The four ancient mythical beasts are the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, and the Xuanwu. None of them have owners
The four beasts are integrated into the five elements and directions, represented by different colors: cyan in the east is wood, white in the west is gold, The red in the south is fire, the black in the north is water, and the yellow in the center is earth. Another "Huainanzi" mentions that the yellow dragon, one of the five dragons, is located in the center and is the leader of the four beasts.
The so-called number of days is: Qinglong on the left, white tiger on the right, Suzaku in the front, and Xuanwu in the back. Therefore, if you are in the shadow in the hall, you can know the order of the sun and the moon; if you see the ice in the bottle, you can know the cold and heat of the world. ?
In ancient China, the stars in the sky were divided into seven star regions: "Three Yuan" and "Four Symbols". The so-called "Yuan" means "city wall". ?The three walls are arranged in a triangle around the North Star. There are "four elephants" distributed around the "Three Walls": "East Canglong, West White Tiger, South Suzaku, and North Xuanwu". ?
In other words, the stars in the east are like a dragon, the stars in the west are like a tiger, the stars in the south are like a big bird, and the stars in the north are like turtles and snakes. As the earth orbits the sun, the stars in the sky change with the seasons. Every evening at the turn of winter and spring, the black dragon appears; at the turn of spring and summer, the basalt rises; at the turn of summer and autumn, the white tiger appears; at the turn of autumn and winter, the red bird rises, collectively known as the "four great beasts". ?
In addition, the four major mythical beasts are also the four beasts among the "six beasts" corresponding to the six lines of the Zhouyi hexagrams, collectively referred to as the "six gods", namely Qinglong, Suzaku, Gouchen, Soaring Snake, White Tiger, Xuanwu, in addition to expressing the five elements and directions, also reflects hexagram information.
Extended information:
The four ancient spiritual beasts that are as famous as the four great mythical beasts:
1. Bai Jin
According to legend, Jin was the left protector of Nuwa. After Pangu opened the sky, Nuwa was very lonely, so she made a man out of mud and also made a pair of snake pets for herself. One was Bai Jin as the female, and the other was Tan. Snakes are male. When Nuwa was mending the sky, she didn't have enough colorful stones, so she mended the sky by herself, while white snakes and tan snakes also followed her to mend the sky with their bodies.
According to legend, Bai Suzhen’s mother, she and three other spiritual beasts helped Nuwa eliminate the four divine beasts that were causing harm to the world, and were sent by Nuwa into the mortal world to hunt for treasures and eliminate demons. But she was nostalgic for the scenery of South Vietnam and did not want to return to heaven. After getting rid of Shi Youming, he was named the high priest of Nanyue Kingdom, and finally returned to the fairy world and regained the throne of god.
2. Tan snake
He is the right protector of Nuwa, and is a pair with Bai Jin. Legend has it that he is a flying snake. The allusion of the tangy snake comes from the sentence "The tangy snake flies without legs, and the flying squirrel is poor without skills" in "Xunzi Encouraging Learning". This metaphor is a metaphor that if a person concentrates on doing something, he will eventually succeed. Tan Snake Duo and the Divine Turtle are both called together, so they are also regarded as a clone of Xuanwu. Cao Cao once mentioned the tan snake in his poem "The tan snake rides on the mist and turns to dust in the end".
3. Bai Ze
It is a symbol of auspiciousness in the legend. It is a mythical beast that can turn misfortune into good luck. Bai Ze can also speak human language, and it knows everything about the world. , know the appearance of all things in the world.
According to legend, Baize has the body of a lion, two horns on its head, and a goat-like beard. It was first recorded in Ge Hong’s Baopuzi, not in the Classic of Mountains and Seas as everyone calls it. There is a Baize flag in the army, and some people also name themselves Baize, which is due to warding off evil spirits. It is worshiped as a god of good luck and to ward off evil spirits.
4. Kirin
It is said that it has a gentle temperament and can survive for two thousand years. The ancients said that it is the patron saint of many treasures, so wherever it is found, there must be auspiciousness. It is also a kind of mount of God, used to describe people with outstanding talents and both political integrity and talent. It is recorded in "Book of Rites: Liyun Ninth": "Lin, phoenix, turtle and dragon are called the four spirits".
Looking at his appearance, we can see that he has the head of a lion, the antlers of a deer, the eyes of a tiger, the body of an elk, the scales of a dragon, and the tail of an ox. It can spit fire and the sound is like thunder. And he is also the leader of the Hairy Worms. It can be found in "Song Book", "Shuowen Jiezi" and other documents. Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Divine Beasts