The four divine animals of Chinese mythology, namely the 麒麟 qí​lín, the 凤凰 fèng​huáng, the 龟 guī, and the 龙 lóng.

The four mythological symbols of the Chinese constellations, representing the four directions and seasons: the 青龙 qīng​lóng (East), the 朱雀 zhū​què (South), the 白虎 bái​hǔ (West), and the 玄武 xuán​wǔ (North)

Refers to the four famous poets from Yongjia during the Southern Song dynasty, whose names all contained the character 灵 líng.