TL;DR: The Four Symbols are four land forms wrapping the huye: Thanh Long on the left, Bạch Hổ on the right, Huyền Vũ behind and Chu Tước in front, counted from the direction the house faces out, not fixed to the four cardinal points. The minh duong is the open ground in front of the huye, inside the embrace of long and ho, divided into inner, middle and outer minh duong. Schools still dispute which side should be higher, so both views should be read rather than asserting one.
What are the four symbols and why are there four of them?
The Four Symbols, also called the Four Images or the Four Sacred Beasts, are four emblems: Thanh Long (Azure Dragon), Bạch Hổ (White Tiger), Chu Tước (Vermilion Bird) and Huyền Vũ (Dark Warrior). In ancient astronomy they were four groups of constellations guarding the four directions: Thanh Long in the East, Chu Tước in the South, Bạch Hổ in the West and Huyền Vũ in the North, according to Marianna Lázár (2026), Animating the Cosmos: The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Dark Warrior in Han Tomb Art and Thought, Távol-keleti Tanulmányok 18(1): 121-151, doi:10.38144/TKT.2026.1.5. Each symbol is tied to a season, a colour and one of the Five Elements: Thanh Long belongs to Wood, Chu Tước to Fire, Bạch Hổ to Metal and Huyền Vũ to Water, while the centre belongs to Earth and is usually assigned to the Yellow Dragon, according to the Huainanzi, chapter Tianwen xun.
In feng shui geography, the four symbols were borrowed as names for the four landforms surrounding a burial point. According to the Zangshu (attributed to Guo Pu), in the annotated Siku quanshu edition, in the section discussing the four beasts: the four symbols are the four landforms surrounding the point, Thanh Long on the left, Bạch Hổ on the right, Huyền Vũ behind and Chu Tước in front. According to the book Nhập môn loan đầu: in tracing dragons and locating points, the East corresponds to Thanh Long, the West to Bạch Hổ, the South to Chu Tước and the North to Huyền Vũ. But when applied to a particular house, the common naming follows position relative to a person standing and looking outward, not the compass. This is the most easily confused point and also the most debated one.
Is Thanh Long always on the left, or always in the East?
Thanh Long is the landform to the left of the point, and the left is determined by a person standing at the main door looking outward. That is, if you stand inside the house looking out, the ridge of land, the watercourse or the block of buildings on your left hand is Thanh Long, no matter which direction it lies in on the compass. This understanding is consistent with the description in Nhập môn loan đầu: dragon and tiger are named after the left and right sides of the point, while East and West are only the astronomical assignment.
Even so, one school reads the four symbols by fixed direction, attaching Thanh Long to due East, Bạch Hổ to due West, Chu Tước to due South and Huyền Vũ to due North, based on the sitting and facing directions of the house. This school is common among lineages influenced by Dương Trạch Tam Yếu and the old loan đầu texts, where dragon and tiger are discussed according to where the dragon vein comes from. The school that reads by sitting and facing holds that dragon and tiger must be determined by the rear to front axis of the house, that is, Huyền Vũ at the rear according to the sitting direction, Chu Tước in front according to the facing direction, and Thanh Long and Bạch Hổ as the two sides of that axis. The two readings give different results when a house faces a direction other than due South.
What both schools share is that neither treats the four symbols as four real animals. They are figurative names for four kinds of landform: a raised ridge, a winding watercourse, a high mound, a hollow. On the left there is usually Thanh Long in the form of a low hill ridge or a winding watercourse, on the right Bạch Hổ with a similar landform, behind Huyền Vũ as a mountain or high mound, and in front Chu Tước as a flat low area or a watercourse.
