The Four Guardian Animals 5-The Black Turtle+End

Now, today's the last time to learn about the Four Guardian Animals. Today, I'll explain you about the Black Turtle, which we also call it as Hyeonmu. And after that, we'll end the class(?) about the Four Guardian Animals.

 The Black Turtle is on Sinmumun, the North gate, because it guards the North. Sinmu means, 'Numinous Black Turtle'.

 The Black Turtle symbolizes water and winter. It also symbolizes war among the Four Guardian Animals. And normally, it has the name 'Hyeon' because it is the god of death, and has the name 'Mu' because of its hard and thick shell of the turtle and the sharp canines of the snake(It forms the shape of a snake and a turtle) which are really good for defending.

 And, while the Red Phoenix has Yang because it rules fire, the Black Turtle has Yin because it rules water. So, they didn't open this gate, except when there were special occasions like the Ritual for Rain.

 There are not much informations about the Black Turtle-_-;;

 I hope you learned a lot about the Four Guardian Animals this time. And if I recommend a drama which is related to the Four Guardian Animals, I'll recommend you 'Tawangsasingi'. I really liked this drama.

The Four Guardian Animals 4-The White Tiger

Why does time go so fast? Now, today is the third time we learn about the Four Guardian Animals. And today, we're gonna learn about the White Tiger which is among the Four Guardian Animals.

 The White Tiger is drawn on the ceiling of the West gate of Gyeongbok Palace which is called as Yeongchumun. It has a meaning of 'Welcoming Autumn'. The White Tiger symbolizes metal and autumn(fall). It is called Baekho, too.

 The White Tiger is not really an imaginary animal, but it is an animal you can also see in the zoo which our ancestors made it look really special. At first, its neck and its body were really long. But it began to have a mysterious look of an exaggerated mouth, big red eyes, and sharp canines. It looks simmilar with the Blue Dragon bout you can know who is who by looking at the pattern on the body of it.

 The White Tiger is the bravest of all among the Four Guardian Animals. Plus, it could run at the speed of light on the ground and the sky.

 From the past, we thought that tigers could chase the ghosts. So, people hung pictures of Tigers on each of the houses. Also, it is the opposite from the Blue Dragon so, they are called as Jacheongryong or Left- the Blue Dragon and Wubaekho or Right-the White Tiger. And people thought that the good place was formed when they were combined.

 Why don't you also try to find the good place where the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger are combined?

The Blue Dragon

Now, today is the third time.

 Today, why don't we learn about the Blue Dragon which is among the Four Guardian Animals.

 The Blue Dragon is painted on the ceiling of Geonchunmun, which is the East Gate of Gyeongbok Palace.

 The Blue Dragon symbolizes East, trees and Spring. So, the gate has the name meaning, 'Spring Comes'.

 It is also called as Cheongryong. The Blue Dragon is also an animal which has shapes of different kinds of animals, just like the Red Phoenix. Its horns are from the buck, the head is a camel, the eyes are the ghost's, the forehead is a snake, the ears are the cow's the scales of the blue fish, the stomach of a clam, the feet of the tiger and the claws are from the hawk. At first, it looked really strange, however, it turned into a mysterious shape as time went.

 The Blue Dragon is an imaginary animal which is the head of the animals and has a magical power. It was thought as a god from the past, and people prayed for the farming to go well and life to be rich.

 Also, it ruled weather. These days, the weather is really cold, isn't it? Maybe it could be good for us to ask the Blue Dragon to change the weather.

 And it is famous for being the rival of the Red Phoenix.

 Next time, let's learn about the White Tiger~

Today, let's learn about the Red Phoenix which I really like personally.

Now, today is the second time we learn about the Four Guardian Animals. Were you tired because of the long and brief information last time? So, starting from today, I'm gonna tell you an interesting and a little short information about one animal for one day.

Today, let's learn about the Red Phoenix which I really like personally.

The Red Phoenix is a guardian on the South. So, it is painted on the center of the ceiling of Gwanghwamun, the Main and the South Gate of Gyeongbok Palace. You can still see the Red Phoenix if you go and visit Gwanghwamun.

The Red Phoenix is an imaginary bird, which was born from a dragon and a crane. We also call it as Jujak and Firebird. It symbolizes fire and summer.

At first, it really looked like a chicken. However, as the time went, it became a mysterious, dignified and a graceful bird. It has a shape which the front body is Kirin(an imaginary animal from China), the hind body is a deer, the neck is a snake, the tail is a fish, chin is a swallow, the back is a turtle and its beak is a chicken. Isn't it strange?

Also, it eats the fruit of the bamboo which only grows centennially. Plus, it possesses the five virtues, benevolent, righteous, civil, intelligent, and belief which our ancestors valued. So maybe that's why it only flies around when the world is full of peace.

It likes people with talent, and it is also a judge among the Four Guardian Animals.

And we still use it as the symbol of the president, because it is elegant and graceful.

