Are Qilin and White Tiger the same thing?

White Tiger The White Tiger was originally the God of the West in ancient mythology and one of the four images of the Western Seven Constellations of Taoism. It is the seven western constellations of the twenty-eight constellations (Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Xi, and Shen). Its image is a tiger, located in the west, belonging to gold and white in color, and is generally called the white tiger. Volume 44 of "Tai Shang Huang Lu Zhai Yi" calls the White Tiger West Dou Xingjun as: "Kuisu Tianjiang Xingjun, Lousu Tianyou Xingjun, Weisu Tiancang Xingjun, Angsu Tianmu Xingjun, Bisu Tianerxing" Lord, Lord of Heavenly Ping Star, Lord of Ritel and Heavenly Water Star." As for his image, Volume 7 of "Taoist Tongjiao Yiji" says: "In the West, the Lord of Heavenly Ping Xing is born with heroic qualities, quiet and clear voice, intimidating beasts, and roaring. Move the mountains and forests, come and establish me." At the same time, Taoism also uses it in alchemy terms. For example, Volume 72 of "Yunji Qixi" quotes the elixir of the four gods from the "Ancient Sutra": "White Tiger, Western Geng Xin Gold." Platinum is also the position of true unity. "The Sutra" says: If the child is able to accomplish all things, it is called a "lady" due to the influence of the five elements. It is unable to move, so it is called a tiger in China. Among the four holy beasts, another one that is often compared to the dragon is the 'white tiger'; the tiger is the leader of all beasts. Its might and legendary ability to subdue ghosts make it a yang divine beast, often followed by The dragons go out together, and "clouds follow the dragon, and wind follows the tiger" become the best partners to conquer ghosts. The white tiger is also the god of war and killing. It has the functions of avoiding evil, preventing disasters, praying for good fortune, and punishing evil. It has many divine powers such as getting rich, getting married, etc. And it is one of the four spirits. Of course, it is also formed from the stars. It is located in the seven constellations in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, etc. So it is the representative of the West, and its white color is because it is the West. The West belongs to gold in the Five Elements, and its color is white, so it is not called the White Tiger because it is white, but because it comes from the Five Elements. In addition to the four spirits in Taoism including the green dragon and white tiger, when Feng Shui masters explore the cemetery, the terrain on the left and right in front of the terrain, which can be used as tombs, has unique names, called Zuo Qinglong and Right. The white tiger means guard, and the same decoration is found in the court hall. There are green dragons and hundreds of tigers painted on the left and right pillars, which are used to suppress evil spirits. After the rise of Taoism, dragon and tiger were borrowed as the term for Taoist alchemy. It refers to the synonyms of "lead and mercury, Kanli, water and fire, yin and yang", and Taoist alchemy is divided into internal and external (inner elixir for refining qi and outer elixir for refining elixirs. The author is not very knowledgeable and I am not sure). Inner elixir is based on yin and yang and the five elements. It is said that Longyang is born in Li, which belongs to fire, so it is said that "the dragon comes out of the fire"; Tiger Yin is born in Kan, and Kan belongs to water, so it is said that "the tiger is born towards the water". After the two are combined, one Yin and Yang, in harmony with each other, are called Taoben. They are both representatives of Yuanshen and Yuanjing. Another way of saying is that nature belongs to wood, and wood represents the east. The hexagram is Zhen, so it is compared to Qinglong; love belongs to metal. , gold represents the west, in the hexagram is Dui, gold is white, so it is called the white tiger. Metal can overcome wood, so emotions can damage the nature. If the true essence of the 28 is used to combine them into one, then the metal and wood will be seamless, and the dragon will appear. Tigers form elixirs by themselves. In the human body, the liver is represented by the dragon and the kidneys are represented by the tiger. However, the external elixirs still take the meaning of yin and yang, with the dragon as lead and the tiger as mercury. In the minds of the ancients, tigers were scary things. It is also a respectable thing. The scary thing is that it can eat people and animals, but the respectable thing is that it is extremely powerful and can ward off evil spirits. In some ancient books, such as Ying Shao's "Customs and Sacrifice Code": "Draw a tiger on the door, and ghosts will not dare to enter." "Tiger is a masculine object, the leader of all beasts. 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. It was due to the fusion of the two 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." ’ What’s here is not the White Tiger, but the Xianchi.

Xianchi is the star of grains and autumn. Since grains are harvested in autumn, it is placed in autumn. However, it is not an animal. How can it be paired with dragons, birds, and turtles to form the four spirits? In "Justice": "The three stars of Xianchi are among the five chariots, the sky is in the south, and the fish and birds are there." ’ Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, a question was raised: ‘Canglong, Zhuniao, and Xuanwu are all divided into seven constellations. As for Xianchi, there is another star, which is outside the twenty-eight constellations. There is another explanation for Xianchi, which is a place where the sun bathes. In "Huainanzi. Astronomical Chapter": "The sun rises in Yanggu, bathes in the salty pond, and brushes against the hibiscus. This is called morning brightness." It can be seen that Xianchi was originally regarded as the place where the sun rises by the Qiang people. Xianchi is also an alkaline lake, which should be a lake in the Minshan area or Qinghai. This proves that the star palaces and celestial phenomena worshiped by primitive people do not yet have the concept of green dragons and white tigers. In "Book of Rites. Liyun" it is said: "Lin, phoenix, turtle, dragon, are called the four spirits." ’ Replace Xianchi, which is not an animal, with Qilin. In later generations, it was customary to have a lin among the four spirits and a tiger among the four elephants.

And because the white tiger is the god of war, many powerful generals are said to be white tiger stars throughout the world, 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.

Qilin "Qilin" takes "deer" as the radical. When the ancients coined this word, they clearly told people that Qilin evolved from deer, but it is by no means a deer. It is much more than a deer. Some parts and gear. It is said that its body resembles a deer, and it can also be written as a deer. In ancient books, it refers to a deer. Cow's tail, round head. But there is only one horn. Some say Qi is male and Qi is female, and their shapes are depicted slightly differently. But it is said that the beginning of Qi roughly resembles a deer. It was regarded by the ancients as a mythical and benevolent beast with a long life and could live for two thousand years. He can spit fire and his voice is like thunder. "There are three hundred and sixty hairy worms, but the unicorn is the longest." ("Dadaili·Yi Benming") The "worm" here generally refers to beasts, just like the hero in "Water Margin" is called tiger, which is a "big insect". It is an auspicious mythical beast that governs peace and longevity. Deer itself is a docile beast, strong and good at running, its horns have medicinal value, its meat is edible, and its leather is also very valuable, which is of great benefit to people. The legendary white deer is especially divine. There is a folk saying that Qilin gives birth to a child! Kirin is mainly deer, integrating the characteristics of cattle, sheep and horses. Its comprehensive coverage is not as extensive as that of dragon and phoenix, but its reputation is not small.

As a sacred beast, Qilin is one of the so-called "Four Spirits" and is an auspicious thing. In "Book of Rites·Liyun": "The mountains come out with chariots, the rivers come out with horses, the phoenix and Kirin are all in Suburb. "Also known as "lin, phoenix, turtle, and dragon," it is "the length of the caterpillar" ("Zhengxiang Ji"), "the caterpillar is three hundred and sixty and the lin is the longest" ("Da Dai Li Ji") , "Live a thousand years old" ("Baopuzi").