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The Four Benevolent Animals (|s=|p=''Sì Líng''}}) are figures from Chinese mythology that took abodes within the gardens of the palace of the Yellow Emperor.〔Joseph Campbell.〕 They included: * the Qilin (), the lord of furry quadrupeds; * the Dragon (), lord of scaly animals; * the Turtle (), lord of shelled animals; and * the Phoenix (), lord of birds. They were juxtaposed with the "Four Perils" (, ''Si Xiong''), which were ambiguously described in the classics as monsters, barbarians, or circumstances. In Chinese culture, animal imagery is closely related to the four or five〔Including the center as a direction, as part of the concept of Wu Xing developed during the late Zhou.〕 cardinal directions. However, the relationship of the present Four Symbols was not stable until the Han period. Thus, the ''Rong Cheng Shi'', a text from the 4th century BC found in an archaeological excavation, refers to the snake as a symbol of the ''south''; the bird, of the ''north''; and the ''bear'' of the center. East and west were symbolized by the sun and the moon, rather than by any animal.〔(Rong Cheng Shi ).〕 ==See also== *Four Symbols of Chinese and Japanese culture *Four Holy Beasts of Vietnam *Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Four Benevolent Animals」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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