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{{Short description|Mythological creatures in Chinese constellations}}
{{For|the Led Zeppelin album|Led Zeppelin IV}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|title=Four Symbols
|pic=Four_Symbols.svg
|piccap=Clockwise from top left: Black Tortoise of the North, Azure Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South and White Tiger of the West
|l=Four Images
|c={{linktext|四象}}
|p=Sì xiàng
|j=Sei3-zoeng6
|y=Seijeuhng
|poj=
|kanji=四象
|hiragana=ししょう
|revhep=Shishō
|kunrei=Shishō
|hangul=사상  
|rr=Sasang
|hanja=四象
|qn=Tứ tượng
|chuhan=四象
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|title=Four Gods
|pic=
|piccap=
|l=
|c={{linktext|四神}}
|p=
|j=
|y=
|poj=
|kanji=四神
|hiragana=しじん
|revhep=Shijin
|kunrei=Shijin
|hangul=사신
|rr=Sasin
|hanja=四神
|qn=Tứ Thánh Thú 
|chuhan=四聖獣
}}

[[File:性命圭旨 和合四象圖.png|thumb|''[[Neidan]]'' Illustration of Bringing Together the Four Symbols'' {{langn|zh|和合四象圖}}, 1615 ''[[Xingming guizhi]]'']]
The '''Four Symbols'''  are [[Chinese mythology|mythological]] creatures appearing among the [[Chinese constellations]] along the [[ecliptic]], and viewed as the guardians of the four [[cardinal direction]]s. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, including "'''Four Guardians'''", "'''Four Gods'''", and "'''Four Auspicious Beasts'''". They are the [[Azure Dragon]] of the East, the [[Vermilion Bird]] of the South, the [[White Tiger (mythology)|White Tiger]] of the West, and the [[Black Tortoise]] (also called "Black Warrior") of the North. Each of the creatures is most closely associated with a cardinal direction and a [[Color in Chinese culture|color]], but also additionally represents other aspects, including a season of the year, an emotion, virtue, and one of the Chinese "[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five elements]]" (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Each has been given its own individual traits, origin story and a reason for being. Symbolically, and as part of spiritual and religious belief and meaning, these creatures have been culturally important across countries in the [[Sinosphere]].

==History==
Depictions of mythological creatures clearly ancestral to the modern set of four creatures have been found throughout China. Currently, the oldest known depiction was found in 1987 in a tomb in [[Xishuipo]] in [[Puyang]], Henan, which has been dated to approximately 5300 BC. In the tomb, labeled M45, immediately adjacent to the remains of the main occupant to the east and west were found mosaics made of clam shells and bones forming images closely resembling the Azure Dragon and White Tiger, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=西水坡遺址里的圖案擺放，預示著古代某種神秘的星象|url=https://kknews.cc/history/op8934p.html|website=KK News|date=2018-04-30|access-date=2019-09-18|language=zh-tw|archive-date=2021-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126162701/https://kknews.cc/history/op8934p.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The modern standard configuration was settled much later, with variations appearing throughout Chinese history. For example, the ''[[Rong Cheng Shi]]'' manuscript recovered in 1994, which dates to the [[Warring States period]] ({{circa|453}}–221 BCE), gives five directions rather than four and places the animals differently. According to that document, [[Yu the Great]] gave directional banners to his people, marked with the following insignia: the north with a [[bird]], the south with a snake, the east with the sun, the west with the moon, and the center with a [[bear]].<ref>Pines, Yuri. "[http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/Rong%20Cheng%20shi%20BSOAS.pdf Political Mythology and Dynastic Legitimacy in the ''Rong Cheng Shi'' Manuscript] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425122636/http://www.eacenter.huji.ac.il/uploaded/fck/Rong%20Cheng%20shi%20BSOAS.pdf|date=2012-04-25}}". ''Bulletin of SOAS'', Vol. '''73''', No. 3 (2010), p. 515.</ref> The [[Chinese classics|Chinese classic]] ''[[Book of Rites]]'' mentions the Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise (Dark Warrior), Azure Dragon, and White Tiger as heraldic animals on [[war flag]]s;<ref>''Liji'', "Qu Li Shang (Summary of the Rules of Propriety Part 1)", [https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=9535 69] quote: "行：前朱鳥而後玄武，左青龍而右白虎。" James Legge's translation: "On the march the (banner with the) Red Bird should be in front; that with the Dark Warrior behind; that with the Azure Dragon on the left; and that with the White Tiger on the right".</ref> they were the names of [[Twenty-Eight Mansions|asterisms]] associated with the four cardinal directions: South, North, East, and West, respectively.<ref>[[Zheng Xuan]] (annotator) & [[Kong Yingda]] (clarifier), ''Book of Rites: Annotated and Clarified'', "Vol 3. Qu Li 1". [[Siku Quanshu]] version. [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=75068&page=27#%E5%89%8D%E5%8D%97%E5%BE%8C%E5%8C%97%E5%B7%A6%E6%9D%B1%E5%8F%B3%E8%A5%BF%E6%9C%B1%E9%B3%A5%F0%A4%A3%A5%E6%AD%A6%E9%9D%92%E9%BE%8D%E7%99%BD%E8%99%8E%E5%9B%9B%E6%96%B9%E5%AE%BF%E5%90%8D%E4%B9%9F p. 27] of 158. quote: "前南後北，左東右西。朱鳥、玄武、青龍、白虎，四方宿名也。"</ref>

