What are the four great mythical beasts of ancient China?

The four major mythical beasts of China are the green dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, and the black basalt.

1. Qinglong Qinglong is one of the four spirits of heaven in ancient Chinese mythology. It originated from the worship of ancient stars. It is the oriental god representing Taihao and the seven stars in the East. It is the vibration and sundae in Bagua and the main wood in the five elements, symbolizing the four elements.

Shaoyang among elephants, spring among the four seasons.

2. White Tiger White Tiger is one of the four spirits of heaven in ancient Chinese mythology. It originated from the worship of ancient stars. It is the god of the West representing Shaohao and the Seven Stars of the West. In Bagua, it is Qian, Dui, and the main gold in the five elements, symbolizing the four elements.

Shaoyin among elephants, autumn among the four seasons.

3. Zhuque Zhuque is one of the four spirits of the sky in ancient Chinese mythology. It originated from the worship of ancient stars. It is the southern god representing Emperor Yan and the seven southern constellations. It is separated from the Eight Diagrams and controls the fire in the five elements. It symbolizes the four images.

Lao Yang, summer among the four seasons.

4. Xuanwu Xuanwu is one of the four spirits of heaven in ancient Chinese mythology. It originated from the worship of ancient stars. It refers to the seven constellations of Xuanwu in the north among the four images of the twenty-eight constellations divided into southeast, northwest and northwest.

The four elephants in traditional Chinese culture refer to the green dragon, white tiger, red bird, and Xuanwu, which represent the four directions of east, west, south, and north respectively.

Northern Xuanwu is based on the Eight Diagrams as a barrier and the Five Elements as the main water, symbolizing Lao Yin among the four images and winter among the four seasons.

Extended information 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".

That is to say, 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".