#the four auspicious beasts

[radstarsaur]

are you gonna draw the new legendary from legends arceus

Okay, but just because I like you, pardner

[winterpower98]

Here is the basics:

The Four Symbols (Chinese: 四象; pinyin: Sì Xiàng, literally meaning "four images"), are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. 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 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, but also additionally represents other aspects, including a season of the year, an emotion, virtue, and one of the Chinese "five elements" (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Each has been given its own individual traits, origin story and a reason for being.

So they were the original celestials that ruled china before heaven was founded by the jade emperor

Oh wait! I know about the four cardinal directions! But I thought they were 2 dragons and 2 birds/phoenixes,? I must have read that wrong.

But regardless, thank you so much for the information!

And going back to your original question, I don't see why the Tiger Demon should be the son of the White Tiger of the West. Mostly because I don't see why the White Tiger would get involved with the Monkey King's court when Wukong wasn't even that well known yet.

[empress-works]

This Design is available in My RedBubble shop now! https://www.redbubble.com/people/Empress-Works/shop?asc=u

Yay!!! My first of the 4 Symbols is done! Usually depicted more as a turtle, The Black Tortoise of the North is a East Asian mythological creature (usually associated with ancient Chinese constellations and symbolism, however it is also seen in ancient Japanese and Vietnamese mythology and symbolism.) It is considered the protector of the North Cardinal direction and is associated with the water element and winter----which is the briefest summary I can give considering the importance of astrology and elemental symbols in Ancient Chinese culture. (My interest is casual and I am NOT a historian, but I find all depictions of mythos in present and modern interpretations fascinating.) This depiction is more of an interpretation rather than what is normally depicted.  Eventually I want to draw at least the 4 Symbols, The White Tiger of the West, The Vermillion Bird of the East, and Azure Dragon of the South, and then MAYBE get to the gold dragon.

[j-gold-art]

The Four Auspicious Beasts!

Available as stickers on my RedBubble!

[lovenikkiclothes]

Based around the shoes ‘Nightmare Scale’.

[lilith-devi-nyx-elsword-theorist]

Okay I know Scarlet and Violet just released.

But something tells me about what I believe are urns knocked over hiding the Artifacts of Ruin ( Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu)

Were meant to be sealed off. They're the 4 Perils, or the 4 Heavenly Kings.

Most possibly the anti of the Forces of Nature ( Landorous, Enamorous, Thunderous, Tornadus.) These 4 are the 4 Four Auspicious Beasts.

But notice how they seem like they have more power to everything around them?

Vessel of Ruin - Sp. Attack of all except itself is lowered.

Sword of Ruin - Defense of All except itself is lowered.

Tablets of Ruin - Attack of others are lowered except itself.

Beads of Ruin - Sp. Defense of others are lowered except itself.

These Pokemon are not specifically Pokemon,

Here's a text from their dex descriptions

Chi-Yu " The envy accumulated within curved beads that sparked conflicts, clad itself in fire and became a Pokemon." (Violet)

Chien-Pao " The hatred who perished by the sword long ago, clad itself in snow and became a Pokemon." (Violet)

Wo-Chien " The grudge of a person punished for writing the King's evil deeds upon wooden tablets, clad itself in leaves and became a Pokemon." (Scarlet)

Ting-Lu " The fear poured into an ancient ritual vessel clad itself in rocks and dirt and became a Pokemon." (Scarlet)

I've tried looking deep into the info on what Chinese mythos about the Beads, Tablets, Sword, and Vessel. And I came up with nothing maybe someone will find more info.

All i guess is,

The people who owned these items are what caused Ruin and had to be sealed off in Paldea away from a place they're from?

Who knows.

[iturbide]

the Ruinous Quartet is based off the Four Perils in Chinese mythology: Taotie (Ting Lu), Qiongqi (Chien Pao), Taowu (Wo Chien), and Hundun (Chi Yu)

The Four Perils are like foils to the Four Auspicious Beasts (which the genie therian forms are based off of)

from the Zuo Zhuan, Shanhaijing, and Shenyijing:

the Hundun (渾敦, 渾沌; 'chaotic torrent') is a yellow winged creature of chaos with six legs and no face and sudden, destructive rage

the Qiongqi (窮奇; 'distressingly strange, thoroughly odd') is a monstrous creature that kills for pleasure and eats people

the Taowu (檮杌; 'block stump') a reckless, lazy, and stubborn creature

and the Taotie (饕餮; 'greedy glutton') is a gluttonous beast.

