Qinglong
There are many legends about dragons, and there are many opinions about the origin of dragons. Some say they were introduced from India, and some say they were transformed from Chinese stars. India itself is said to be about the dragon god, but the status of the dragon in India is not high, and there is also a real thing - a python.
In the era when the Five Elements theory was popular, stories about the Green Dragon slowly began to spread; Five Elements masters assigned five colors to the southeast, northwest, and middle according to the yin and yang and the five elements, and each color was matched with the five elements. Previous
Mythical beasts and a god; the east is cyan, with dragons, the west is white, with tigers, the south is vermillion, with birds, the north is black, with martial arts, and yellow is the central color.
Among the gods in the four directions, according to the Book of Mountains and Seas, "Zhurong in the south has a beast body and a human face, riding two dragons."; "Liao Shuo in the west, a snake in his left ear, riding two dragons."; "There is Jumang in the east, with the body of a bird and the face of a human, riding on two dragons."; "In the north of Yujiang, with a black body and limbs, riding on two dragons." What is more interesting is that the dragons in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are all ridden. , while snakes of the same kind are held, manipulated, or wrapped around the neck, showing the difference between the two; however, the five gods in the five directions are not the same as the four gods in the four directions, so I will not go into details here. . Suzaku, Xuanwu (black tortoise and snake, Wu means turtle and snake), Qinglong and White Tiger respectively represent the twenty-eight constellations in the four directions. The dragon represents the seven constellations in the east - Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji. And the shape of these seven constellations is very similar to the shape of a dragon. It can be seen from the meaning of their words that the horn is the horn of the dragon, the horn is the neck, the di is the base of the neck, the room is the shoulder and the side, and the heart is the base of the neck. The heart, the tail is the tail, and the Ji is the end of the tail.
Also in the part of the dragon’s heart, some people call it ‘fire’, which is related to sunshine and rain. And because Qinglong belongs to wood, it is also the year of Jupiter in that year. After the rise of Taoism, these four spirits were also given human names to make it easier for humans to call them. The green dragon was called "Mengzhang", the white tiger was called "Jianbing", the red bird was called "Lingguang", and the Xuanwu was called "Zhiming". Among the many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their reign name, such as Emperor Wei Ming of the Three Kingdoms. In the historical records, it is also said that the Xia Dynasty was a dynasty of Mu De, so it had the auspicious saying that "the Qinglong was born in the suburbs". Records of trillions.
In ancient China, those with horns on their heads were called male dragons; those with two horns were called dragons, those with one horn were called dragons; Called mother and son Chi; the dragon's status is much higher than that in India. Because in China, the dragon is a divine creature, the supreme being, and the symbol of the emperor. It is also a representative of the East. Among the five elements, it belongs to wood. Because cyan belongs to wood, there is a saying that it is a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right.
星星
The stars are made of the seven oriental stars among the twenty-eight stars - Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji. The ancients imagined them to be the image of dragons. , because it is located in the east, according to the theory of color matching for the five directions according to the yin and yang and the five elements. The color of the east is green, so it is called "Qinglong".
Legend
There is also a folk saying that dragons are lustful. When they have sex with cows, they will have unicorns, and when they have sex with pigs, they will have elephants.
The saying that the nine sons born from a dragon are not like dragons is like this -
The eldest son Qi Niu:
Qi Niu is a dragon. The eldest among the nine dragons, he has loved music all his life and is the docile among the many dragons. He is neither bloodthirsty nor ruthless, and specializes in music. Legend has it that the imprisoned cow with a dragon head and a snake body has a very good ear and can distinguish the sounds of all things. It often squats on the head of the piano to enjoy the music of plucked strings, so its portrait is engraved on the head of the piano. This decoration is still in use today, and some valuable Huqin heads are still engraved with the image of a dragon head, which is called "Dragon Head Huqin". This musically gifted dragon son not only appears on the Huqin of the Han people, but also on the dragon-headed Yueqin of the Yi people, the three-stringed qin of the Bai people, and some Tibetan and Mongolian qins. .
