In ancient times, the ancients of our country looked up at the starry sky near the ecliptic and divided the stars near the ecliptic into several regions, called the twenty-eight constellations. They also connected these twenty-eight constellations with the four symbols according to their positions and seasons. The ancients had chosen twenty-eight constellations near the ecliptic and equator as coordinates. Because they are arranged around the four sides of the sun, moon and five stars, very similar to the places where the sun, moon and five stars live, they are called the twenty-eight constellations. According to the position, season and the four signs, it was divided into four palaces, east, south, west and north. Each palace had seven constellations. The seven constellations of each palace were imagined as a kind of animal, which was thought to be "the four spirits of heaven to correct the four directions". Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise (a turtle-shaped god). In fact, the sky was divided into four parts, and each part was formed by connecting the seven main constellations, which were named after their shapes.
In the east, the horns (Wood Jiao), Kang (Golden Dragon), Di (Earth Raccoon Dog), Fang (Sun Rabbit), Xin (Moon Fox), Wei (Fire Tiger), and Ji (Water Leopard) were shaped like dragons, so the Eastern Palace was called Green Dragon or Azure Dragon.
The seven stars of the West, Kui (Wood Wolf), Lou (Golden Dog), Wei (Earth Pheasant), Pleiades (Day Chicken), Bi (Moon Crow), Pi (Fire Monkey), and Shen (Water Ape), were shaped like tigers. The West Palace was called the White Tiger.
In the south, the well (Mu 'an), the ghost (Golden Sheep), the willow (Earth Deer), the star (Sun Horse), the Zhang (Moon Deer), the wing (Fire Snake), and the Zhen (Water Worm) formed a bird shape, called the Vermillion Bird.
In the north, there were seven stars: Dou (Wood), Niu (Golden Bull), Nu (Earth Bat), Xu (Sun Rat), Wei (Moon Swallow), Shi (Fire Pig), and Bi (Water). They were shaped like turtles and were called Xuanwu. Thus, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise became the four gods guarding the Heavenly Palace, repelling evil and adjusting Yin and Yang. [5]
Why did Taoism take the Four Symbols as its guardian gods?
Because the four symbols were originally the guardian gods of the four directions. The " Three Assistant Yellow Map " said that the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise were the four spirits of the sky, and they ruled the four directions. The Green Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, the Vermilion Bird in the front, and the Black Tortoise in the back. The four spiritual beasts guarded the four palaces of the east, west, south, and north. They repelled evil and adjusted Yin and Yang. They were the gods of the four directions.
Later on, the Four Symbols were gradually personified by Taoism, and they were given titles. The Azure Dragon was called the " Meng Zhang Divine Lord ", the White Tiger was called the " Military Supervisor Divine Lord ", and the Rosefinch was called the " Ling Guang Divine Lord ". The Black Tortoise was known as the Divine Lord Zhiming.
'Taishang Yuanshi Tianzun Shuo North Deity Demon Subduing Divine Curse Mystic Scripture':"Zuo Qinglong, Meng Zhang. Mao Wen. The white tiger on the right is called Jianbing. Youwen. The former rosefinch is called Lingguang. At noon. Later, Xuanwu, named Zhiming. Ziwen."
Taoist priests practice Buddhism, there are four elephants to guard,"Taoist Sutra" has "Beidou Seven Yuan Purple Court Yansheng Secret" said, on the left there is a green dragon named Meng Zhang, on the right there is a white tiger named Jianbing, in front there is a rosefinch named Lingguang, behind there is a black tortoise named Zhiming, set up a festival to hold a banner, carry a bell and drum, in front of me, behind me.
The Azure Dragon originated from the worship of the ancient stars. In ancient China, the stars in the sky were divided into seven star regions, the "Three Walls" and the "Four Symbols". The three walls were Ziwei Wall, symbolizing the palace."Taiwei Yuan" symbolizes the administrative organization;"Tianshi Yuan" symbolized the bustling streets. The three walls were arranged in a triangle around the North Star. There were four symbols around the three walls: " East Azure Dragon, West White Tiger, South Vermilion Bird, North Black Tortoise." In other words, the stars in the east were like a dragon. As the earth revolved around the sun, the stars in the sky changed with the seasons. Every evening at the turn of winter and spring, the black dragon would appear.
The dragon was the seven constellations of the east, namely Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji. The shape of these seven constellations was very similar to the shape of a dragon. From the meaning of their words, it could be seen that Jiao was the horn of the dragon, Kang was the neck, Di was the root of the neck, Fang was the shoulder and rib, Xin was the heart, Wei was the tail, and Ji was the end of the tail.
There was also the part in the heart of the dragon that was called a big fire. It was related to Qingyu, and because the green dragon belonged to the wood element, it was also Jupiter's year. After the rise of Daoism, these four spirits were also given names to make it easier for humans to address them. The Azure Dragon was called Meng Zhang, and in many dynasties, some emperors took the Azure Dragon as their year title. For example, Emperor Ming of Wei of the Three Kingdoms was an example. The historical records also stated that the Xia Dynasty belonged to the Mu De dynasty, so he had records of the auspicious signs of the Azure Dragon being born in the suburbs.
