Posted to Facebook - Chinese Custom & Festivities by Sin Fong ChanTitle: Lesson on Chinese Culture - Four Divinities (四靈|四灵)
In Chinese mythology, there are four divine creatures, namely Long 龍|龙, Feng 鳳|凤, Qi Lin 麒麟, Gui 龜|龟. Collectively, they are known as the four divinities Si Lin (四靈|四灵) and are symbolic of propitiousness, prosperity and longevity,
The turtle is the only earthly animal while the other three are mythical creatures which have no equivalence in other cultures. For the benefit of non-Chinese, the names of the creatures have been translated as phoenix for Feng, dragon for Long and Chinese unicorn for Qi Lin.
The so called legendary creatures are no more than creation of human's imagination.
Long is the largest and the most auspicious creature; it signifies propitiousness. While the image of Long is known for centuries by people from all walks of life, including emperors, no one has ever seen one. A Long has the anatomical features of nine Earthly animals. Its mouth resembles that of a horse, its eyes and antennae those of a prawn, its beard that of a goat, its antelopes those of a deer, ears those of an ox, mane that of a lion, scales those of a carp, body that of a snake and claws those of an eagle. There are other variant lists of nine animal resemblances.
A Long can walk on land, cruise in water and fly in the clouds. It has super power. For thousands of years, feudal emperors treat it as a symbol of power and dignity, while ordinary people believe that it is the embodiment of virtue and strength.
Historically, the dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China. The 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the nobles, and the 3-clawed dragon to the ministers. Therefore, images of Long can be seen everywhere in China - the palace, temple roof, the royal utensils, carved sculpture.
To be continued ....
In Chinese mythology, there are four divine creatures, namely Long 龍|龙, Feng 鳳|凤, Qi Lin 麒麟, Gui 龜|龟. Collectively, they are known as the four divinities Si Lin (四靈|四灵) and are symbolic of propitiousness, prosperity and longevity,
The turtle is the only earthly animal while the other three are mythical creatures which have no equivalence in other cultures. For the benefit of non-Chinese, the names of the creatures have been translated as phoenix for Feng, dragon for Long and Chinese unicorn for Qi Lin.
The so called legendary creatures are no more than creation of human's imagination.
A Long can walk on land, cruise in water and fly in the clouds. It has super power. For thousands of years, feudal emperors treat it as a symbol of power and dignity, while ordinary people believe that it is the embodiment of virtue and strength.
Historically, the dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China. The 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the nobles, and the 3-clawed dragon to the ministers. Therefore, images of Long can be seen everywhere in China - the palace, temple roof, the royal utensils, carved sculpture.
To be continued ....