The second son, Yaibi:
Yaizu is the second eldest son. It is said that he was born with the head of a dragon and the body of a jackal. He has a strong personality, aggressiveness and a love for killing. He is the god of war of Longzi. The ferocious eyes of Yaizhen when angry were also used by the ancients to describe "glaring with anger". Sima Qian's evaluation of the paragraph "Fan Ju's Revenge" in "Historical Records" is that "the virtue of a meal must be repaid, and the hatred of Yaizhen must be repaid." So, , the idiom "Yiju must be repaid" was born. Jizhen likes to kill, so the ancients often carved it into the mouth where the blade and handle of the sword meet, which adds to the frightening power. It is not only decorated on the weapons of famous generals on the battlefield, but also widely used on the weapons of ceremonial guards and palace guards, making it even more majestic and solemn.
Because the emperors believed that the emperor could defeat all evil.
The third son Chaofeng:
Chaofeng, shaped like a beast, is the third child. He was both dangerous and hopeful in his life. The beast on the corner of the hall is his portrait. These animals lined up in a single line, standing upright at the front of the vertical ridge. The leader of the animals was an "immortal" riding a bird, followed in order by: dragon, phoenix, lion, Pegasus, seahorse, Suan Ni, Xiu fish, Haechi, Bullfighting, and entertainment. Chaofeng is the second one. There is a strict hierarchical system for their placement. Only the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing can have all ten of them. These 10 mythical beasts mean "perfection", and the number of secondary halls must be reduced accordingly. Chaofeng not only symbolizes good luck, beauty and majesty, but also has the meaning of deterring demons and eliminating disasters. The placement of the mocking wind makes the shape of the entire palace both strict and varied, achieving the harmony of solemnity and vividness, the unity of grandeur and exquisiteness. It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the towering palace.
But Chaofeng itself is a collection of disasters. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and sky flames are all the power of Chaofeng. Legend has it that mocking the wind was Pangu's heart. Its shape is often used as decoration on the corners of the palace. The placement of the mocking wind makes the shape of the entire palace both strict and varied, achieving the harmony of solemnity and vividness, the unity of grandeur and exquisiteness. It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the towering palace. Four quotes from "Yuanjian Leihan·Linjie·Long" (Ming Dynasty Chen Renxi) "Qian Que (Ju) Lei Shu": "Dragon gave birth to nine sons,... he mocked the wind and liked danger, and he was on the corner of the palace."
< p>Fourth son Pulao:Pulao, shaped like a coiled dragon, ranks fourth. He sang and roared all his life. The dragon-shaped animal button on the bell is his portrait. It turns out that Pulao lives by the sea. Although he is a dragon, he has always been afraid of the huge whale. When a whale attacks, it roars loudly in fear to drive the whale away. According to the characteristics of "good nature" and "every bell wants to make a loud sound", people cast Pulao as a bell button and made the wooden pestle for ringing the bell into the shape of a whale. When ringing the bell, let the whale hit Pulao again and again, making it "ring into the sky" and "sound alone and far away". Nowadays, almost every ancient bell in the country has a figure of Pulao.
Five sons Suanni:
Suanni, also known as Jin Ni and Ling Ni, looks like a lion and ranks fifth. Although it looks fierce, it likes to be quiet and does not like to move. It likes to sit. , also liked fireworks, so the foot decorations on the Buddha's throne and the incense burner were his portraits. According to legend, this kind of suan Ni decorated on the Buddha's seat was introduced to China by Indians in the Han Dynasty. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it had been widely used in Buddhist art in my country. This shape was created by Chinese folk artists and gave it a unique The traditional Chinese style, which later became Longzi's Lao Wu, was mostly placed in front of statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sitting in lotus position or crossing their legs. The dragon-shaped decoration in the middle of the collar of the stone lion or bronze lion during the Ming and Qing Dynasties is also the image of Suanni, which makes the traditional Chinese door lion guarding the door more open and majestic. Suanni is also used as the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Today, in Mount Wutai, the monastery of Manjushri Bodhisattva, there is still a temple where the ancients worshiped Suan Ni. Because Suan Ni ranked fifth, this temple is also called the "Wuye Temple".