In [[Taoism]], the Four Symbols have been assigned human identities and names. The [[Azure Dragon]] is named Meng Zhang ({{lang|zh|孟章}}), the [[Vermilion Bird]] is called Ling Guang ({{lang|zh|陵光}}), the [[White Tiger (mythology)|White Tiger]] Jian Bing ({{lang|zh|監兵}}), and the [[Black Tortoise]] Zhi Ming ({{lang|zh|執明}}). Its Japanese equivalent, in corresponding order: [[Azure Dragon|Seiryū]] (east), [[Vermilion Bird|Suzaku]] (south), [[White Tiger (mythology)|Byakko]] (west), [[Black Tortoise|Genbu]] (North).

The colours associated with the four creatures can be said to match the colours of soil in the corresponding areas of China: the bluish-grey water-logged soils of the east, the reddish iron-rich soils of the south, the whitish saline soils of the western deserts, the black organic-rich soils of the north, and the yellow soils from the central [[loess]] plateau.<ref>{{cite book |first1=N. |last1=Brady |first2=R. |last2=Weil |title=Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soil |year=2014 |page=89}}</ref>

== In I Ching ==
The chapter {{lang-zh|t=繫辭上|p=[[Xici|Xì Cí shàng]]|l=The Great Treatise I|labels=no}} in the [[I Ching]] ({{lang-zh|t=易經|l=Classics of Changes|labels=no}}) describes the origins of the Four Symbols thus:<ref name = "xicishang">''Book of Changes'' [https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=46934 "繫辭上 - Xi Ci I (The Great Treatise) 11.3"] with [[James Legge]]'s translation</ref><ref name = "Zhu&Adler">{{cite book|author=Zhu Xi|author-link=Zhu Xi|title=The Original Meaning of the Yijing: Commentary on the Scripture of Change.|translator=Joseph A. Adler|location=New York|year= 2020|publisher= Columbia University Press|page=46}}</ref>

<blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
| style="width: 17%;" | {{lang|zh|<poem>
易有太極，
是生兩儀，
兩儀生四象，
四象生八卦，</poem>}} 
| style="width: 24%;" | <poem>{{Transliteration|zh|Yì yǒu tài jí ， 
shì shēng liǎngyí ， 
liǎngyí shēng sìxiàng ， 
sìxiàng shēng bāguà ，
}}</poem>
|<poem>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Change there is the Supreme Polarity, ({{lang|zh|太極}}; ''[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]]''),
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;which generates the Two Modes. ({{lang|zh|兩儀}}; ''[[Yin and yang|Liangyi]]'')
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Two Modes generate the Four Images, ({{lang|zh|四象}}; ''Sixiang'')
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and the Four Images generate the Eight Trigrams. ({{lang|zh|八卦}}; ''[[Bagua]]'').</poem>
|-
|}
</blockquote>

