What does Zuo Qinglong mean?

The usual left green dragon and right white tiger represent the left and right positions, but do not represent the real green dragon and white tiger.

The green dragon represents the east and the white tiger represents the west.

In addition to the four spirits in Taoism, including the green dragon and white tiger, when Feng Shui masters explore cemeteries, the protruding terrain on the left and right in front of the terrain, which can be used as tombs, has a unique title. They are called green dragons on the left and white tigers on the right, taking the meaning of their protection. The same decoration is also found in the public hall, with green dragons and hundreds of tigers painted on the left and right pillars to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, dragon and tiger were borrowed as the terminology of Taoist alchemy, which refers to the synonyms of "lead and mercury, Kanli, water and fire, yin and yang", etc. Taoist alchemy is divided into internal and external (internal elixir for refining qi and external elixir for refining elixirs. The author is not very knowledgeable and I am not sure). In terms of yin and yang and the five elements, inner elixir is based on yin and yang and the five elements. Dragon and yang are born from Li, and Li belongs to fire, so it is said that "dragon follows fire" "Li Chu", tiger yin, is born in the ridge, and kan is water, so it is said that "the tiger is born by the water". After the two are combined, one yin and one yang harmonize with each other, which is called the Tao. They are both the soul and the essence. representative. Another way of saying it is that nature belongs to wood, and wood represents the east, and it is in the hexagram Zhen, so it is compared to a green dragon; love belongs to gold, and gold represents the west, and it is dui in the hexagram, and gold is white, so it is called a white tiger. Metal can overcome wood, so emotions can damage nature. If you use the true essence of Erba to combine them into one, then metal and wood will be seamless, and dragons and tigers will form elixirs by themselves. In the human body, the liver is the dragon and the kidneys are the elixir. Tiger, while Waidan still takes the meaning of yin and yang, with dragon as lead and tiger as mercury.

In the minds of ancient people, tigers are both terrifying and respectable things. The scary thing is that it can eat humans and animals. What is admirable is that it is extremely powerful and can ward off evil spirits. And in some ancient books, such as "Customs and Customs. Sacrificial Code" written by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "If a tiger is painted on the door, ghosts will not dare to enter", "Tiger is a masculine object and the leader of all beasts." Able to hold on, crush sharp objects, and eat ghosts and ghosts. Today, when a soldier encounters a bad situation, he burns the skin of a tiger and drinks it. Hitting its claws can also ward off evil. This is the test. ’ The ancients also believed that the white tiger was an auspicious sign: ‘The most virtuous bird and beast. ’

The original Western Star Gods were bears and owls, but later the totems of the ancient Qiang people changed from bears to dragons. And when the Yellow Emperor developed eastward, the dragon totem was brought to the east and merged with the "Eastern Blue Dragon Constellation", and the red bird became the new home of the phoenix totem in the kingdom of heaven when the south was unified. Due to the fusion of the two major tribes, Finally it became 'dragon and phoenix present auspiciousness'. As an ancient totem, it is an east phoenix and a west dragon; as an astrology, it is an east blue dragon and a west red bird. After the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was formally established and the Five Elements thought matured. The celestial images were re-divided, and the red bird was placed in the south and worshiped together with the Zhurong Fire God. In the West, white tigers are worshiped. In the tribal struggle and migration, the dragon in the northwest moves eastward, the phoenix in the east moves south, and the tiger in the south moves north. The whole country shows a great turnover concept movement. By the Han Dynasty, the concept of the Five Elements had become a unified thought, and Xuanwu was added to complete the "God of the Four Directions" package.

In the ancient "Historical Records. Tiangong Shu", "Canglong in the East Palace, Zhuniao in the South, Xianchi in the West Palace, and Xuanwu in the North Palace."

And because the White Tiger is the god of war, many powerful generals are said to be enshrined in the world by the White Tiger Star, such as: Tang Dynasty generals Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui and his son. In addition, the white tiger was absorbed by Taoism and deified, becoming the door god of various temples.

In ancient China, the stars in the sky were divided into seven star regions: "Three Yuan" and "Four Symbols". The so-called "Yuan" means "city wall". "Sanyuan" is "Ziweiyuan", symbolizing the imperial palace; "Taiweiyuan" symbolizes administrative agencies; "Tianshiyuan" symbolizes the prosperous market. These three walls are arranged in a triangle shape around the North Star. There are "four elephants" distributed around the "Three Walls": "East Canglong, West White Tiger, South Suzaku, and North Xuanwu". That is to say, the stars in the east are like a dragon, the stars in the west are like a tiger, the stars in the south are like a big bird, and the stars in the north are like turtles and snakes. As the earth orbits 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, the basalt rises; at the turn of summer and autumn, the white tiger appears; at the turn of autumn and winter, the red bird rises.