interestingly enough, Chien Pao’s design is also reminiscent of the weasel yokai Kamaitachi, which iirc was synonymous with Qiongqi in Japanese folklore

Chi Yu’s design also looks like a celestial eye, a goldfish known for big bulbous eyes, which isn’t exactly relevant to the mythology/folklore discussion but i looked up some pictures while doing some research and now i love Chi Yu even more

Wo Chien has 92 tablets. i found this out using Bulbapedia because i’m not nearly insane enough to try to count the tablets in game

the pot on Ting Lu’s head that makes it look funny is called a ding (鼎), an ancient Chinese cauldron that served as a symbol of imperial authority

i’m not totally sure what their names mean Wade-Giles formatting is used for romanization why isn’t it pinyin but according to Bulbapedia:

Wo-Chien may be a combination of 蝸 / 蜗 wō(Chinese for snail) and 簡 / 简 jiǎn (Chinese for bamboo slips)

Chien-Pao may be a combination of 劍 / 剑 jiàn (Chinese for sword) and 豹 bào (Chinese for leopard)

Ting-Lu may be a combination of 鼎 dǐng(ancient Chinese cauldron) and 鹿 lù (deer)

Chi-Yu may be a combination of 鯽魚 / 鲫魚 jìyú(Chinese for goldfish) and 玉 yù (Chinese for jade)

anyways, there’s some fun trivia on the Ruinous Quartet! i love these four funky little harbingers of disaster

thank you so much for going into all of this detail I appreciate it immeasurably 💖

This is all so cool??? I have always loved when games will put little nods to mythology or draw inspiration from real world myths -- especially when it means I get to learn something new!! I knew about the Four Auspicious Beasts and the link between them and the Therian forms of the Unova Trio (plus the new Hisuian one in Arceus), but I never knew they had counterparts! And all the trivia is amazing too thank you so much for digging it up I have learned so many things tonight I feel enriched

[pharawee]

I've had people ask in my notes if Tao was in the novel. He wasn't. He's a completely new character. The whole Four Auspicious Beasts allegory isn't really in the book, either. As in: I can't even remember when Yai/Big was referred to as Tiger (maybe through his family name? I did a quick search of the first few chapters but there's no mention of เสือ/tiger - but tbh I never really paid much attention).

So, yeah, it's difficult to say who Tao is and how he'll play into Mangkorn and Yai's relationship. Then again, who rings the doorbell that often? Please Tao, just stop...

But I'm pretty sure he's the one who wishes Yai a happy birthday in the time jump montage:

The voice-over actually says P'Yai so it must be someone younger. Plus, it sounds a lot like Kad/Tao. Yai looks super happy about it, too, so Tao might be one of his few but cherished childhood friends (like Nine).

[baiwu-jinji]

Hi!! This question is probably very stupid.. in tgcf they joke abt including qi rong among the calamities because of aesthetic reasons, is it to equate them with the guardians of the cardinal directions (四象)? I was thinking that the colors match (& other things, like the black tortoise being associated with the element of water as he xuan, or the tiger being known as the king of beast as jun wu is the emperor, or the vermillion bird being described as covered in flames (1/2)

-which makes you think of a phoenix and the rebirth themes rooted in hua cheng's narrative (even if that concept is a western one, I've heard that it has influenced the chinese image)) so, it doesn't amount to anything consistent, but enough for me to wonder.. (2/2)

Hi! Not a stupid question at all, this is actually an interesting theory. And I think Qi Rong is included to make up the numbers because…everything has to come in four in Chinese…This is a post I wrote last June:

Nowadays four is often treated as an ominous number because it’s the homophone of “death,” but traditionally it’s seen as an auspicious number that gives a sense of wholeness and the go-to number when you’re grouping things together. For example, in a traditional Chinese wedding there’re four essential items: red date (the fruit), red sorghum, red candle, red cloth. In Daosim there’re “four greatness” (四大) in the world: heaven, earth, human, and “dao” (dao is like the way of nature). In Buddhism there’re also “four greatness”: earth, water, fire, wind; besides there’re the “four great Buddhas.” So in TGCF people came up with “four calamities,” it just doesn’t feel complete if the number’s only three.

