White Tiger (mythology)

One of Four Symbols of Chinese mythology
White Tiger
Bái Hǔ sculpture on an eaves tile
Chinese name
Chinese白虎
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBáihǔ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationBaahk fú
JyutpingBaak6 fu2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJPe̍h-hó͘
Korean name
Hangul백호
Hanja白虎
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationBaekho

The White Tiger (Chinese: 白虎; pinyin: Báihǔ), known in Chinese as Baihu, is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎; Xīfāng Báihǔ). It represents the west in terms of direction and the autumn season.

It is known as Byakko in Japanese, Baekho in Korean, and Bạch Hổ in Vietnamese.

Seven Mansions

As with the other three Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the Moon) within the White Tiger. The names and determinative stars are:[1][2]

Mansion no. Name (pinyin) Translation Determinative star
15 (Kuí) Legs Eta Andromedae
16 (Lóu) Bond Beta Arietis
17 (Wèi) Stomach 35 Arietis
18 (Mǎo) Hairy Head Alcyone
19 (Bì) Net Ain
20 (Zī) Turtle Beak Meissa
21 (Shēn) Three Stars Alnitak

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Chinese Sky". International Dunhuang Project. Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  2. ^ Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 517. ISBN 0-7923-4066-3. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
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Three Enclosures (三垣)
Four Symbols (四象) and
Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八宿)
East – Azure Dragon (青龍)
Horn (角)
Neck (亢)
Root (氐)
Room (房)
Heart (心)
Tail (尾)
Winnowing Basket (箕)
South – Vermilion Bird (朱雀)
Well (井)
Ghost (鬼)
Willow (柳)
Star (星)
Extended Net (張)
Wings (翼)
Chariot (軫)
West – White Tiger (白虎)
Legs (奎)
Bond (婁)
Stomach (胃)
Hairy Head (昴)
Net (畢)
Turtle Beak (觜)
Three Stars (參)
North – Black Tortoise (玄武)
Dipper (斗)
Ox (牛)
Girl (女)
Emptiness (虛)
Rooftop (危)
Encampment (室)
Wall (壁)
Center – Yellow Dragon (黃龍)
Earth