Liuzi Baxia:
Baxia, also known as Bixi, looks like a turtle and is the sixth son. He was fond of carrying heavy loads throughout his life and had great strength. The turtle crotch under the stele is his portrait. The first legend is that in ancient times, Baxia often carried three mountains and five mountains on his back, making waves in rivers, lakes and seas. Later, Dayu conquered it when he was controlling floods. It obeyed Yu's command, pushed mountains and dug ditches, and dredged rivers, making contributions to flood control. After the flood was controlled, Dayu was worried that Ba Xia would go wild again, so he moved a very large stone monument standing high in the sky, on which was engraved the traces of Ba Xia's flood control, and asked Ba Xia to carry it on his back. The heavy stone monument made it unable to walk casually. Basia and tortoises are very similar, but there are differences upon closer inspection. Basia has a row of teeth, while tortoises do not. The number and shape of the carapace of Baxia and tortoises are also different. Baxia, also known as stone turtle, is a symbol of longevity and good luck. It always held its head forward with difficulty, holding on to its four feet desperately, struggling to move forward, but it could never move away. The bases of some of my country's most prominent stone monuments are carried by Ba Xia, which can be seen in the Forest of Steles and some historical sites.
Seventh Son Biyan:
Bifan, also known as Charter, looks like a tiger and is the seventh son. He was prone to litigation, but he was also powerful. The tiger head-shaped decoration on the upper part of the prison door is his portrait. Legend has it that Bifan is not only eager for justice and speaks out for justice, but also can distinguish right from wrong and make impartial decisions. In addition, its image is majestic. Therefore, in addition to being decorated on the prison door, it also crouched on both sides of the lobby of the government office to pay tribute to those who committed adultery. People who commit crimes are extremely intimidating.
Whenever the yamen chief sits in the court, his image appears on the top of the chief executive's title plate and the silence card. He looks around and looks around to maintain the solemnity and uprightness of the court. In ancient times, the doors of prisons were engraved with the head of a tiger, so the prison was also commonly known as "Tiger Head Prison" among the people.
The Eighth Son Fuxi:
The Eighth Son, Fuxi, has a body like a dragon and a head like a lion. He is the eighth eldest son and is good at writing. He is another one of the dragons who loves elegance - Zhu Ai calligraphy.
The Wenlong figures on both sides of the stele are his portraits. Our country's stone tablets have a long history and are rich in content. Some of them are simple in shape, smooth and bright, and the light is discernible; some are exquisitely carved, with graceful words and vivid writing; some are famous poems and stone carvings, which are popular among people. , praised throughout the ages. Fuyi liked this kind of inscriptions that shone with artistic brilliance very much. He was willing to turn them into patterned dragons to set off these handed down literary treasures, making the base of the stele more elegant and beautiful. They are coiled around each other and seem to be slowly squirming. Together with the base of the base, it looks even more spectacular.
Nine Sons of Chiki:
Chiki, also known as Chiki, is said to have the head of a dragon and the body of a fish. Its form first appeared in the "Bai Liang Hall" built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. "superior. At that time, some ministers suggested that there is a fish in the sea with a tail like an owl, that is, an owl. It can spray waves and rain. You might as well put its image on the palace to protect the palace from fire. Emperor Wu agreed. When the main hall was completed, officials rushed to ask what was on the ridge of the palace. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't know how to answer, so he named it "鸱tail" after its tail that looked like an owl. Later, it gradually evolved into the homophonic "Chi Kiss". ". It is also said that around the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "Moji Fish" from India was introduced with Buddhism. It is the object under the seat of the rain god in Buddhist scriptures and can extinguish fire. Therefore, the chi kiss was transformed from this, so it is often placed at both ends of the roof ridge to eliminate disasters and extinguish fires. The dragon-shaped spine-swallowing beast is Lao Jiu, with a loud mouth and a habit of swallowing all his life. The curly-tailed dragon heads at both ends of the temple ridge are his portrait. "Taiping Yulan" has the following account: "In the Tang Hui Dynasty, after the disaster in the Liang Palace of the Han Dynasty, Yue Wu said, 'There are fish and turtles in the sea, with tails like owls, and strong waves will cause rainfall.' So he made his image on the tail to show the auspiciousness of the fire." "The "Witch" mentioned in the article refers to alchemists, and "Yuqiu" is the predecessor of Chiki. Chiki is water-based, so use it as a slaying agent to ward off fire.