[winterpower98]

A theory just came to me Mother Winter

The Tiger that train Macaque could be a child of this ancient fool, White Tiger of the West (西方白虎; Xīfāng Báihǔ) one of the "Four Guardians", "Four Gods", or "Four Auspicious Beasts"

The fool is very old so he may be a son! (Tigers have litters)

(The white Tiger and Dragon King are upset because their family's are trying to kill one another, "Your son is trying to kill my grand daughter Báihǔ!"

Wai wait, I think I'm missing some information here

Who are the four auspicious beasts? I think I heard that name before but I don't really know who they are

[minteagalaxea]

jujutsu kaisen | svt

note: pictures do not belong to me. credit goes to original owners, as well as @iiashascans​. thank you to @kodzuken-pie​ for encouraging this realm of crazy.

choi seungcheol: special grade one sorcerer

choi seungcheol’s trajectory technique allows him to embed cursed energy into objects to manipulate its trajectory and aim, to which he always carries a set of darts already imbued with his cursed energy. his domain expansion, piercing dome, unleashes a barrage of arrows at its target. he operates out of the busan jujutsu technical college.

yoon jeonghan: special grade sorcerer

as one of the few special grade sorcerers, yoon jeonghan’s cursed energy is almost unrivalled. his technique allows him to summon and control cursed spirits, though only after he’s captured and ingested them into his system, much to his dislike given the process of actually collecting them. he operates out of the seoul jujutsu technical college.

hong jisoo: grade three sorcerer

hong jisoo’s cursed speech grants him the ability to imbue his words with cursed energy, though it should be noted that there is more physical drawbacks with more powerful words and commands. to protect himself and others, he communicates through instrument-related words. he works out of the seoul jujutsu college, trying to work past his limitations for promotion.

wen junhui: grade one sorcerer

born with compromised health, wen junhui’s cursed energy is enormous, which amplifies any sort of power presented when he plays his piano, which is further amplified with his domain expansion, baroque hall, where is power is fueled further with the intensity of his playing. he technically operates under the busan jujutsu technical college, in charge of protecting their barrier.

kwon soonyoung: special grade one sorcerer

kwon soonyoung’s technique allows him to channel the abilities of four beasts, with his body serving as its medium; his main usage is that of the tiger. his domain expansion, auspicious chimera shrine, allows him to combine the various beasts together, rather than use them only one at a time. he operates out of the busan jujutsu technical college.

jeon wonwoo: special grade one sorcerer

jeon wonwoo’s ratio technique lends him to being able to forcibly creating a weak spot at a 7:3 ratio on any given part of a body or object, carrying a series of knives and a blunt sword he carries around under his suit. he operates out of the busan jujutsu technical college, though he is adamant on not working overtime for his own personal activities.

lee jihoon: special grade sorcerer

another one of the few special grade sorcerers, lee jihoon channels his enormous amounts of cursed energy into creating puppets, often in the form of robots and android creatures. his domain expansion, laboratory of divinity, employs several of his puppets to perform an ambush attack. he operates out of the busan jujutsu technical college.

lee seokmin: grade one sorcerer

lee seokmin’s technique allows him to utilize a corpse to summon their spirit or body, which allows him to transform into those people once he has acquired enough information on them via cursed energy. he recently passed his qualifications to be a grade one sorcerer, and currently operates out of the seoul jujutsu technical college.

kim mingyu: grade two sorcerer

kim mingyu’s technique allows him to impart any image—digital or printed—with cursed energy to transport him to its location, under the condition that he must be in the picture for it to work, hence why he is constantly taking photos. currently operating through the seoul jujutsu technical college, he is currently under review for promotion to semi-grade one. 

xu minghao: ungraded sorcerer

born into a prestigious sorcerer family xu minghao’s tradeoff for no cursed energy whatsoever is unrivalled physical prowess and unparalleled usage of cursed tools, especially that of his sword, frozen ember. while not a sorcerer by any means, his senses are heightened to a point where he can see curses. he operates independently of any jujutsu college out of spite.

boo seungkwan: semi-grade two sorcerer

despite scorn that his innate technique is not powerful enough, boo seungkwan has turned his technique of imbuing any sort of black bird (though black songbirds are most preferable) with cursed energy to control and to use as eyes into a powerful one. he currently operates from the busan jujutsu technical college, recently transferred from the one in jeju.

