Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Mythological creatures in Chinese constellations}} {{for|the Led Zeppelin album sometimes called "Four Symbols"|Led Zeppelin IV}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2012}} {{Chinese |title=Four Symbols |pic=Four_Symbols.svg |piccap=In clockwise order: Black Tortoise of the North, Azure Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South and White Tiger of the West. |l=Four Images |c={{linktext|四象}} |p=Sì Xiàng |j= |y= |poj= |kanji=四象 |hiragana=ししょう |revhep=Shishō |kunrei=Shishō |hangul=사상 |rr= |hanja=四象 |qn=Tứ tượng |chuhan=四象 }} {{Chinese | title = Four Gods | pic = | piccap = | l = | c = {{linktext|四神}} | p = | j = | y = | poj = | kanji = 四神 | hiragana = しじん | revhep = Shijin | kunrei = Shijin | hangul = 사신 | rr = Sashin | hanja = 四神 | qn =Tứ Thánh Thú | chuhan =四聖獣 }} The '''Four Symbols''' ({{zh|c=四象|p=Sì Xiàng}}, literally meaning "four images"), are four [[Chinese mythology|mythological]] creatures appearing among the [[Chinese constellations]] along the [[ecliptic]], and viewed as the guardians of the four [[cardinal directions]]. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, including "'''Four Guardians'''", "'''Four Gods'''", and "'''Four Auspicious Beasts'''". They are the [[Azure Dragon]] of the East, the [[Vermilion Bird]] of the South, the [[White Tiger (mythology)|White Tiger]] of the West, and the [[Black Tortoise]] (also called "Black Warrior") of the North. Each of the creatures is most closely associated with a cardinal direction and a [[Color in Chinese culture|color]], but also additionally represents other aspects, including a season of the year, an emotion, virtue, and one of the Chinese [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|"five elements"]] (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Each has been given its own individual traits, origin story and a reason for being. Symbolically, and as part of spiritual and religious belief and meaning, these creatures have been culturally important across countries in the [[East Asian cultural sphere]]. ==History== Depictions of mythological creatures clearly ancestral to the modern set of four creatures have been found throughout China. Currently, the oldest known depiction was found in 1987 in a tomb in [[Xishuipo]] (西水坡) in [[Puyang]], [[Henan]], which has been dated to approximately 5300 BC. In the tomb, labeled M45, immediately adjacent to the remains of the main occupant to the east and west were found mosaics made of clam shells and bones forming images closely resembling the Azure Dragon and White Tiger, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=西水坡遺址里的圖案擺放，預示著古代某種神秘的星象 |url=https://kknews.cc/history/op8934p.html|website=KK News|date=2018-04-30|access-date=2019-09-18|language=zh-tw}}</ref> The modern standard configuration was settled much later, with variations appearing throughout Chinese history. For example, the ''[[Rongcheng Shi]]'' manuscript recovered in 1994, which dates to the [[Warring States Period]] (ca. 453–221 BCE), gives five directions rather than four and places the animals differently. According to that document, [[Yu the Great]] gave directional banners to his people, marked with the following insignia: the north with a [[bird]], the south with a [[snake]], the east with the sun, the west with the moon, and the center with a [[bear]].<ref>Pines, Yuri. "[http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/Rong%20Cheng%20shi%20BSOAS.pdf Political Mythology and Dynastic Legitimacy in the ''Rong Cheng Shi'' Manuscript] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425122636/http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/Rong%20Cheng%20shi%20BSOAS.pdf|date=2012-04-25}}". ''Bulletin of SOAS'', Vol. '''73''', No. 3 (2010), p. 515.</ref> In [[Taoism]], the Four Symbols have been assigned human identities and names. The [[Azure Dragon]] is named Meng Zhang ({{lang|zh|孟章}}), the [[Vermilion Bird]] is called Ling Guang ({{lang|zh|陵光}}), the [[White Tiger (China)|White Tiger]] Jian Bing ({{lang|zh|監兵}}), and the [[Black Tortoise]] Zhi Ming ({{lang|zh|執明}}). The colours associated with the four creatures can be said to match the colours of soil in the corresponding areas of China: the bluish-grey water-logged soils of the east, the reddish iron-rich soils of the south, the whitish saline soils of the western deserts, the black organic-rich soils of the north, and the yellow soils from the central loess plateau.<ref>{{cite book |first1=N. |last1=Brady |first2=R. |last2=Weil |title=Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soil |year=2014 |page=89}}</ref> == In I Ching == The Four Symbols are closely connected with the yin-yang philosophy.