On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the Chinese people called it " the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head." It symbolized the return of spring and the revival of all things.
The White Tiger was also the God of War and the God of Slaughter. It originated from the worship of the ancient stars. The white tiger had many divine powers, such as avoiding evil, eliminating disasters, praying for abundance, punishing evil, promoting good, making money, and making a good marriage. It was one of the four spirits, and of course, it was also transformed from a constellation. It was formed by the seven constellations in the west of the twenty-eight Lunar Mansions: Kui, Lou, Wei, Pleiades, Bi, Qi and Shen are formed. Therefore, it was the representative of the West. The reason why it was white was because the West belonged to the gold element in the five elements, and its color was white. Therefore, white came from the five elements.
In addition to the four spirits in Taoism, including the green dragon and white tiger, even when the feng shui master explored the cemetery, the protruding terrain on the left and right sides of the terrain could be used as a tomb. They had a unique name, called the left green dragon and the right white tiger, which meant that they were guards. There were similar decorations in the court. On the left and right pillars, there were green dragons and white tigers to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, the dragon and tiger were used as the Taoist alchemy terms, which referred to " lead and mercury, Kan Li, water and fire, Yin and Yang " and other similar terms. The other theory was that it belonged to wood, which represented the east. The hexagram was Zhen, so it was called Green Dragon. Love belongs to gold, gold represents the west, in the hexagram is dui, gold white, so it is called white tiger. Metal can restrain wood, so human feelings often damage human nature, but with the essence of the true qi of the twenty-eight elements, so that they can combine into one, then metal and wood will be seamless, dragon and tiger will naturally lie down and form elixir. In the human body, the liver will be dragon, the kidney will be tiger, and the outer elixir will still take the meaning of yin and yang, with dragon as lead and tiger as mercury.
In traditional Chinese culture, it was one of the four symbols of the seven constellations of the Western Taoist school. According to the theory of the five elements, it represented the spiritual beast of the West. It was a white tiger and represented the season of autumn. The seven constellations in the west of the twenty-eight constellations (Kui, Lou, Wei, Pleiades, Bi, Qi, Shen) are shaped like tigers. They are located in the west, belong to gold, and are white in color. They are collectively called white tigers.
Among the four sacred beasts of China, the other one that was often mentioned in the same breath as the dragon was the White Tiger. Like the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger was not a tiger.
In Chinese myths and legends, the White Tiger was the God of War and the God of Slaughter. At the same time, the white tiger had many divine powers, such as evading evil, praying for good fortune, punishing evil, and so on. It was one of the four spirits, so it was naturally formed by the stars.
As the White Tiger was the God of War, many fierce generals were said to be the reincarnation of the White Tiger Planet, such as: Tang Dynasty generals Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui and his son.
The Vermilion Bird was one of the Four Symbols in traditional Chinese culture. It was one of the Four Divine Beasts and originated from the worship of the ancient stars. It was a divine beast that represented the south. Its color was red, and it represented summer.
The four mythical beasts were the Vermilion Bird, the Black Tortoise, the Azure Dragon, and the White Tiger. The Vermilion Bird was one of the four spirits. Like the other three, it came from the constellations and was the general name of the seven constellations in the south. Well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing, Zhen.
"Chu Ci·Distant Travel":"Call Xuanwu and run to belong."”Wang Yi's note: "Call the Moon God to protect him."”Hong Xingzu added,"The commentator said: Emperor Xuanwu was called turtle and snake. He was in the north, so he was called Xuan. He had scales on his body, so he was called Wu. Cai Yong said: Xuanwu in the north is the leader of beetles.'"Wenxuan" note: "Tortoise and snake cross for Xuanwu.'Also "Book of Rites·Qu Li" said: Before the line, the vermilion bird is behind the black tortoise.”Kong Yingda said,"Xuanwu is a turtle.”"Later Han Shu·Biography of Wang Liang":"The name of Xuanwu Water God.”Li Xian's note: " Black Tortoise, the god of the north, a combination of turtle and snake.”According to Xuanwu, Xuanwu was Emperor Zhenwu worshiped by Taoism. In Song Dynasty, it was taboo to change Xuanwu into Zhenwu. Later generations of Taoism worshiped Zhenwu, so they put turtle and snake beside it. Tang Dynasty Duan Chengshi wrote "Youyang Zazu·Zhi Nuo Gao Xia":" In the eighth year of Taihe, Taoist Zhu often visited Mount Lu and rested on the rocks in the stream. Suddenly, he saw a coiled turtle like a pile of silk. It became a giant turtle when it was hungry. When he visited the old man in the mountain, he said it was Xuanwu.”It was the legendary transformation of gods and monsters.
"As for my injuries, they were caused by greed a few years ago. A few years ago, I wasn't a Heaven class but a peak Earth class. I kept looking for a way to break through to the Earth class, but I couldn't find it. Later, a group of people came to me and called themselves Xue Yangsha.、
They said that they could help me break through to the Heaven class, and they brought me to a mountain. I found a dying Vermillion Bird, and they said that eating the Vermillion Bird's Monster Core could help me break through to the Heaven class.
However, the backlash followed.
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