What are the four elephants?

In the traditional culture of China, it refers to Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu, which respectively represent the four directions of east, west, north and south.

The stars in the sky are divided by "four images" in the twenty-eight lodges, which are also called four gods and four spirits. In the theory of astronomical yin and yang in the Spring and Autumn Period, it refers to the natural meteorology of the four seasons, which are called Shaoyang, Sun, Shaoyin and Taiyin respectively.

The traditional orientation of China is that the south is above, which is different from the modern north. Therefore, when describing the orientation of the four elephants, it will be said that Zuo Qinglong (east) and You Baihu (west) are in front of Suzaku (south) and Xuanwu (north), and echo the orientation of the five elements (East Muxijin, North Shuinanhuo). The concept of "Four Elephants" received great attention in ancient Japan and Korea, which were often called Four Saints and Four Holy Beasts.

It is worth noting that, although recently influenced by Japanese pop culture, I began to get used to this statement, but in fact, China never said "four elephants" and four saints. Generally, the four saints are Fuxi, King Wen, Duke Zhou and Confucius. "Four images" also refer to four natural weather phenomena: wind, rain, thunder and electricity.

folk-custom activities

1, temple fair

Chaozhou Qinglong Temple Fair is the fourth batch of intangible cultural heritage in Guangdong Province. China Chaozhou Embroidery Exhibition, Chaozhou Opera and Chaozhou Music Specials, Chaozhou Painting, Photography Competition, Chaozhou Salon and other 28 Chaozhou intangible cultural heritage projects have been held successively. The event attracted more than 3 million people from China to watch or participate in the event, and groups from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau participated in the event.

Step 2 sacrifice

The worship of the Five Dragons in Xingqing Palace, which rose in the Tang Dynasty, is a link in the development of the Five Dragons belief. The modern worship of the Five Dragons has been included in the official worship of the country. The sacrificial ceremony of the Five Dragon Gods is mainly based on the small sacrifices of Zhou Li sacrificial groups. The contents of the sacrificial ceremony and the sacrificial wishes reflect the belief of the Five Dragon, with the Qinglong God as the main one and the other four dragons as the auxiliary ones.

The above contents should be combined with the actual situation for reference only.