White Tiger
Among the Four Sacred Beasts of China, another one that is often compared to the dragon is the tiger; the tiger is the leader of all beasts, and its majesty and legendary surrender The ability of the ghost makes it become a divine beast belonging to the yang, and it often goes out with the dragon. "Cloud follows the dragon, wind follows the tiger" becoming the best pair of partners to conquer the ghost.
The white tiger is also the god of war and killing. The white tiger has many magical powers such as avoiding evil, warding off disasters, praying for prosperity and punishing evil, promoting good deeds, making wealth, and getting married. And it is one of the four spirits, and of course it is also made of stars. Among the twenty-eight constellations, there are seven in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Xi, and Shen. Therefore, it is the representative of the West, and its white color is because it is the West. The West belongs to gold among the five elements, and its color is white. So it is called White Tiger not because it is white, but because of the five elements.
Feng Shui
In addition to the four spirits in Taoism including the green dragon and white tiger, when a Feng Shui master is exploring a cemetery, the protruding terrain on the left and right in front of the terrain can be used as a tomb. Each place has a unique title, called Qinglong on the left and White tiger on the right, which means to protect them. The public hall also has the same decoration, with green dragons and hundreds of tigers painted on the left and right pillars to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, dragon and tiger were borrowed as the terminology of Taoist alchemy, which refers to the synonyms of "lead and mercury, Kanli, water and fire, yin and yang", etc. Taoist alchemy is divided into internal and external (internal elixir for refining qi and external elixir for refining elixirs. The author is not very knowledgeable and I am not sure). In terms of yin and yang and the five elements, inner elixir is based on yin and yang and the five elements. Dragon and yang are born from Li, and Li belongs to fire, so it is said that "dragon follows fire" "Li Chu", tiger yin, is born in the ridge, and kan is water, so it is said that "the tiger is born by the water". After the two are combined, one yin and one yang harmonize with each other, which is called the Tao. They are both the soul and the essence. representative. Another way of saying it is that nature belongs to wood, and wood represents the east, and it is in the hexagram Zhen, so it is compared to a green dragon; love belongs to gold, and gold represents the west, and it is dui in the hexagram, and gold is white, so it is called a white tiger. Metal can overcome wood, so emotions can damage nature. If you use the true essence of Erba to combine them into one, then metal and wood will be seamless, and dragons and tigers will form elixirs by themselves. In the human body, the liver is the dragon and the kidneys are the elixir. Tiger, while Waidan still takes the meaning of yin and yang, with dragon as lead and tiger as mercury.
In the minds of ancient people, tigers are both terrifying and respectable things. The scary thing is that it can eat humans and animals. What is admirable is that it is extremely powerful and can ward off evil spirits.