Did you learn a lot about the Red Phoenix? Next time, I'll tell you about the Blue Dragon. See you then^^

This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

The 4 Guardian Animals were inspired from the constellations. In the East Asia, we divided the constellations as the 3 Fences and the 28 Constellations. The 3 Fences mean the group of constellations called Jamiwon, Taemiwon and Cheonsiwon. There is the polar star in Jamiwon. People thought that the polar star is the Great Emperor. So, Jamiwon is the sky palace. They believed that the others played roles just like today's administrations. The 28 constellations are classified as feudal lords. They are assigned 7 to each of the 4 Guardian Animals as their directions. They form the shapes of the 4 Guardian Animals. These 4 gods are the Blue Dragon, the Black Turtle, the White Tiger and the Red Phoenix. They means the directions, the seasons, the colors and the Five Elements. They are called as the 5 Guardian Animals, too, including the Gold Dragon.

Gyeongbok Palace is a sky palace which is spread on the ground from the sky. Gyeongbok Palace was the top main palace during the Joseon Dynasty. In the human world, people thought that the King is the polar star. So, they built the buildings in Gyeongbok Palace to be related with astronomy, with Geunjeongjeon, the building for the King's formal ceremonies, as the center.

Then, where do the 4 Guardian Animals protect the King? First, they are protecting Hanyang, the capital from the four directions. Bukak Mountain, Nam Mountain, Nak Mountain and Inwang Mountain each mean the Black Turtle, the Red Phoenix, the Blue Dragon, and the White Tiger.

Not only this, the 4 Guardian Animals are also guarding the 4 gates of Gyeongbok Palace. The gates, Gwanghwamun, Sinmumun, Geonchunmun and Yeongchumun each has the Red Phoenix, the Black Turtle, the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger painted on the ceiling. For the rest of the stories, wait for the following post~^^

'Folk Paintings'

If we go to the museum, we can see a painting of a tiger with funny face, staying close with a magpie. We call these kinds of paintings as, 'Folk Paintings'. Folk Paintings were usually created during the Joseon Dynasty. Even thought it looks crude and sloppy, it was one of the popular artistic styles at that time.

We don't actually know when we started to paint Folk Paintings. It has its origins in ancient tomb murals that were made during the Three Kingdoms Period. And they were created a lot during the Joseon Dynasty. Our ancestors usually used these Folk Paintings to decorate their houses. But, they had different meanings. Let's learn about the painting, 'The Magpie and the Tiger', in detail.

The magpie and the tiger don't harmonize well in reality. However, they have been models in our Folk Paintings. Why did our ancestors use these two animals together in paintings? There are some interpretations for that reason.

First, this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has the tiger with a funny face talking with the magpie. The magpie was known as a bird which brings good news. And the tiger was an animal which spread the good news. So, we can think that the magpie is telling the tiger about the good news it had brought. So, this picture means that the good news is coming in this year.

And this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has a quite different interpretation. The tiger in this picture looks like it has burst into a rage. However, the magpie is on the pine tree branch despite the tiger's rage. Normally, the tiger in this picture symbolizes the corrupt noblemen who lost their authority, and the magpie symbolizes the commoners who are mocking at those nobles.

Folk Paintings don't have topics or subject matters so, we can also create Folk Paintings. If you are interested in Folk Paintings, visit Gahoe Museum for more information.

About the Lunar New Year

From February 2nd to February 4th, Koreans celebrated the Lunar New year.

We celebrated the Lunar New Year from the past(Since the Three Kingdoms Period in Korea). We used the Lunar calendar because of agriculture. Well, not only the Lunar one, we also celebrate the Solar one, which is the real January 1st now. We started to celebrate the Solar one during the Japanese Colonization Period. And February 3rd was January 1st in the Lunar calendar.

In Korea, we call the Lunar New Year as, 'Seol'. 'Seol' means, 'the Beginning of a new year'.

During Seol, we do a lot of things: do ancestor-memorial rites, New Year's bow, well-meant remarks, New Year's best clothes and other kinds of things.

We prepare some New Year's foods and use it during the ancestor-memorial rites.

And also, we do the New Year's bow to the adults and earn money. Last Thursday, I earned \110,000! But I had to give the money to my mother. In the past, we could earn more money(\1,000) than the day before. So, for example, if you earned \10,000 you could earn \11,000 they next day.

We also get New Year's best clothes the night before Seol. So, we get up early at Seol and wear those new clothes. I've also got a new hanbok. It's really beautiful.

The adults say some well-meant remarks to the youngsters. Like, "Please do well in exams this year." etc.

Not only these things, we prepare foods. The most important food is 'Ddeokguk'. People believe that we get older when we eat this food. There are some round rice cakes and the rounded shape symbolizes the sun. Not only that, it also means luck. So, it's good if you eat a lot!

We also play during Seol. The most famous game around Koreans is 'Yootnoli'. There are four Yoots and you throw them and move your man according to what the Yoots are showing.

Now I hope you learned about Seol a lot. And have a good day! []`