In Chinese mythology, Joseph Campbell identifies four benevolent animals (simplified Chinese: 四灵; traditional Chinese: 四靈; pinyin: sì líng) that took abodes in the gardens of the palace of the Chinese Empire during the legendary period of the Yellow Emperor.
- The qilin (麒麟), lord of furred quadrupeds.
- The dragon (龍), lord of scaly animals.
- The tortoise (龜), lord of shelled animals.
- The Fenghuang (鳳凰), lord of birds.
The image might be an opposite of the "Four Perils" Si Xiong zh:四凶, ambiguously described in the classics as the monsters of the early age, barbarians, or assistants and progenitors.
Animal imagery was related to the four cardinal directions (Four animal symbols), however, the relationship was not stable until canonization in Han period. Thus, Rong cheng shi, a 4 c. BCE excavated text, refers to the snake as a symbol of the South, bird, of the North; and bear, of the center. East and west were symbolized by the sun and the moon. All the symbols appeared on the banners created by Yu the Great .
Famous quotes containing the words benevolent and/or animals:
“It is clearly better that property should be private, but the use of it common; and the special business of the legislator is to create in men this benevolent disposition.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“We know what the animals do, what are the needs of the beaver, the bear, the salmon, and other creatures, because long ago men married them and acquired this knowledge from their animal wives. Today the priests say we lie, but we know better.”
—native American belief, quoted by D. Jenness in “The Carrier Indians of the Bulkley River,” Bulletin no. 133, Bureau of American Ethnology (1943)