What are the four gods of China?

China ancient "four gods": Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu.

Qinglong 1

Qinglong, also known as "Black Dragon", is a god beast in ancient myths and legends, which originated from the worship of stars in ancient times and belongs to one of the four elephants in traditional culture. The four elephants are Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu Four Holy Beasts. It was in the Han Dynasty that the dragon became a symbol of the Chinese nation and even the whole of China. Since the Great Han Dynasty, the dragon has been identified as the symbol and representative of the emperor.

2. White tiger

White tiger is a god beast in ancient myths and legends, and it is also one of the four elephants in traditional culture. Since the pre-Qin period, Seven Nights have been the sacred animals representing Shao Hao and the West. By the rise of the Five Elements Theory in Han Dynasty, its symbolic significance increased with Geng Xin and autumn, and the four images were combined in the Five Elements. One of the five beasts in Huainanzi is Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku, Xuanwu and Huanglong, also known as the Five Beasts of Heaven.

3. Suzaku

Suzaku is one of the four elephants in traditional culture. It is also called the four spirits of heaven with Qinglong, Baihu and Xuanwu, and the five beasts of heaven with Huanglong, Qinglong, Baihu and Xuanwu. Its original origin is still inconclusive. If we look at the cultural relics, the lacquer box of the tomb of Zeng Houyi of the Warring States period unearthed in Sui County completely records the names of 28 accommodation houses for the first time, and the names of Suzaku and other four elephants are of course impressive.

4. Xuanwu

It is an elf composed of a tortoise and a snake. Xuanwu originally meant Xuanming, and the ancient sounds of Wu and Ming are interlinked. Xuan means black; Ghost means yin.

Extended data

Xuanwu history

Xuanwu was upgraded to the "Zhenwu Emperor" in the north by later Taoist priests. Different from the other three spirits. Other green dragons and white tigers only worked as gatekeepers of mountain temples, and Zhu Bird worked as Xuan Nv for nine days.

It is often said by later generations that during the reign of Yang Di, the Jade Emperor became one of his three souls, Empress Lezheng, tired of the world, abandoned Wudang Mountain for practice, and successfully ascended to heaven, defended the north and lived in Xuanwu, posthumous title.

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