{{cn|date=July 2021}} [[Fuxi]] explained the Four Symbols as one of the stages of the creation of the world, in the following way:{{cn|date=July 2021}} [[File:Si Xiang digramms-yao.png|thumb|''Four images'' as Taijitu and digrams-yao]] {| class="wikitable" style="padding: 5px;" |- |style="width: 100px;" |{{lang|zh|<poem>無極生有極、 有極是太極， 太極生兩儀， 即陰陽； 兩儀生四象： 即少陰、太陰、 少陽、太陽； 四象演八卦， 八八六十四卦。</poem>}} |<poem>{{transl|zh|Wújí shēng yǒu jí, yǒu jí shì tàijí, Tàijí shēng liǎngyí, jí yīnyáng; Liǎngyí shēng sìxiàng: jí shǎo yīn, tàiyīn, shǎo yáng, tàiyang; Sìxiàng yǎn bāguà, bābāliù shísì guà.}}</poem> |<poem>The Limitless ({{lang|zh|無極}}; ''[[Wuji (philosophy)|wuji]]'') produces the delimited ({{lang|zh|有極}}; ''youji''), and this ''demarcation'' is equivalent to the Absolute ({{lang|zh|太極}}; ''[[Taiji (philosophy)|taiji]]''). The ''Taiji'' (the two opposing forces in embryonic form) produces two forms, named ''[[yin and yang|yin-yang]]'' ({{lang|zh|陰陽}}) (which are called ''Liangyi'' (the manifested opposing forces)). These two forms produce four formative [[phenomena]]: named lesser yin ({{lang|zh|少陰}}, ''shaoyin''), greater yin ({{lang|zh|太陰}}; ''taiyin'', which also refers to the [[Moon]]), lesser yang ({{lang|zh|陽}}, ''shaoyang''), and greater yang ({{lang|zh|太陽}}; ''taiyang'', which also refers to the [[Sun]]). The ''four phenomena'' ({{lang|zh|四象}}; ''Sìxiàng'') act on the eight trigrams ({{lang|zh|八卦}}; ''Bagua''), eight 'eights' results in sixty-four [[I Ching#Hexagrams|hexagrams]].</poem> |- |} ==Correspondence with the Five Phases== [[File:Five cardinal directions, a pottery tile of the Han Dynasty, Cernuschi Museum, 2006-08-12.jpg|upright|thumb|A Han-dynasty pottery tile emblematically representing the five cardinal directions]] {{Further|Category:Locations in Chinese mythology|Chinese mythological geography}} [[File:Bronze mirror with cosmological decoration from the Belitung shipwreck, ArtScience Museum, Singapore - 20110618.jpg|thumb|Bronze mirror with cosmological decoration from the [[Belitung shipwreck]], including [[Bagua]] and the Four Auspicious Beasts]] These mythological creatures have also been syncretized into the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Five Phases system]] (''Wuxing''). The Azure Dragon of the East represents Wood, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents Fire, the White Tiger of the West represents Metal, and the Black Tortoise (or Black Warrior) of the North represents Water. In this system, the fifth principle Earth is represented by the [[Yellow Dragon|Yellow Dragon of the Center]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations |edition=3rd |last1=Schirokauer |first1=Conrad |last2=Brown |first2=Miranda |year=2005 |isbn=0-534-64307-8}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" !Four Auspicious Beasts!!Five directions!!Five seasons!!Five colors!![[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Wuxing]]!!Four Symbols!!Yao!!Five Gods |- |[[Azure Dragon]]||[[East]]||[[Spring (season)|Spring]]||[[Green]]||[[Wood]]||Young yang||⚎||[[Goumang]] |- |[[Vermilion Bird]]||[[South]]||[[Summer]]||[[Red]]||[[Fire]]||Old yang||⚌||[[Zhurong]] |- |[[White Tiger (mythology)|White Tiger]]||[[West]]||[[Autumn]]||[[White]]||[[Metal]]||Young yin||⚍||[[Rushou]] |- |[[Black Tortoise]]||[[North]]||[[Winter]]||[[Black]]||[[Water]]||Old yin||⚏||[[Xuanming]] |- |[[Yellow Dragon]] or [[Qilin]]||Central||Midsummer||[[Yellow]]||[[Earth]]||||||[[Houtu]] |} === Correspondence with seasons and times=== The four beasts each represent a season and time of day. The Azure Dragon of the East represents spring with its time of day being Dawn, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents summer and midday, the White Tiger of the West represents autumn therefore dusk, and lastly the Black Tortoise of the North represents winter with its respective time of day being midnight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html |title=The Hidden or Implied Meaning of Chinese Charm Symbols – 諧音寓意 – Differences between Chinese Coins and Chinese Charms |date=16 November 2016 |access-date=22 May 2018 |first=Gary |last=Ashkenazy |website=Primaltrek.com |language=en}}</ref> ==See also== *[[Chinese astrology]] *[[Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri|Four Dwarves (Norse Mythology)]] *[[Four Heavenly Kings]] *[[Four Holy Beasts]], the Vietnamese version *[[Living creatures (Bible)|Four Living Creatures]] *[[Four Mountains]] *[[Four Seas]] *[[Four sons of Horus]] *[[Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór|Four Stags (Norse Mythology)]] *[[Four temperaments]] *[[Purple Forbidden enclosure]] *[[Royal stars]] *[[Tetramorph]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060316014110/http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/constellation28.html 28 Chinese Asterisms] {{Chinese mythology}} {{Chinese constellations}} [[Category:Four Symbols| ]] [[Category:Chinese astrological signs]] [[Category:Chinese constellations]] [[Category:Chinese legendary creatures]] [[Category:Chinese mythology]] [[Category:Cultural lists|4 Four Symbols]]'