I'm glad to answer your question. Four ancient gods, Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu; Also known as four spirits, four elephants, four dimensions, four beasts and so on. The four gods were originally mighty and spiritual animal gods worshipped by ancient humans, and their origins are directly related to the worship of primitive stars. In ancient times, people looked up at the sky, divided the stars into several groups and gave them images of people, things or myths, which was a common phenomenon in the history of astronomy at home and abroad. China is in a natural condition with four distinct seasons, so it has long imagined some stars in the south at dusk in spring as a bird called Suzaku. Some stars in the east are imagined as a dragon, called Qinglong; Some western stars imagine a tiger, called a white tiger; Some stars in the north are imagined as turtles and snakes, called Xuanwu. In the tomb of Zeng Houyi in the early Warring States period (later in 433 BC) found in Suizhou, Hubei Province, there is a lacquer box cover painted with 28 families, Qinglong and White Tiger. This shows that the system of four gods and twenty-eight lodging originated very early. After the formation of the twenty-eight lodging system, people formed an animal image every seven lodging places according to its orientation, that is, four elephants or "four palaces". The corresponding relationship is as follows: East Palace Qinglong: horn, sound, fork, room, heart, tail and dustpan; West Palace White Tiger: Kui, Lou, Stomach, Ang, Bi, Gou, Shen; Nangong Suzaku: Well, ghosts, willows, stars, Zhang, wings and birds; Gong Bei Xuanwu: War, Cow, Female, Air, Danger, House, Wall. The "Four Gods" represent the four directions of east, west, north and south, and provide scientific reference for dividing the sky and making calendars. Later, with the popularity of the theory of yin-yang and five elements, people paid more attention to the role of the patron saint of the four gods and were endowed with higher divinity. 28 huts have also become objects of worship. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the four gods matched the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the four colors of blue, white, red and black were systematically recorded in Huai Nan Zi, Historical Records and other documents at that time, which became a generally accepted ideological system. The "four gods" in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties also have a wide range of uses: astronomers use four seasons; Land users use it to distinguish Kyushu; Military strategists use it to set the direction. When talking about the entry and exit of the three armies, Woods Ice said: "There must be dragons on the left, white tigers on the right, suzaku in front, Xuanwu in the back, ostentatious on the top and engaging in the bottom." Because people were very familiar with the position of the "Four Gods" at that time, they used it as a sign on the flag to command the troops to advance and retreat. Of course, the widespread application of the "Four Gods" is directly related to people's religious concepts. Ancient palaces were often named after the four gods, and there were bricks with four gods in the Western Han Dynasty. The north gate is often named after Xuanwu, and there are many examples of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties in the Forbidden Monument written by Wang Shidian in the Yuan Dynasty. In the tombs of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, dragons and tigers, tortoise snakes, suzaku, etc. are often portrayed or written on coffins to protect the soul of the tomb owner from ascending to the ground. 194 1 year, the sarcophagus of Henry Hui Wang's tomb in the late Han Dynasty was discovered in Lushan County, Sichuan Province (made in 2005). There is a winged dragon on the left wall and a winged tiger on the right wall. The foot of the sarcophagus is in the shape of a snake wrapped around the turtle body, with exquisite composition and beautiful shape. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the clothes in Gaochang Tomb often appeared such sentences as "See you at that time: Zuo Qing (Qing) Dragon, Right White Tiger, Suzaku in front, Xuanwu in the back". In addition, the bronze mirror with the pattern of Eight Diagrams and Four Spirits was popular in the Han Dynasty, with inscriptions such as "Four Gods" and "Left Dragon and Right Tiger are ominous, Suzaku Xuanwu follows Yin and Yang", which also has religious significance: that is, the mirror reflects a person's image and the soul is attached to it, so it is protected by the four gods to ward off evil spirits. Thank you for your adoption!