Chinese 白虎 Yale Romanization baak6 fu2 Hokkien POJ pe̍h-hó͘ | Hanyu Pinyin Jyutping baak6 fu2 Vietnamese alphabet Bạch Hổ | |
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The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ), and is known as Bai Hu in Chinese, Byakko in Japanese, Baekho in Korean and Bạch Hổ in Vietnamese. It represents the west and the autumn season.
Contents
Seven mansions of White Tiger
As the other three symbols, there are seven astrological mansions, or positions, of the moon within White Tiger. The names and determinative stars are:
Origin
In Chinese culture, the tiger is the king of the beasts and has been presented with a 王 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.