Four Symbols
Mythological creatures in Chinese constellations
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Through Cardinal direction and Loess
The members of said group consist of the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle-Snake (also called "Black Warrior") of the North. Occasionally, they are accompanied by the Yellow Dragon of the Center, but said member is often excluded; in contexts where the Yellow Dragon is included, the groups is referred to as the "Five Symbols", "Five Guardians", "Five Gods", and "Five Auspicious Beasts"
Each of the creatures is most closely associated with a cardinal direction and a color, but also additionally represents other aspects, including a season of the year, an emotion, virtue, and one of the Chinese "five elements" (wood, fire, metal, and water; earth is often excluded). 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.
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 (c. 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. The Chinese classic Book of Rites mentions the Vermillion Bird, Black Turtle-Snake (Dark Warrior), Azure Dragon, and White Tiger as heraldic animals on war flags; they were the names of asterisms associated with the four cardinal directions: South, North, East, and West, respectively.
In Taoism, the Four Symbols have been assigned human identities and names. The Azure Dragon is named Meng Zhang (孟章), the Vermilion Bird is called Ling Guang (陵光), the White Tiger Jian Bing (監兵), and the Black Turtle-Snake Zhi Ming (執明). Its Japanese equivalent, in corresponding order: Seiryū (east), Suzaku (south), Byakko (west), 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.
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In I Ching
The chapter The Great Treatise I (系辞上; 繫辭上; Xì cí shàng) in the I Ching (易经; 易經; 'Classics of Changes') describes the origins of the Four Symbols thus:
Correspondence with the Five Phases
These mythological creatures have also been syncretized into the 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 of the Center.
In popular culture
The Four Symbols are represented in an inspired line of skins for characters of the first-person-shooter 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 Turtle-Snake (Xuanwu), the Vermillion Bird (Zhuque), the Azure Dragon (Qinglong), and the White Tiger (Baihu), respectively.
In the Nintendo DS game Pokémon Black and White, 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 Enamorus, which is inspired by the Black Turtle-Snake.
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 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 Turtle-Snake), 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 Turtle-Snake of the North are available as Pretender Gods.
In the Beyblade manga and anime, 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 Turtle-Snake. A fifth such Beyblade was added in the first movie and made a few subsequent appearances, Strata Dragoon for the Yellow Dragon.
In the Digimon franchise, the Four Holy Beasts are a group of Digimon designed after the Four Symbols. Qinglongmon debuted in the anime Digimon Adventure 02. In Digimon Tamers, it reappeared along with Zhuqiaomon, Xuanwumon and Baihumon. The names are based on Chinese words for Blue Dragon, Red Sparrow, Black Warrior and White Tiger, respectively.
In the young adult science fantasy novel Iron Widow by Canadian writer Xiran Jay Zhao, several characters pilot mechas inspired by three of the Four Symbols: The Vermilion Bird, The Black Turtle-Snake, and The White Tiger.
The Four Symbols frequently appear in the Megami Tensei franchise as difficult combat encounters who can be summoned by the player after they are defeated, and in Devil Survivor 2: The Animation, Baihu is the personal demon of the protagonist Hibiki. The Four Symbols also appear as Personas in the Persona spin-off series, where they are referred to by their Japanese names.
In Fushigi Yûgi the Four Symbols are gods within the book "The Universe of the Four Gods" that grants three wishes to the summoned priestess from another world.
In Basara, the swords of the four original rebel leaders against the new empire of Japan hold swords named after the Four Symbols. The protagonist, Sarasa, uses the name of her brother, Tatara, as her alias, which is the Japanese name of Bond, a Mansion under the White Tiger.
In the manga Helck, three of the Four Elites under the Demon Emperor are named after the Four Symbols: Azudra (Azure Dragon), Vermilio (Vermilion Bird), Kohaku (Byakko/White Tiger).
In Yu Yu Hakusho the Four Symbols are a gang of demons called "The Saint Beasts". The group, led by Suzaku, unleash a demon insect plague on the human world.
In The Twelve Kingdoms, the name of the inner seas are based on the color of a Holy Beast, corresponding to their five directions. The Black Sea to the North, the White Sea to the West, the Red Sea to the South, the Blue sea to the East, and the Yellow Sea in the Center.