==Correspondence with the Five Phases==
{{Further|Category:Locations in Chinese mythology|Chinese mythological geography}}
[[File:Bronze mirror with cosmological decoration from the Belitung shipwreck, ArtScience Museum, Singapore - 20110618.jpg|thumb|Bronze mirror with cosmological decoration from the [[Belitung shipwreck]], including [[Bagua]] and the Four Auspicious Beasts]]
These mythological creatures have also been syncretized into the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Five Phases system]] (''Wuxing''). The Azure Dragon of the East represents Wood, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents Fire, the White Tiger of the West represents Metal, and the Black Tortoise (or Black Warrior) of the North represents Water. In this system, the fifth principle Earth is represented by the [[Yellow Dragon|Yellow Dragon of the Center]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations |edition=3rd |last1=Schirokauer |first1=Conrad |last2=Brown |first2=Miranda |year=2005 |isbn=0-534-64307-8}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
!Four Auspicious Beasts!!Five directions!!Five seasons!!Times of day<ref>{{cite web |url=http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html |title=The Hidden or Implied Meaning of Chinese Charm Symbols – 諧音寓意 – Differences between Chinese Coins and Chinese Charms |date=16 November 2016 |access-date=22 May 2018 |first=Gary |last=Ashkenazy |website=Primaltrek.com |language=en}}</ref>!!Five colors!![[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Wuxing]]!!Four Symbols!![[I Ching#Structure|Yao]]!!Five Gods<ref>''Zuozhuan'' "Duke Zhao's 29th year - [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E6%98%AD%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3_29 zhuan]". quote:「夫物，物有其官，官修其方，朝夕思之。……故有五行之官，是謂五官，……'''木正曰句芒，火正曰祝融，金正曰蓐收，水正曰玄冥，土正曰后土。'''……少皞氏有四叔，曰重、曰該、曰修、曰熙，實能金、木及水。使重為句芒，該為蓐收，修及熙為玄冥，……此其三祀也。顓頊氏有子曰犁，為祝融；共工氏有子曰句龍，為后土，……」. Translation by Durrant, Li, & Schberg (2016) "Every kind of thing has its official, who is charged with perfecting the methods for it and keeping these in mind day and night. [...] Thus, there were the officials of the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Five Resources(/ Agents / Phases)]], known as the Five Officials. [...] The Director for Wood was known as Goumang, the Director for Fire was known as Zhurong, the Director for Metal was known as Rushou, the Director for Water was known as Xuanming, and the Director for Earth was known as Houtu.[...] [[Shaohao]] had four younger brothers named Chong, Gai, Xiu, and Xi, who were talented with metal, wood, and water. He made Chong the Goumang, or Director for Wood; Gai the Rushou, or Director for Metal; and Xiu and Xi the Xuanming, or Director for Water.[...] [[Zhuanxu]] had a son named Li, who was the Zhurong, or Director for Fire. [[Gonggong]] had a son named Goulong, who was the Houtu, or Director for Earth. [...]"</ref>
|-
|[[Azure Dragon]]||[[East]]||[[Spring (season)|Spring]]||Dawn||[[Qing (color)|Blue-green]]||[[Wood (wuxing)|Wood]]||Young yang||⚍||[[Goumang]] (句芒) / Chong (重)
|-
|[[Vermilion Bird]]||[[South]]||[[Summer]]||Midday||[[Red]]||[[Fire (wuxing)|Fire]]||Old yang||⚌||[[Zhurong]] (祝融) / Li (犁)
|-
|[[White Tiger (mythology)|White Tiger]]||[[West]]||[[Autumn]]||Dusk||[[White]]||[[Metal (wuxing)|Metal]]||Young yin||⚎||[[Rushou]] (蓐收) / Gai (該)
|-
|[[Black Turtle-Snake]]||[[North]]||[[Winter]]||Midnight||[[Black]]||[[Water (wuxing)|Water]]||Old yin||⚏||[[Yu Shi|Xuanming]] (玄冥) / Xiu & Xi (修 & 熙)
|-
|[[Yellow Dragon]] or [[Qilin]]||Central||||&nbsp;||[[Yellow]]||[[Earth (wuxing)|Earth]]||||||[[Houtu]] (后土) / Goulong (句龍)
|}