chwe hansol: grade three sorcerer

with a single clap of his hands, chwe hansol uses his cursed energy to switch places with another person, object, or two others so long as it operates within his boundaries. despite this simple technique, it is not a true reflection of his actual abilities in combat. he operates under the seoul jujutsu technical college, awaiting review for promotion despite familial intervention.

lee chan: semi-grade one sorcerer

another sorcerer born from a powerful jujutsu family and current head of the house, lee chan’s blood manipulation allows him to control his blood beyond its natural state, and can work with both his internal and external blood. he currently works in the seoul jujutsu technical college, and is well on his way to receiving a proper promotion to a grade one sorcerer.

[rasenkaikyo]

As mentioned once before, the spirit is inexorably linked to four "souls", or states of the soul: nigimitama, aramitama, sakimitama and kushimitama, and it's ideal to strive for a balance between them. The latter two are more subtle, latent and enigmatic; the former tend to be the most relevant, as they are the most directly affected by the state of the natural world around them.

Nigimitama and aramitama are associated most with the kami, and with auspicious beasts (zuiju). Both entities, especially zuiju that have exceeded a thousand years of life, have spiritual potential beyond mortal comprehension. It comes at a risk, however, for fostering too much aramitama leads to an all-consuming rage - and inevitably destruction akin to the unbridled wrath of nature itself.

It is then, with little speculation, that the elder zuiju are considered a special manifestation of the kami themselves.

It should be noted as well that the influence of the four souls are not limited to kami, auspices and yokai. It is all walks of life; just that certain beings have a different relationship with musubi, the flow of the universe, meaning the consequences of spiritual balance (or imbalance) tend to be more visible and profound.

For others it is usually more slight, and a great imbalance in any which way can produce various symptoms, such as abnormal mood swings or physical health issues. Although, those well attuned with qi can also experience some dramatic effects of their own.

[legend-collection]

Fox Spirit

Nine-tailed foxes appear in Chinese folklore, literature, and mythology, in which, depending on the tale can be a good or a bad omen. The motif of nine-tailed foxes from Chinese culture were eventually transmitted and introduced to the Japanese and Korean cultures.

During the Han dynasty, the development of ideas about interspecies transformation had taken place in Chinese culture. The idea that non-human creatures with advancing age could assume human form is presented in works such as the Lunheng by Wang Chong (27–91). As these traditions developed, the fox's capacity for transformation was shaped.

The nine-tailed fox occurs in the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), compiled from the Warring States period to the Western Han period (circa 4th to circa 1st century BC). The work states:

"The Land of Qing Qiu lies north of Tianwu. The foxes there have four legs and nine tails. According to another version, it is located north of Sunrise Valley."

In chapter 14 of the Shanhaijing, Guo Pu had commented that the nine-tailed fox was an auspicious omen that appeared during times of peace. However, in chapter 1, another aspect of the nine-tailed fox is described:

"Three hundred li farther east is Qing Qiu Mountain, where much jade can be found on its south slope and green cinnabar on its north. There is a beast here whose form resembles a fox with nine tails. It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater. Whoever eats it will be protected against insect-poison (gu)."

In a Tang Dynasty story, foxes could become humans by wearing a skull and worshipping the Big Dipper. They would try multiple skulls till they found one that fit without falling off.

On the eve of the Jurchen invasion, a fox went to the throne of Song Dynasty Emperor Huizong. This resulted in Huizong ordering the destruction of all fox temples in Kaifeng. The city was invaded the next day, and the dynasty fell after five months.

In one ancient myth, Yu the Great encountered a white nine-tailed fox, which he interpreted as an auspicious sign that he would marry Nüjiao. In Han iconography, the nine-tailed fox is sometimes depicted at Mount Kunlun and along with Xi Wangmu in her role as the goddess of immortality. According to the first-century Baihutong (Debates in the White Tiger Hall), the fox's nine tails symbolize abundant progeny.

Describing the transformation and other features of the fox, Guo Pu (276–324) made the following comment:

"When a fox is fifty years old, it can transform itself into a woman; when a hundred years old, it becomes a beautiful female, or a spirit medium, or an adult male who has sexual intercourse with women. Such beings are able to know things at more than a thousand miles' distance; they can poison men by sorcery, or possess and bewilder them, so that they lose their memory and knowledge; and when a fox is thousand years old, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox."

