Does the Forbidden City have a legendary beast?

The Green Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird and the Xuanwu, the four traditional Chinese mythical beasts

Ancient China considered the unicorn, the phoenix, the tortoise and the dragon to be spiritual animals, and therefore called them the Four Spirits as a sign of good fortune. In fact, except for the tortoise, the other three are legendary animals.

The body of the unicorn is like a deer, covered with scales and armor all over its body; it has a single horn on its head with a ball of flesh on its horn, its feet are like a horse's hoof, and its tail is like a cow's tail. The unicorn is a benevolent beast with virtue in the legend, and all the emperors have regarded it as a symbol of peace and prosperity. In Beijing, the unicorn can be found cast in bronze or chiseled in stone in the emperor's residence and gardens, such as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. In the folklore, the Qilin is also highly valued. During the Chinese New Year, people in the south of the Yangtze River in China often carry paper-made Qilin to perform in front of their houses to express their good wishes. In addition, there is a legend that the unicorn sends off children, which symbolizes a good son or grandson, and also expresses the wish for a good son or grandson. Because of these reasons, the unicorn is regarded as a good-luck symbol by the Chinese and is widely used in folklore.

The phoenix has a very noble image, with its beautiful crown and colorful feathers, it is the king of birds imagined by combining the characteristics of many beautiful birds and animals. The phoenix is a legendary Chinese bird that signifies good fortune, peace and political clarity. Like the dragon, the phoenix was used by successive emperors as a symbol of power and dignity. Phoenix crowns, phoenix carriages and other things related to the phoenix were used only by royalty and immortals. However, later on, the phoenix became a good-luck symbol for the common people in folklore as well. Especially in traditional Chinese weddings, the phoenix became a decoration on the bride's gowns and headdresses, representing good luck and festivity. The phoenix is also widely used in traditional folk motifs and patterns, signifying good fortune and peace. The phoenix is also often combined with other auspicious objects to form tattoos, such as "dragon and phoenix presenting auspiciousness" and "phoenix and ki presenting auspiciousness", which are also symbols of good luck.

The tortoise is the only animal that exists among the four spirits, and it is also the longevity star with the longest lifespan among all animals. People not only regard the tortoise as a symbol of long and healthy life, but also believe that it has the spirit of foretelling the future. In ancient times, whenever a major event before the sorcerer has to burn the tortoise armor, and then according to the tortoise armor on the burst lines to divine good or bad luck. Therefore, people called the tortoise "divine tortoise" and "spiritual electricity". Tortoises were once greatly respected in China, and in the palaces, mansions and tombs of ancient emperors, there were tortoises carved in stone or cast in bronze to symbolize the longevity of the country's fortunes. Many people are willing to use the word "turtle" in their names, such as "turtle year" and "turtle age".

The dragon is China's greatest deity and the greatest good-luck symbol. People are familiar with the image of the dragon, but no one has ever seen a real one. The dragon with the phoenix and the unicorn, is also people's imagination out of the animal, it has a bull's head, antlers, shrimp eyes, eagle's claw, snake body and lion's tail, the whole body is also full of scales and armor, is a composite of a variety of animals. In people's imagination, the dragon can not only walk on land, can also swim in the water, flying in the clouds, full of infinite power. For thousands of years, feudal emperors took it as a symbol of power and dignity, and ordinary people also considered it as the embodiment of virtue and strength, and an auspicious object. In China, you can see the image of the dragon everywhere, palaces, temples on the ridge, the royal utensils everywhere engraved with dragons, painted dragons; the people in the celebration of the day also want to post the pattern of the dragon, but also dance dragon lanterns, rowing a dragon boat, to the child's name is also willing to use the word "dragon". Dragon as the "four spirits" in the largest auspicious objects, and gradually become a symbol of the Chinese nation.