== In popular culture ==
The Four Symbols are represented in an inspired line of skins for characters of the first-person-shooter [[Overwatch (video game)|Overwatch]]. In the game's 2018 Chinese New Year (Year of the Dog) event, playable characters Zarya, Mercy, Pharah, and Genji received cosmetic skins based on the Black Tortoise (Xuanwu), the Vermillion Bird (Zhuque), the Azure Dragon (Qinglong), and the White Tiger (Baihu), respectively.

In the [[Nintendo DS]] game [[Pokémon Black and White]], [[List of generation V Pokémon|Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus]] have forms that are inspired by the Vermillion Bird, the Azure Dragon, and the White Tiger respectively. Later, [[Pokémon Legends: Arceus]] completed the set with [[List of generation VIII Pokémon|Enamorus]], which is inspired by the Black Tortoise.

In the [[Webtoon]] [[The God of High School]], Daewi Han's "Secret Art of the Four Guardian Gods" technique consists of four stances named after the Four Symbols: The Fist of the Black Turtle, the Kick of The Red Phoenix, the Dance of The White Tiger, and the Wave of the Blue Dragon.

In the [[MMORPG]] [[Final Fantasy XIV Online]], by [[Square Enix]], the expansion [[Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood|Stormblood]] features a quest-line and trial series inspired by The Four Symbols called "The Four Lords". The Four Lords all bear a resemblance to each of the Four Symbols along with their Japanese names: Genbu (Black Tortoise), Byakko (White Tiger), Suzaku (Vermilion Bird), and Seiryu (Azure Dragon).

In the [[turn-based strategy game]] series Dominions, by [[Illwinter Game Design]], the White Tiger of the West, Vermillion Bird of the South, Azure Dragon of the East and Black Tortoise of the North are available as Pretender Gods.

In the [[Beyblade (manga)]], characters use [[Beyblades]] that are inspired by the Four Symbols: Dragoon for the Azure Dragon, Dranzer for the Vermillion Bird, Driger for the White Tiger, and Draciel for the Black Tortoise.

==See also==
[[File:Five cardinal directions, a pottery tile of the Han Dynasty, Cernuschi Museum, 2006-08-12.jpg|upright|thumb|A Han-dynasty pottery tile emblematically representing the five cardinal directions]]
* {{annotated link|Chinese astrology}}
* {{annotated link|Chinese constellations}}
* {{annotated link|Color in Chinese culture}}
* {{annotated link|Four Holy Beasts}}
* {{annotated link|Living creatures (Bible)|Four Living Creatures}}
* {{annotated link|Four Mountains}}
* {{annotated link|Four Perils}}
* {{annotated link|Four Seas}}
* {{annotated link|Four temperaments}}
* {{annotated link|Purple Forbidden enclosure}}
* {{annotated link|Royal stars}}
* {{annotated link|Tetramorph}}
* {{annotated link|Wufang Shangdi}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Chinese mythology}}
{{Chinese constellations}}

[[Category:Four Symbols| ]]
[[Category:Chinese astrological signs]]
[[Category:Chinese constellations]]
[[Category:Chinese legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Chinese mythology]]
[[Category:Cultural lists]]