Nowadays, people generally use nouns such as east, south, west, and north to express geographical directions, but in ancient times, it was much more complicated. In addition to using southeast, northwest, etc. to express geographical directions, there are roughly the following 10 methods.
1. Represented by yin and yang
Yin and yang originally meant that when the sun was facing away from you, facing the sun was yang, and facing away from the sun was yin. Our country is located in the northern hemisphere. The mountains and rivers generally run east-west, with mountains and rivers alternating with each other. The south of the mountains and the north of the water face the sun, so the mountains to the south and the water to the north are yang, and vice versa. "Hu Liang Zhuan·The 28th Year of Duke Xi": "The north of the water is Yang, and the south of Shan is Yang. "Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi": "Yin means darkness; the south of water is the north of mountains. "Li Jifu further pointed out in "Yuanhe County Chronicles": "The south of the mountain is called Yang, the north of the mountain is called Yin; the north of the water is called Yang, and the south of the water is called Yin. "Place names with "Yin" or "Yang" reflect their geographical location. For example: "Huayin" is to the north of Huashan Mountain, "Hengyang" is to the south of Hengshan Mountain, "Jiangyin" is to the south of the Yangtze River, and "Huaiyin" In the south of Huai River, "Hanyang" is in the north of Han River and "Luoyang" is in the north of Luoshui...
2. Represented by the five elements
The five elements are usually considered to refer to wood. , fire, earth, metal, and water. In the Han Dynasty, the five elements formed a cooperative relationship with the geographical location. Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Fanlu·The Meaning of the Five Elements" said: "Wood is on the left, metal is on the right, fire is in the front, and water is in the front." After that, earth lives in the center...that is, wood lives in the east and dominates the spring air, fire lives in the south and dominates the summer air, metal lives in the west and dominates the autumn air, and water lives in the north and dominates the winter air. "
3. Represented by five colors
The ancients used the five colors of green, red, white, black, and yellow to match the five elements of wood, fire, gold, water, and earth, and also with the east and south The five directions of , west, north and center correspond. Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi": "Green, the color of the east"; "Red, the color of the south"; "White, the color of the west". Under the word "black", Duan Yu. The supplementary note "Northern Color" says in "Lunheng·Chefu": "Yellow is earth color and is located in the center. "Yang Shen of the Ming Dynasty put it clearly: "The color of wood is green, so the color is green in the east; the wood produces fire, and its color is red, so the color is red in the south; the fire produces earth, and its color is yellow, so the color is yellow in the center; the soil produces gold, and its color is in the center. The color is white, so white refers to the west; gold generates water, and its color is black, so black refers to the north. "
4. Represented by four seasons
In ancient times, the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter were also included in the Five Elements system, which corresponded to the geographical directions of east, west, north and south and could be replaced by each other," Muju Dongfang And it dominates the spring air, fire lives in the south and dominates the summer air, metal lives in the west and dominates the autumn air, and water lives in the north and dominates the winter air. "(Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Fan Lu") In ancient poems and articles, "west wind" is often called "autumn wind" or "golden wind". East wind
5. Represented by four beasts
The ancients used The "four divine beasts" of Canglong (Qinglong), Suzaku, White Tiger and Xuanwu represent the four directions of southeast, northwest and northwest respectively, that is, the "Four Gods of the Four Directions". Ban Gu's "White Tiger Tongyi" says: "Left Qinglong, Right White Tiger, Front Suzaku, Back Xuanwu". . Canglong (green dragon) is patterned with a soaring dragon; Vermilion Bird is patterned with a flying bird; White Tiger is patterned with a leaping tiger; Xuanwu is patterned with a snake wrapped around a turtle. City gates, bridges, lakes, etc. are also often named after the four mythical animals. For example, Qinglong Town is located on the coast of Chang'an and Jinling. Its north gate is called Xuanwu Gate and its south gate is called Zhuque Gate. The sun sets at the mouth. "(Liu Yuxi's "Wuyi Lane") Nanjing Zhuque Bridge was built during the Xiankang period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is a pontoon bridge across the Qinhuai River, also known as Nanhang. Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing is located to the north of Zhongshan. It was called Beihu in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty. .