And in some ancient books, such as "Customs and Customs. Sacrificial Code" written by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "If a tiger is painted on the door, ghosts will not dare to enter", "Tiger is a masculine object and the leader of all beasts." Able to hold on, crush sharp objects, and eat ghosts and ghosts. Today, when a soldier encounters a bad situation, he burns the skin of a tiger and drinks it. Hitting its claws can also ward off evil. This is the test. ’ The ancients also believed that the white tiger was an auspicious sign: ‘The most virtuous bird and beast. ’
Origin
The original Western Star Gods were bears and owls, but later the totems of the ancient Qiang people changed from bears to dragons. And when the Yellow Emperor developed eastward, the dragon totem was brought to the east and merged with the "Eastern Blue Dragon Constellation", and the red bird became the new home of the phoenix totem in the kingdom of heaven when the south was unified. Due to the fusion of the two major tribes, Finally it became 'dragon and phoenix present auspiciousness'. As an ancient totem, it is an east phoenix and a west dragon; as an astrology, it is an east blue dragon and a west red bird. After the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was formally established and the Five Elements thought matured. The celestial images were re-divided, and the red bird was placed in the south and worshiped together with the Zhurong Fire God. In the West, white tigers are worshiped. In the tribal struggle and migration, the dragon in the northwest moves eastward, the phoenix in the east moves south, and the tiger in the south moves north. The whole country shows a great turnover concept movement. By the Han Dynasty, the concept of the Five Elements had become a unified thought, and Xuanwu was added to complete the "God of the Four Directions" package.
In the ancient "Historical Records. Tiangong Shu", "Canglong in the East Palace, Zhuniao in the South, Xianchi in the West Palace, and Xuanwu in the North Palace." ’ What’s here is not the White Tiger, but the Xianchi. Xianchi is the star of grains and autumn. Since grains are harvested in autumn, it is placed in autumn. But it is not an animal. How can it be matched with dragons, birds and turtles to form the four spirits? In "Justice": "The three stars of Xianchi are among the five chariots, the sky is in the south, and the fish and birds are there." ’ Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, a question was raised: ‘Canglong, Zhuniao, and Xuanwu are all divided into seven constellations. As for Xianchi, there is another star, which is outside the twenty-eight constellations. There is another explanation for Xianchi, which is a place where the sun bathes. In "Huainanzi. Astronomical Chapter": "The sun rises in Yanggu, bathes in the salty pond, and brushes against the hibiscus. This is called morning brightness." It can be seen that Xianchi was originally regarded as the place where the sun rises by the Qiang people. Xianchi is also an alkaline lake, which should be a lake in the Minshan area or Qinghai. This proves that the star palaces and celestial phenomena worshiped by primitive people do not yet have the concept of green dragons and white tigers. In "Book of Rites. Liyun" it is said: 'Lin, phoenix, turtle, dragon, are called the four spirits. ’ Replace Xianchi, which is not an animal, with Qilin. In later generations, it was customary to have a lin among the four spirits and a tiger among the four elephants.
And because the white tiger is the god of war, many fierce generals are said to be white tiger stars throughout the world, such as: Tang Dynasty generals Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui and his son. In addition, the white tiger was absorbed by Taoism and deified, becoming the door god of various temples.
Suzaku
Suzaku can also be said to be a phoenix or black bird. Suzaku is one of the four spirits. Like the other three spirits, it comes from the stars and is the general name of the seven stars in the south: Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Zhang, Yi, and Zhen. When I think of it, it's Suzaku. Zhu is red, like fire, and the south belongs to fire, so it is called Phoenix. It also has the property of being reincarnated from the fire, just like the phoenix in the West, so it is also called the Fire Phoenix.
Phoenix is ??a divine bird, the king of birds. The ancients said that the male is called Feng and the female is called Huang. From then on, the phoenix was collectively called; and later, when the dragon and phoenix matched, the phoenix became the synonym for the concubine in the palace. According to mythology, the phoenix evolved from the bird totem of the Yin people in the East. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas." The Great Wilderness Western Classic mentions a colorful bird with three names: the emperor bird, the red bird, and the phoenix bird.
