Token - The Four Symbols of Chinese Mythology

Obverse

The Four Holy Beasts of Chinese.

Reverse

Scripts: Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional, regular script)

Lettering:
中華四神

上古人们仰望天空将群星划分为若干组团，并赋以人丶物或神话的形象，这是中外天文史上普遍存在的现象。

中国处于四时分明的自然条件，所以很早就把春天黄昏时东方的若干星星想象为一条龙，谓之青龙;南方的若干星星想象成一只鸟形，谓之朱雀;西方的若干星星想象为一只虎，谓之白虎;北方的若干星星想象为龟蛇形象，谓之玄武。

五行家们照着阴阳五行给东南西北中配上五种颜色，而每种颜色又配上一个神兽与一个神灵；东为青色，配龙，西为白色，配虎，南为朱色，配雀，北为黑色，配武，黄为中央正色。

先秦两汉时期的“四神”具有广泛的用途，天文家利用以正四时，地理学家利用以辨九州，军事家利用以定方向 。

在《吴子治兵》论及三军进止时：说行必左青龙丶右白虎丶前朱雀丶后玄武------

朱雀玄武順陰陽
左龍右虎開不祥

一路平安

Translation:
The Four Symbols of Chinese Astrology

In ancient times, people looked up at the sky and divided the stars into groups, attributing them to people, objects, or mythological figures. This is a common phenomenon in the history of astronomy, both in China and abroad.

China, with its distinct four seasons, had long imagined the southern stars at dusk in spring as a bird, called the Vermilion Bird; the eastern stars as a dragon, called the Azure Dragon; the western stars as a tiger, called the White Tiger; and the northern stars as a tortoise and snake, called the Black Tortoise.

The Five Elements theorists assigned five colors to the four cardinal directions (east, south, west, north, and center) according to Yin and Yang and the Five Elements theory. Each color was also associated with a mythical beast and a deity: east was azure, associated with the dragon; west was white, associated with the tiger; south was vermilion, associated with the bird; north was black, associated with the tortoise; and yellow was the central color.

During the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, the "Four Symbols" had wide applications: astronomers used them to determine the four seasons, geographers used them to identify the nine provinces, and military strategists used them to determine direction.

In Wu Zi's Treatise on Military Strategy, when discussing the advance and retreat of the three armies: it states that in any campaign, the Azure Dragon is on the left, the White Tiger on the right, the Vermilion Bird in front, and the Black Tortoise behind—

The Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise align with Yin and Yang;
The Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right dispel misfortune;

May you have a safe journey.

Edge

Plain

See also

• Fantasy animal

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Numista Rarity index: 97

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