What the ancients said the four spirits

Many online four spirits and four beasts are traditional Chinese auspicious things, inside the Chinese auspicious culture is a representative of the idiosyncratic culture, about their legends and the use of all over China has a very long history. However, there is a difference between the Four Spirits and the Four Beasts. According to the book of rites - rites of passage: "Lin, phoenix, tortoise, dragon, known as the four spirits." And the four beasts are:Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu.

What are the four spirits?

In ancient China, Kirin, Phoenix, Tortoise and Dragon were considered to be spiritual animals, therefore, they were called the Four Spirits as a sign of auspiciousness. In fact, except for the tortoise, the other three are legendary animals, imagined and created by people themselves.

Legendary unicorn, body like a deer, covered with scales and armor, head long one-horn, horn Bu born with a meatball, feet like a horse's hooves, tail like a cow's tail. The unicorn is considered to be a benevolent beast with virtue, and emperors have seen it as a symbol of peace and prosperity. The unicorn can be found in the residences and gardens of the emperors such as the Striking Palace and the Summer Palace in Beijing, both cast in bronze and carved in stone. In folklore, the unicorn is also highly valued. During the Spring Festival, people in the south of the Yangtze River in China often carry paper-made kylins to perform in front of their houses to express their good wishes. In addition, there is also the legend of "the unicorn sends a son" in China, people use the unicorn to symbolize the future of the children and grandchildren on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also expresses the hope that the early birth of a noble son, the family's prosperity meaning.

The phoenix, with its beautiful crown of feathers and colorful plumes, is an image imagined by combining the characteristics of many birds and beasts. The phoenix is the "king of all birds" in Chinese legend, symbolizing good fortune, peace and political clarity. Like the dragon, the phoenix was regarded as a symbol of power and dignity by emperors and kings. Phoenix crowns, phoenix carriages and other phoenix-related items could only be used by royalty and immortals. However, later on, the phoenix also became a good-luck symbol for the folk people. Especially in traditional weddings in the Middle Self, the wind became a decoration on the bride's gown and headdress, 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 patterns, such as "dragon and phoenix presenting samples", "phoenix and qi presenting auspiciousness", etc., is also a symbol of good luck.

The turtle is the only animal that exists among the four spirits, and it also has the longest lifespan among the animals. People not only take the turtle as a symbol of health and longevity, but also believe that it has the spirit of foretelling the future. In ancient times, whenever a major event is held before the sorcerer has to burn the tortoise armor, and then according to the tortoise armor on the cracked lines to divine good or bad luck. Therefore, people called the tortoise "divine tortoise" and "spiritual tortoise". Turtle in China has been greatly respected, in the ancient imperial palace, mansion and mausoleum, there are stone or bronze casting of the tortoise, used to symbolize the country's long-lasting luck.

The dragon is considered by people to be the greatest Chinese deity and the greatest good-luck charm. People are familiar with the image of the dragon, but no one has ever seen a real dragon. The dragon and the wind, like the unicorn, is an imaginary animal, it has a bull's head, antlers, shrimp eyes, eagle claws, snake body, lion's tail, the whole body is also full of scales and armor, is compounded by a variety of animals. In people's imagination, the dragon can walk on the ground, can swim in the water, can fly in the clouds, full of infinite power. For thousands of years, feudal emperors regarded it as a symbol of power and dignity, and ordinary people also considered it as the embodiment of virtue and strength, and an object of good luck. Therefore, the image of the dragon can be seen everywhere in China. Palaces, temples on the ridge, the royal utensils, everywhere carved with dragons, painted dragons; the old white family name in the days of celebration, but also to post the dragon pattern, but also dance dragon lanterns, rowing dragon boat; to give the child's name is also willing to use the "dragon" word. Dragon as the "four spirits" in the largest auspicious objects, has become the symbol of the Chinese nation. Chinese people all over the world consider themselves "descendants of the dragon".

In the long history of Chinese auspicious culture, many auspicious objects have given luck and encouragement to human beings in different periods of history, and at the same time produced and enriched human civilization. So far, the dragon, phoenix auspicious patterns, auspicious art is still the longest and most extensive; in people's lives, the dragon and phoenix images and concepts penetrate into various fields, such as Chinese architectural culture, auspicious festivals, as well as some customs.