The White Tiger (Chinese: 白虎; pinyin: Báihǔ), known in Chinese as Baihu, is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎; Xīfāng Báihǔ). It represents the west in terms of direction and the autumn season.
As with the other three Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the Moon) within the White Tiger. The names and determinative stars are:[1][2]
In Chinese culture, the tiger is the king of the beasts and has been presented with a 王 (pinyin: wáng; lit. 'king') on his forehead for centuries. According to legend, the tiger's tail would turn white when it reached the age of 500 years. In this way, the white tiger became a kind of mythological creature. It was said that the white tiger would only appear when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue or if there was peace throughout the world. Because the color white of the Wu Xing theory also represents the west, the White Tiger became a mythological Guardian Of The West.[citation needed]
Worshipedit
During the Han dynasty, there was the old custom of worshipping the White Tiger God on the 14th of the first lunar month in Huiji, Zhejiang, at Baihu Temple, one of the four Weiyang Temples. According to textual research, the worship of the white tiger appears in the ancient Qiang Rong peoples. To this day, the Yi, Bai, Buyi and Tujia nationalities in China still call the white tiger its ancestor, calling themselves "Liba" and "Baidi Tianwang", believing the star of the White Tiger to have descended to the world where it gave birth to seven men and women.
In Chinese art, the white tiger often appears with the dragon. The white tiger symbolizes power and army. Therefore, many things named after the white tiger in ancient times are related to military affairs, such as the white tiger flag in ancient army and the symbol that can command the army.
^Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 517. ISBN0-7923-4066-3. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
October 27, 2023
white, tiger, mythology, other, uses, white, tiger, disambiguation, white, tiger, chinese, 白虎, pinyin, báihǔ, known, chinese, baihu, four, symbols, chinese, constellations, sometimes, called, white, tiger, west, 西方白虎, xīfāng, báihǔ, represents, west, terms, di. For other uses see White tiger disambiguation The White Tiger Chinese 白虎 pinyin Baihǔ known in Chinese as Baihu is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West 西方白虎 Xifang Baihǔ It represents the west in terms of direction and the autumn season White TigerBai Hǔ sculpture on an eaves tileChinese nameChinese白虎TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinBaihǔYue CantoneseYale RomanizationBaahk fuJyutpingBaak6 fu2Southern MinHokkien POJPe h ho Korean nameHangul백호Hanja白虎TranscriptionsRevised RomanizationBaekho Contents 1 Seven Mansions 2 Origin 3 Worship 4 See also 5 ReferencesSeven Mansions editAs with the other three Symbols there are seven astrological Mansions positions of the Moon within the White Tiger The names and determinative stars are 1 2 Mansion no Name pinyin Translation Determinative star15 奎 Kui Legs Eta Andromedae16 婁 Lou Bond Beta Arietis17 胃 Wei Stomach 35 Arietis18 昴 Mǎo Hairy Head Alcyone19 畢 Bi Net Ain20 觜 Zi Turtle Beak Meissa21 參 Shen Three Stars AlnitakOrigin editIn Chinese culture the tiger is the king of the beasts and has been presented with a 王 pinyin wang lit king on his forehead for centuries According to legend the tiger s tail would turn white when it reached the age of 500 years In this way the white tiger became a kind of mythological creature It was said that the white tiger would only appear when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue or if there was peace throughout the world Because the color white of the Wu Xing theory also represents the west the White Tiger became a mythological Guardian Of The West citation needed Worship editDuring the Han dynasty there was the old custom of worshipping the White Tiger God on the 14th of the first lunar month in Huiji Zhejiang at Baihu Temple one of the four Weiyang Temples According to textual research the worship of the white tiger appears in the ancient Qiang Rong peoples To this day the Yi Bai Buyi and Tujia nationalities in China still call the white tiger its ancestor calling themselves Liba and Baidi Tianwang believing the star of the White Tiger to have descended to the world where it gave birth to seven men and women In Chinese art the white tiger often appears with the dragon The white tiger symbolizes power and army Therefore many things named after the white tiger in ancient times are related to military affairs such as the white tiger flag in ancient army and the symbol that can command the army See also editCetus in Chinese astronomy Chinese culture Feng shui I Ching ByakkotaiReferences edit The Chinese Sky International Dunhuang Project Archived from the original on 2015 11 04 Retrieved 2011 06 25 Sun Xiaochun 1997 Helaine Selin ed Encyclopaedia of the History of Science Technology and Medicine in Non Western Cultures Kluwer Academic Publishers p 517 ISBN 0 7923 4066 3 Retrieved 2011 06 25 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White Tiger mythology amp oldid 1180613373, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