Origin
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas." The Nanci Sanjing records a bird that looks like a chicken and has colorful patterns, called the Phoenix. It shows that the image of Phoenix is ??very beautiful from the beginning. Later, like the image of the dragon, it became more and more complex, with a Hong head, a lin buttocks, a snake neck, a fish tail, a dragon pattern, a turtle body, a swallow's chin, and a chicken's mouth. (See "Huainanzi. Lanming") It won't live in anything that isn't a parasol tree, and it won't eat anything that isn't a bamboo tree. (See "Poetry. Daya. Volume") It sings and dances by itself. Seeing it means peace in the world. He is the leader of the flock and has tens of thousands of followers. The phoenix died on a mountain. Birds come here every July or August to mourn it. They don't disperse until seventeen or eight days, so the mountain is called "Mourning Mountain". (See "Shui Jing Zhu Wei Wen Lu. Bird Diao") The phoenix is ??the combination and sublimation of the styles of hundreds of birds. Its original form is nothing more than the four major categories of Yang bird, eagle, peacock and chicken. People in northern China worship the eagle, the king of birds.
The phoenix was finalized and standardized after the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, which caused great changes in our original phoenix with chicken and bird as its basic forms, especially the pair of powerful wings. , the eagle posture is prominent.
The phoenix that we often see in artworks today is actually an image after the Qing Dynasty, which combines a pheasant tail, a chicken body, a cockscomb, an eagle's eyes, an eagle's talons, an eagle's neck, a peacock's feathers, and a mandarin duck's feathers. Its tone is not as permanent and stable as that of the dragon.
Suzaku, the seven constellations in the south - ghost, star, willow, well, wing, Zhen and Zhang.
Symbol
According to records in ancient books, the phoenix is ??a beautiful bird, and with its singing and appearance it is the king of birds. It can bring auspiciousness to the world. At the same time, it also has the special spirituality of "it will not live unless it is a parasol tree, it will not eat unless it is a bamboo tree, and it will not drink unless it is a sweet spring". Since it is the length of a "feather insect", the dragon that is as long as a "scale insect" has gradually become a dragon in the legend. As a pair, one has many changes and the other has good virtues, they have become a complementary pair in folk customs. Moreover, because the dragon symbolizes the solstice of the sun, and the phoenix (the phoenix is ??the male and the female is the phoenix) which originally has yin and yang, is following the After the dragon phase, it gradually became the representative of pure yin.
There are many original forms of the Phoenix. Such as golden pheasants, peacocks, eagles, swans, black birds (swallows), etc... It is also said that they were transformed into the Buddhist roc Garuda. The phoenix mentioned in the Phoenix myth has the head of a chicken, the chin of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, and has five-color patterns. There are five kinds of phoenixes, divided by color: red is the phoenix, green is the phoenix, white is the swan, and there are yellow and purple.
The explanation of the black bird comes from the "Book of Songs. Ode to Shang. Xuannio": "The black bird of destiny descended and gave birth to Shang, and its Yin earth shines brightly." The ancient emperor ordered Wutang and Zhengyu to be in all directions. ’, the descendants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties said that their ancestor Qi was born from Xuanniao and established a powerful Shang Dynasty. Therefore, Xuanniao became the founder of merchants. "Historical Records. Yin Benji" also records this period of history: "Yin Qi's mother was called Jian Di, and she had a daughter named Rong Di, who was the emperor's second concubine... The three of them were bathing when they saw a black bird following its eggs. Jian Di Di took it and swallowed it, and a contract was born due to pregnancy. ’ In addition to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States Period, the Shizi of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the Shizi of Xinluo in Korea were also related to fairies swallowing black bird eggs. Regardless of whether it is a black bird or a phoenix, following the development of Taoism, it was transformed from a bird, or a peacock, or a pheasant, etc... first into a half-human, half-bird fairy who taught the art of war to a complete Human fairies all follow the development of Taoism.
In the past, there were three temples dedicated to Xuannv in Beijing, called Jiutian Niangniang Temple and Xuannv Temple. There are also Xuannv temples in the north and south.
