xuan Ming will continue to expand. Turtles live in rivers, lakes, and seas (including turtles). Therefore, Xuan Ming has become a Water God. Long Life of turtles, Xuan Ming has become a symbol of immortality. The initial Ming Dynasty is in the north, yin Shang's Oracle Divination is 'Bu bei xiang', so Xuan Ming became the god of the North.

Like other three spirits, Xuan Wu has also changed from the 28 stars in the world to fighting, ox, female, virtual, dangerous, room, and wall. People in Ancient Times explained Xuan Wu in the following ways: Xuan Wu is a turtle. "Liji. Qu lishang" cloud: 'line, former Zhu bird and then Xuan Wu... ''Xuanwu ''is a turtle snake. "Chu Ci. Yuan You" Hong xingzu note: "Xuan Wu, that is, the tortoise and the snake. It is in the north, so it is called Xuan. There are scales, so they say Wu. 'Xuanwu 'is a combination of snakes, turtles, and snakes.

"Wen Xuan" Volume 15 Zhang Heng "Si Xuan Fu" said: "Xuan Wu is located in the shell, and the Teng snake is winding and self-corrected. 'Li shanyun: 'the tortoise and the snake entered Xuan Wu. 'The post-HanShu. Wang liangchuan ': 'chifufu,' said: 'wang Liangzhu hengzuo Xuan Wu. ''Li Xianzhi cloud: 'The arms, the god of the north, and the turtles and snakes. 'Xuanwu 'is the god of water and the God of the North. Post-HanShu Wang liangchuan: 'xuanwu, the name of the Water God. Volume 6 of "re-repair latitude book integration" <Hetu emperor's View>: 'Born of Xuanwu in the north ,... North Town, main storm. '

However, Xuan Wu was upgraded to the Emperor "zhenwu Emperor" in the north by later Taoist priests ". Different from other three spirits. Other Qinglong and white tigers only serve as the door gods of the Mountain Temple, and Zhu niao became a mysterious girl.

Xuan Wu received an increasing value in the Song Dynasty and was personalized. This is inseparable from the promotion of various Emperors in the Song Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, the great generals of Tianzhi, such as zhenwu and tianpeng, were legends. One thing happened in the military camp. In the seven articles in things Chronicle: 'The camp has seen snakes, and the army has built a martial arts hall for them. Two years later, in April, The quanyong Tang side was exhausted, and people who were suffering from epidemic diseases were drinking more and more. 'When I heard about this, zhizong will establish a local view and give me the name of 'xiangyuan '. This is about the earliest zhenwu temple in China.

In the life of the Emperor Wu, many descendants said that when Emperor Sui was born, Emperor Yu gave birth to one of his three souls to earn the queen of happy countries, hated the world, and entered Wudang Mountains for practice, succeeded in flying, zhenshou north, No.: Xuan Wu.

From: http://www.wen8.net/history/zgctjxta/4shensh.htm