The story of the Four Gods of Heaven and Earth, the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, is not something that was made up for Fushigi Yuugi by Watase Yuu. The myth of the Four Gods has been deeply rooted in ancient Chinese mythology. The following are exerpts from Derek Walters' "An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend: Chinese Mythology" and Donald A. Mackenzie's "Myths of China and Japan."
Creation Myth
"Nu Kwa, a mythical empress of China, was reputed to have become a goddess
after she had passed to the celestial regions...When the demons of water
and fire, aided by rebel generals of her empire, set out to destroy the
world, Nu Kwa waged war against them. Her campaign was successful, but
not until a gigantic warrior had partly destroyed the heavens by upsetting
one of its pillars and the flood had covered a great portion of the earth.
The empress stemmed the rising waters by means of charred reeds, and
afterwards rebuilt the broken pillar...Thereafter she created the
guardians of the four quarters, placing the Black Tortoise in the north,
and giving it control over winter; the Blue Dragon in the east, who was
given control over spring; the White Tiger in the west, who was given
control over autumn; and the Red Bird in the south, who was given control
over summer, with the Gold Dragon, whose special duty was to guard the
sun, the moon being protected by the White Deity of the west. The broken
pillar of heaven was built up with stones coloured like the five gods
(Mackenzie)."
Celestial Emblems
"The Four Directions, East, South, West and North, represent the four
seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Together with the Centre,
which in Chinese is synonymous with China itself, they form the five
cardinal points. The Four Directions have been represented at least since
the second century BC, by four celestial animals, the Dragon for the East, the Bird
for the South, the Tiger for the West, and the Tortoise for the North. Each animal has its own colour:
the Dragon is the Green of Spring, the Bird the red of Fire, the Tiger of
Autumn the glittering white of metal (of ploughshares or swords), and the
Tortoise Black, for night, or water. The four celestial animals, which
have no connection with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, are also
the names of the four divisions of the sky. The Dragon's Heart, the
Pleiades, and the Bird Star are the names of three of the lunar mansions
which marked the central position of the Dragon, Tiger and Bird. As there
was no identifying star at the centre of the Black Tortoise, the
appropriate place (the eleventh mansion) was called Void (Walters)."
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| Star Map of the 28 star lodgings and the centre | Star Guide of the 28 star lodgings |
"One of the oldest symbolic animals, stylized forms of which are a feature
of the decoration of ancient bronzes cast before the invention of writing.
In complete contrast to Western mythology, however, Dragons are rarely
depicted as malevolent. They may be fearsome and very powerful, and all
stand in awe of the dragon-kings, but they are equally considered just,
benevolent, and the bringers of wealth and good fortune. There are, of
course, legends of the various immortals battling against evil dragons,
but such monsters would be foreign ones. Local dragons are to be
respected, feared, and petitioned as one would petition a just and honest
ruler. For this reason, the dragon symbol is the sign of authority, being
worn on the robes of the Imperial family and nobility.
Dragons are generally considered to be aquatic, living in lakes, rivers
and the sea, the larger the expanse of water, the more powerful the
dragon. Nevertheless, there are dragons which inhabit the heavens, one
quarter of the sky being called the Palace of the Green Dragon, in
reference to the stars which in Chinese astronomy constitute the
constellation of the Dragon. Even so, the appearance of the Dragon
constellation is said to herald the rainy season (Walters)."
(i know this should be the Red Bird section, but since Suzaku is more
like a Phoenix i'd thought i'd add this instead. also, there was nothing
on the Red Bird at all.)
"Phoenix is used as a translation for Feng, or Feng Huang, the sacred bird
of Chinese mythology. It has many miraculous attributes, but not
self-rejuvenation, and does not posess the Arabian phoenix's propensity
for self-immolation. It is usually portrayed as a beautiful bird,
virtually identical to an ornamental pheasant. Few illustrations match
its verbal description, as it is said to have the front of a swan, the
hinder parts of a unicorn, the throat of a swallow, the bill of a chicken,
the neck of a snake, the stripes of a dragon, and the arched back of a
tortoise. Its plumage is of the five mystical colours - black, white,
red, green and yellow, and it has twelve tail feathers, execept in years
when there is an extra month, when there are thirteen. It feeds on bamboo
seeds, lives in the branches of the dryandera tree, and drinks from
fountains of fresh water.
It is one of the four emblems of royalty, usually associated with the
Empress. The expression Dragon and Phoenix signifies wedded bliss. In
many respects its symbolism has been confused and merged with that of the
Red Bird, one of the four Celestial Emblems (Walters)."
This is all i could find on the white tiger, i'll keep
looking...
"...The White Tiger of the West, for instance, is associated with metal.
When, therefore, metal is placed in a grave, a ceremonial connection with
the tiger-god is effected. 'According to the Annals of Wu and Yueh, three
days after the burial of the king, the essence of the element metal
assumed the shape of a white tiger and crouched down on the top of the
grave.' Here the tiger is a protector - a preserver.
...As we have seen, white jade was used when the Tiger god of the West
was worshipped; it is known as 'tiger jade'; a tiger was depicted on the
jade symbol. To the Chinese the tiger was the king of all animals and
'lord of the mountains', and the tiger-jade ornament was specially
researved for commanders of armies. The male tiger was, among other
things, the god of war, and in this capacity it not only assisted the
armies of the emperors, but fought the demons that threatened the dead in
their graves (Mackenzie)."
In recent times, the tortoise was supplanted by the "Black Warrior"
symbolism.
"One of the Celestial Emblems, the symbol of longevity and wisdom. It is
said that its shell represents the vault of the universe. A common symbol
for longevity is the Tortoise and Snake, whose union was thought to have
engendered the universe.
The reason why the tortoise symbolism has been superseded by the Black
Warrior as the emblem of the North, is probably due to the fact that
'tortoise' is a term of abuse (Walters)."
"In China the tortoise had divine attributes. Tortoise shell is a symbol
of unchangeability, and a symbol or rank when used for court girdles. The
tortoise was also used for purposes of divination.
A gigantic mythical tortoise is supposed, in the Far East, to live in the
depths of ocean. It has one eye situated in the middle of its body. Once
every three thousand years it rises to the surface and turns over on its
back so that it may see the sun (Mackenzie)."