The Youyang Zazu made a connection between nine-tailed foxes and the divine:

"Among the arts of the Way, there is a specific doctrine of the celestial fox. [The doctrine] says that the celestial fox has nine tails and a golden color. It serves in the Palace of the Sun and Moon and has its own fu (talisman) and a jiao ritual. It can transcend yin and yang."

Popular fox worship during the Tang dynasty has been mentioned in a text entitled Hu Shen (Fox gods):

"Since the beginning of the Tang, many commoners have worshiped fox spirits. They make offerings in their bedchambers to beg for their favor. The foxes share people's food and drink. They do not serve a single master. At the time there was a figure of speech saying, 'Where there is no fox demon, no village can be established.'"

Pic by Kitsune-Inari-sama on DeviantArt

[risingsunfish]

Tumblr gets this one first, you lucky ducks! I felt like solidifying some designs for Cichol and Cethleann’s dragon forms. Yes, I know about the whole Four Auspicious Beasts theory. I don’t buy it. They’re sheepygoats in my book.

Twitter • Reddit (maybe I’ll actually remember to hotlink these this time 🙃)

[yoga-onion]

Japanese Mythology & Deities The world of the Divine Spirit, the Gods in our lives (5)

The Nine headed Dragon〜The most divine of all the dragons, the "King of the Dragons"

A type of dragon god worship, with nine heads on a body of one. It is believed that the dragon gods are able to pray for rain and stop rain.

In Indian mythology, the dragon is a demi-god with a human face and a serpentine body, and is said to have the spiritual power to control clouds and rain.

It was adopted by Buddhism and is considered one of the eight races of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils that protect Buddhism. In China, it is treated as one of the four auspicious divine beasts, along with the Phoenix, Qilin and the Spirit Turtle

日本神話と神様たち 神霊の世界・暮らしの中の神々 (5)

九頭龍〜神とされた龍の中で、最も神格が高い「諸龍の王」

龍神信仰の一種で、1の体に9つの頭を持つ龍神。雨乞いや止雨などに霊験(れいげん)あらたかとされる。

そもそも龍は、インド神話では蛇を神格化した人面蛇身の半神で、雲雨を支配する霊力をもつという。

仏教に取り入れられ、天龍八部衆（てんりゅうはちぶしゅう: 仏法を守護する八尊の護法善神)の一つとされる。

中国では鳳凰(ほうおう)、麒麟(きりん)、霊亀(れいき)と共に、四瑞(しずい)の神獣(神獣)としての扱いを受けている。

九頭竜は、箱根（神奈川県）、長野県、福井県など、日本各地の神社で祀られ、民話や伝説に登場する神である。多くの場合、九頭竜は水に関連している。

龍の種類は多いが、なかでも九頭龍の神格は最も高く、諸龍の王といわれる。

[numinousdread-a]

HU CHEN LORE. this is kind of a rough write up post mostly for myself regarding this OC. subject to change, yadda yadda.

- a son of Baihu, the white tigress , or one of the four auspicious beasts.

-his appearance is kind of a WIP:

-his territory is a large bamboo forest against a mountain. humans rarely wander here, and those who do tread carefully so as to not offend or upset the careful ecosystem hu chen has maintained amongst the life living in his land

-humans create stone shrines occasionally in this forest for his protection / to placate his wrath if they must travel through his woods

-in his shared lore with @tocurse​ , he was the second “beast” summoned by wuya when his hubris and adrenaline drove him to attempt to something far more powerful than a demon

-in this way hu chen was temporarily held hostage until he provoked/frightened wuya in a way that led to them clashing, wuya’s malice and hatred burrowing itself through hu chen’s mouth and down into his chest, where corruption grew 

-in an effort to prevent this spread (for fear of losing such a powerful beast and the consequences of killing one), wuya constructed a mask in the shape of a tiger’s maw to contain this corruption 

-his jaw now beneath that mask is black and shriveled from corrupted magic, he is unable to remove the maw for long periods of time 

-in retaliation for the wrong done unto him, hu chen did not simply let this mortal free although he was at its mercy for now. he chose to curse wuya in an ironic twist, preventing his inner core from growing and inhibiting his spiritual power / less control over his cultivation