sìxiàng
four symbols
四象 sìxiàng
- four symbols
- The four mythological creatures in Chinese astronomy that guard the four directions, namely the Azure Dragon 青龙 qīnglóng (East), White Tiger 白虎 báihǔ (West), Vermilion Bird 朱雀 zhūquè (South), and Black Tortoise 玄武 xuánwǔ (North); also known as the 四灵 sìlíng or 四神 sìshén
- four bigrams
- The four combinations of two yin/yang lines (Old Yang, Young Yang, Old Yin, Young Yin) in the 易经 yìjīng, often associated with the four seasons
- four elements
- The four elements metal, wood, water, and fire
- celestial bodies
- Collective term for the sun, moon, stars, and planets
- character formation
- The four primary methods of creating Chinese characters, namely pictograms, simple ideograms, compound ideograms, and phono-semantic compounds
- guardian gods
- The guardian deities of Daoist temple gates, corresponding to the four mythological creatures (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise)
- four images
- The four types of images or signs in the 易经 yìjīng: real images, false images (假象 jiǎxiàng), meaningful images, and functional images