Chinese Folk Four
国风民俗四大
English
Beneath the surface of classical scholarship lies a second layer of Chinese culture: the mythological world of divine beasts and ferocious monsters, the astronomical systems that mapped the heavens onto the earth, the calendar of twenty-four solar terms that synchronized human life with the natural world. These are the fours that lived not in academies and examination halls but in temples, almanacs, and the oral traditions of ordinary life.
中文
在古典学问的表层之下，是中国文化的另一个层次：神兽与凶兽的神话世界，将天象映射到大地的天文体系，将人类生活与自然世界同步的二十四节气。这些是不居于书院和考场，而是活在庙宇、历书和日常生活口述传统中的「四」。
神话上古 · Ancient Myths
→ 青龙 / Azure Dragon — Guardian of the East [greatfour.org/azure-dragon-four-divine-beasts]
→ 白虎 / White Tiger — Guardian of the West [greatfour.org/white-tiger-four-divine-beasts]
→ 朱雀 / Vermilion Bird — Guardian of the South [greatfour.org/vermilion-bird-four-divine-beasts]
→ 玄武 / Black Tortoise — Guardian of the North [greatfour.org/black-tortoise-four-divine-beasts]
→ 饕餮 / Taotie — The Devouring Mask of Ancient China [greatfour.org/taotie-four-ferocious-beasts]
→ 混沌 / Hundun — Primordial Chaos and the Price of Order [greatfour.org/hundun-four-ferocious-beasts]
星象与历法 · Stars & Calendar
→ 四时八节·二十四节气 / Four Seasons, Eight Nodes, Twenty-Four Solar Terms [greatfour.org/twenty-four-solar-terms]
→ 十二生肖 vs 黄道十二宫 / Chinese Zodiac vs Western Horoscope [greatfour.org/chinese-zodiac-western-horoscope]
※ 四大凶兽的穷奇、梼杌两篇为待续内容，发布后在此补充链接。