What are the four legendary beasts in China? What do they look like? What are the legends and stories?

The four beasts, also known as the four beasts, are Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu, which are the four elephants in the traditional culture of the Han nationality, followed by "East Qinglong, West Baihu, South Suzaku and North Xuanwu".

In oriental legend, the dragon looks like a long snake, the head of a unicorn, the tail of a carp, a long beard, horns like deer and five claws, which is frightening. In western mythology, the dragon is more like a lizard with wings.

White tiger, the god of the west in ancient mythology. The figure is like a tiger and the white tiger is fierce, so it becomes a symbol of dignity. At the same time, the white tiger also symbolizes power and the army, so many places named after the white tiger in ancient times are related to the military, such as the white tiger flag in the ancient army and the white tiger statue on the military symbol.

Suzaku, also known as "Suzaku", looks like a phoenix, the god of the South in ancient mythology. Because it looks like a bird, it is located in the south and has the property of fire, so it often appears in the form of a phoenix in the game. But in fact, Suzaku and Phoenix are two different creatures. Phoenix is the king of birds, but Suzaku is a spirit beast in the sky, which is rarer, nobler and more destructive than Phoenix.

Xuanwu, also called "Zhenwu", commonly known as "Zhenwu Emperor", is the god worshipped by Taoism. According to legend, the prince of Gu Jing Le Wang was born fierce and traveled in the East China Sea. When he met the immortal, he gave him a sword and went to Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province to practice. After 42 years of success, it rose during the day and became the Northern Xuanwu Army of Weizhen.

Extended data:

Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu originated from the belief in the stars in ancient China. In ancient China, the sky was divided into four regions: east, north, west and south, which were called "four elephants", namely, the black dragon in the east, the Xuanwu (tortoise and snake) in the north, the white tiger in the west and the suzaku in the south. This "four elephants" is the image of four animals imagined by the ancients by connecting seven nights in every direction.

For example, in the Oriental Black Dragon, the horns are like dragon horns, the rafters are like dragons, and the tails are like dragon tails. The southern rosefinch is like a bird of hibiscus, with a beak, a star for its neck, a piece of zinc and a feather purlin for its wings. Later, the ancients matched it with yin and yang, five elements, five parties and five colors, so there were Oriental Dragon, Western White Tiger, Southern Suzaku and Northern Xuanwu.

In ancient China, the sky was divided into four palaces, east, west, north and south, named after Qinglong (Black Dragon), White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu (a turtle-shaped god). In fact, the sky is divided into four parts, which are connected by seven main stars in each part and named after their shapes.