The four great beasts are the legendary beasts in ancient China, namely, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu, which belong to the combination of ancient mythology and astronomy. Four kinds of animals are represented by different colors: oriental cyan is wood, western white is gold, southern red is fire, northern black is water, and middle yellow is earth.
The four great beasts are gluttony, confusion, shyness and Qiong Qi.
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The book "The Origin of the Gods" said that the books outside Sheng 'an Temple recorded that the nine sons of the dragon were: slim, like turtles, carrying heavy loads, that is, turtles under the monument; Kiss, like a beast, looks good, standing on the roof; Gluttony, food, ding Gai; Pteris vittata, erect, standing on the bridge column; The map of pepper, like snails and clams, is closed and stands at the door; Gold, shaped like a lion, is a good fireworks, standing on the incense burner; Together with the old, the armadillo and the son, they are only the nine sons of the dragon.
Shun Di's Four Monsters in China's Ancient Myths and Legends. These four murderers are recorded in Zuo Zhuan and Historical Records, but their contents are different.
"Zuo Zhuan Wen Zhuan Gong Eighteen Years" said: "Yao, a guest in four doors, gave up chaos and gluttony in the four fierce families and voted for the fourth to resist the charm."
In ancient China, the stars in the sky were divided into seven star zones, namely "Three Walls" and "Four Elephants". The so-called "wall" is the "city wall". Three walls are arranged in a triangle around Polaris. There are four elephants around the three walls: East Black Dragon, West White Tiger, South Suzaku and North Xuanwu.
That is to say, the stars in the east are like dragons, the stars in the west are like tigers, the stars in the south are like big birds, and the stars in the north are like turtles and snakes. As the earth revolves around 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, Xuanwu rose; At the turn of summer and autumn, white tigers emerge; At the turn of autumn and winter, Suzaku rose, known as the "four great beasts".