Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu are the four great beasts in China mythology, and they also represent the four directions of east, west, north and south. I think we are familiar with them.
? In the present cultural system, the four great beasts correspond to the 28 stars in the sky, and also to the gods in Taoism, or to the five elements-wood, gold, fire and water.
Hu Junjun believes that at the beginning of the appearance of the four great beasts, there was absolutely no connotation such as stars, Taoist gods and five elements, but simply represented the direction. Just like school district housing, the concept of school district housing is not so complicated. The school was nearby at the beginning, or there was a clear administrative plan. In the case that housing prices are hyped and educational resources are in short supply, the concept of school district housing has been clarified, and many rules have been born around school district real estate, such as what must be lived for several years.
? Among the four great beasts, Qinglong, Baihu and Suzaku are easy to understand: Qinglong is Qinglong, Baihu is White Tiger, Suzaku is Hong Niao, and Xuanwu is not easy to understand. A snake is wrapped around a turtle, and the first three are solo. Finally, this is actually a combination!
? (,invasion and deletion)
Let's put aside what has been written and what is recorded in the book for the time being. We know that what is written in the book will definitely lag behind what we know, that is, we will not write it in the book until we know it first. So today, we will talk about how this basalt shape is simply made.
Let's take a look at the four great beasts first.
? Qinglong is in the east (representing wood). I dare to guess that the origin of ancient civilization in China is roughly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, even in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Then to the east is the sea, which is covered with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, which is easy to give people the imagination of dragons. Hunjun even thinks that the original prototype of the dragon is lightning, and the pronunciation of the dragon should actually be the homonym of thunder "dragon". The winding form of lightning is also the original prototype of dragon form. Of course, after checking, some people on the internet think so.
? The white tiger is the western white tiger (representing gold), which is easy to understand. Confused Jun thinks there should be a white tiger in reality. It is said that there were white tigers in Shennongjia, Hubei Province, that is, in the west at that time.
? Suzaku is the Hong Niao in the south (representing fire), which is easy to understand. Hunjun thinks that there really is an extraordinary Hong Niao, or there is an occasional forest fire in the hot south, which ignited the feathers of birds and formed a Hong Niao. It would be even more impressive if there were birds like peacocks whose feathers stuck to the fire and flew in the air.
? Xuanwu is in the north (representing water). It is said that the original image was a turtle. This is easy to understand. The tortoise looks more cultured and fairy-like. But then a snake was added. What happened?
? I looked it up on the Internet, and some of them quoted ancient books. Ancient books have been formed, and they are all simple descriptions and quotations, which have no reference value for textual research on this issue. Others say that snakes represent wealth and turtles represent longevity. It is a good idea to use them together. Confused Jun thinks this idea is too hard, so it is better to change the mode: let the snake bite a pine branch, or let the tortoise hang a string of copper coins for better creation and understanding.
? There is a saying that Hu Jun feels very close to the truth. It is said that there is a kind of turtle called snake turtle. When it meets a snake, it will fight with it, and a snake will haunt the tortoise.
? Why is this statement close to the truth? We know that anything created always has a prototype, and it is impossible to fabricate it out of thin air. The prototypes of Qinglong, Baihu and Suzaku have all been guessed. If it is true, it is what people saw with their own eyes. Xuanwu, a snake wrapped around a turtle, must have been seen by someone, and it is true.
However, Hu does not fully agree with this statement: first, the tortoise and snake in this statement are fighting, but in the shape of Xuanwu, their relationship is indeed a combination, not natural enemies of life and death, and no one will kill anyone; Secondly, it will be ridiculous to use the fighting scenes of brothers killing each other to create the image of a spirit beast or a great god (different from allusions, such as Houyi shooting at the sun is an allusions, but the image of Houyi does not include the sun). The ancients should not have this spirit of entertainment. Otherwise, is it considered as "Two Wolf Gods" when editing the scene of China's pastoral dog hitting the weasel?
? To really investigate the source of Xuanwu, Hunjun thinks that we can try to go back a long time and look at it from the eyes of people at that time.
? First of all, what is Xuanwu? It is the god of the north. More importantly, the water god is in charge of water, especially the flood in people's eyes.
? Secondly, people must see the true image of tortoise and snake, otherwise it is difficult to create this image out of thin air.
? Hunjun believes that there is a possibility that when there is a flood, turtles and snakes are swept away by the flood. At this time, the snake is likely to hold an object tightly. If the attached object is a turtle, there will be the same situation as a snake.
? Moreover, this kind of tortoise and snake is exactly the same, and it can only be seen during the flood. If people only see the same tortoise and snake during the flood, people will often reverse the cause and effect because of the lack of scientific knowledge at that time. They don't think that the flood was caused by the same turtle and snake. They think that the same turtle and snake (that is, the water god) caused the flood. They may think that the same turtle and snake they saw is the image of the water god, that is, the image of Xuanwu.
? Therefore, Hunjun believes that the appearance of Xuanwu is a fraternal combination of turtles and snakes in the same boat.
? There is no basis, just guessing and sharing with friends.