6. Expressing left and right
The ancients used to refer to east as left and west as right. Wei Xi's "Miscellaneous Notes on the List" says: "Jiangdong is called "Jiangdong". Jiangzuo and Jiangxi are called Jiangyou. From the north of the Yangtze River, Jiangdong is on the left and Jiangxi is on the right. ""Qian said: "Prime Minister, don't worry, if we reach Jiangzuo, we will definitely succeed." '" ("The Meeting of Heroes and Chiang Kai-shek's Plan") Jiangzuo is Jiangdong. "Huaizuo is the famous capital, a good place in the west of Zhuxi, where Xie'an Shao was stationed in the first journey. "("Yangzhou Slow") Yangzhou in the Song Dynasty belonged to Huainan East Road." Jiang Boyue went out to Longyou many times. "(Zhong Hui's "Applause to Shu") Longyou means Longxi.
7. Represented by Bagua
Bagua is the eight graphic symbols in "The Book of Changes".
The order of the Bagua is generally: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui. The relationship between the Bagua and the geographical position is: Zhen represents the east, Li represents the south, Dui represents the west, and Kan represents the north. This is " "Four Positives"; Zhuan represents the southeast, Kun represents the southwest, Qian represents the northwest, and Gen represents the northeast. These are the "four corners".
8. Represented by numbers
Numbers combined with the five elements can also represent geographical directions. Yang Xiong's "Tai Xuan": "One and six are water, two and seven are fire, three and eight are wood, four and nine are gold, and five and ten are earth. One and six *** clan (living in the north), Two and seven are friends (living in the south), three and eight are friends (living in the east), four and nine are on the same path (living in the west), and five and ten are guardians (living in the center). "
9. Represented by Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
The ancients combined the Heavenly Stems and the Five Elements to represent geographical directions. The popular formula is: "Jiayi wood in the east, Bingding fire in the south, Gengxin gold in the west, Rengui water in the north, and Wuji earth in the center "The ancients also used the earthly branches to express geographical locations. During Wang Mang's reign, he opened a north-south passage from Guanzhong to Hanzhong, called "Ziwu Road". Yan Shigu explained: "Zi means north; Wu means south. It is said that the north and south roads are equal, so it is called Ziwu Er." The imaginary line (meridian) connecting the north and south poles of the earth is called "meridian". Mao Shi is when the sun rises in the east, so "Mao" is used to represent the east; Youshi is when the sun sets in the west, so "You" is used to represent the west.
10． Represented by stars
Ancient Chinese astronomers selected twenty-eight stars as symbols for observing celestial phenomena on both sides of the ecliptic equator, which are called "twenty-eight stars" (each star contains 2~ 22 stars). The twenty-eight constellations are grouped into seven constellations, and are divided into four groups, each with four guardian beasts to form a complete set of astrology theory:
The seven constellations of the Eastern Blue Dragon: Spica, Kang constellation , Disu, Fangsu, Heart, Weisu, Jisu
The seven places of Northern Xuanwu: Dousu, Oxu, Female, Xu, Wei, Room, and Bisu
The seven constellations of the White Tiger in the West: Kui Su, Lou Su, Wei Su, Pleiades, Bi Su, Xiu Su, Ri Su.
The Seven Suspensions of the Southern Red Bird: Jing Su, Gui Su, Liu Su, Xing Su, Zhang Su, Yi Su, Zhen Su
Twenty-eight Sus and Three Yuans (Taiwei Yuan, Ziwei Yuan, Tianshi Yuan) are the standards for dividing the heavens in ancient China. In classical poetry, they are often expressed in this way. location or territory.