Xuanwu
Xuanwu is a spiritual creature composed of a turtle and a snake. The original meaning of Xuanwu is Xuanming, and the ancient sounds of Wu and Ming are connected. Xuan means black; Ming means yin. Xuanming originally described turtle divination: the back of the turtle is black, and turtle divination is to ask the turtle to go to the underworld to ask the ancestors, bring the answer back, and show it to the world in the form of divination. Therefore, the earliest Xuanwu was the turtle. Later, the meaning of Xuan Ming continued to expand. Turtles live in rivers, lakes and seas (including turtles), so Xuan Ming became the god of water; turtles live long, and Xuan Ming became a symbol of immortality; the original underworld was in the north, and the oracle bone divination of the Yin and Shang Dynasties stated that "the divination must be northward", So Xuan Ming became the Northern God again.
Like the other three spirits, Xuanwu is also transformed from the twenty-eight constellations in the world: Dou, Ox, Female, Xu, Danger, Room, and Wall. People after ancient times have the following interpretations of Xuanwu. ‘Xuanwu’ means turtle. "Book of Rites. Qu Li Shang" says: "OK, the first is Zhuniao and then the Xuanwu..." "Xuanwu" is the turtle and snake. "Chu Ci. Yuan Yu" Hong Xingzu added annotation: "Xuanwu means turtle and snake." It is located in the north, so it is called Xuan. The body has scales and armor, so it is called Wu. ‘Xuanwu’ is the fusion of snakes, the intersection of turtles and snakes.
Origin
People in ancient times had the following interpretations of Xuanwu. "Xuanwu" means turtle. "Book of Rites." "Qu Li Shang" says: "Okay, first Zhuniao and then Xuanwu..." "Xuanwu" means turtle and snake. "Chu Ci." An additional note by Hong Xingzu of "Yuanyou": "Xuanwu means turtle and snake. It is located in the north, so it is called Xuan. It has scales and armor on its body, so it is called Wu. "Xuanwu" is a combination of snakes, a turtle and a snake.
But Xuanwu was upgraded by later Taoist priests to become the great emperor of the north - Emperor Zhenwu. It is different from the other three spirits. The other Qinglong and Baihu only became the door gods of the mountain temple, while Suzaku became the Nine Heavens Mystery Girl.
Zhang Heng's "Si Xuan Fu" in Volume 15 of "Selected Works" says: "Xuanwu lives in the shell, and the snake winds and corrects itself." ’ Li Shan noted: ‘The cross between a turtle and a snake is called Xuanwu. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Wang Liang": "Chi Fu Fu" says: "Wang Liang Zhuheng made Xuanwu." ’’ Li Xian noted: ‘Suwu, the god of the north, is a combination of a tortoise and a snake. ’ ‘Xuanwu’ is the god of water and the god of the north. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Wang Liang": "Xuanwu, the name of the water god."
’ Volume 6 of "Revisiting the Collection of Weishu": "Born from Xuanwu in the north,... controls the north and governs wind and rain. ’
Symbol
Xuanwu was upgraded by later Taoist priests to become the great emperor of the north, "Emperor Zhenwu". It is different from the other three spirits. The other Qinglong and Baihu only became the door gods of the mountain temple, while Zhuniao became Youtian Xuannv.
Xuanwu's status increased in the Song Dynasty and was personified. This is inseparable from the fact that the emperors of the Song Dynasty added fuel to the flames. At the time of Taizu in the early Song Dynasty, there were legends that Zhenwu, Tianpeng and others were the generals of heaven. In the first year of Tianxi reign of Emperor Wei Zhenzong, something happened in the military camp. In Volume 7 of "Shijiyuan": "If a soldier in the camp sees a snake, the sergeant will build a true martial arts hall because of it." In the leap month of the second year, a spring gushed down the side of the hall, and it was inexhaustible. People who were sick were healed by drinking more. ’ Zhenzong heard about this and issued an edict to build a temple on the spot and named it ‘Xiangyuan’. This is probably the earliest Zhenwu Temple in China.
The life experience of Emperor Zhenwu is mostly said by later generations to be during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. The Jade Emperor reincarnated one of his three souls into the Queen of Zhuole Kingdom. He hated the world and gave up his throne to practice on Mount Wudang. , successfully ascended and guarded the north, named Xuanwu.