Table of the four symbols: position, favourable form, unfavourable form and substitutes in the city
| Symbol | Position relative to a person looking outward | Favourable form | Unfavourable form | Substitute in street houses and apartments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanh Long | Left | Winding, embracing, moderate height, with flowing water or greenery | Too long, too short, with a well or stagnant pond, bare empty ground | Row of houses on the left lower than one's own, rows of trees, green balconies, landscape pond |
| Bạch Hổ | Right | Full and round, steady, embracing the point like an arm | Crouching, turning its back, a sharp mountain stabbing straight at the point | Row of houses on the right, a wall, a low building block, no utility pole or antenna pointing in |
| Huyền Vũ | Behind | High, thick, firm, slightly bowing its head, with many small mounds for shelter | A deep abyss, a cave, water flowing outward, too towering and causing instability | A solid rear wall, tall buildings behind, a wooded hill, no back door opening straight onto a large empty space |
| Chu Tước | In front | Flat, spacious, slightly raised, with gathered water, with people passing by | Too high and blocking the front, no homage, deep hollow, water flowing straight away | Front yard, park, landscape lake, a road with a moderate flow of people |
How are Huyền Vũ and Chu Tước assessed?
Huyền Vũ is the backing, so the general principle is stillness rather than movement, height and thickness rather than openness. According to the Zangshu (attributed to Guo Pu), in the annotated Siku quanshu edition, in the section discussing the four beasts, the book quotes an old saying: Huyền Vũ must bow its head, and if it does not bow its head it is hard to bury there, explaining that Huyền Vũ should be still, and if it moves the vein has not stopped and the point is not formed. One way of discussing this cites Chính tông Dương Công phong thủy học giảng nghĩa with the same idea: Huyền Vũ must bow low, meaning the terrain behind should slope down gradually or have small mounds for shelter, and one should not raise too high a wall that creates a feeling of instability. The same book also records a warning: if behind the point there is a deep abyss it is considered unfavourable, and if Huyền Vũ lets water flow outward then the qi is drained away, often associated with decline.
Chu Tước is the space in front, so the principle is the opposite: it should move, it should have living qi circulating. The book Nhập môn loan đầu records an old discussion that Chu Tước, even when far away, still faces the point, and being slightly raised is no fault, as long as it is not disrespectful; Chu Tước should move and not be still, able to come from afar to wrap around and hold feeling for the point. According to the same book, if Chu Tước has a high mountain beside it, enclosing it like the character 品, or bowing toward the point, it is considered a good configuration; but if Chu Tước does not pay homage and does not guard, then it is merely useless. In other words, the front needs to be open, with gathered qi and people passing through, and it is not the case that bare emptiness is good.
How are dragon and tiger assessed when high or low, embracing or turning away?
Dragon and tiger are the two arms of the land configuration, so a common question is which side should be higher. One old view holds that the right side is yin and the left side is yang; the yin side is good when plump and not too short, the yang side is good when curving back and not too long. This book also quotes the saying Long bão hổ tối quý, hổ bão long vị toàn, meaning the finest configuration is reached when Thanh Long wraps around Bạch Hổ in an arc of shelter; conversely, if Bạch Hổ turns back to embrace Thanh Long, that configuration is considered incomplete. The book also notes the contrary phenomenon: if the dragon comes from the left but runs too far to the left it is a contrary dragon, and if the tiger comes from the right but runs too far to the right it is a contrary tiger, and then the qi is scattered and does not gather at the point.
On the form of Bạch Hổ, the Zangshu (attributed to Guo Pu), in the annotated Siku quanshu edition, in the section discussing the four beasts, writes: a crouching Bạch Hổ is called han shi (as if holding a corpse in its mouth), a rearing Thanh Long is called ji zhu (as if envying its master), both are bad omens. But if Bạch Hổ has the form of an embrace, that is, wrapping around the point like an arm, like a person's elbow, then it carries the meaning of protection and shelter, making the dragon vein firm. For Thanh Long, the same book quotes a rather strong warning: if Thanh Long has a well, the second son meets death; if Thanh Long has a pond, the second son is impoverished, meaning stagnant water on the left is unfavourable. These are old sayings, and should be read as warnings about landform rather than hard predictions.
The debate over whether the dragon should be higher than the tiger is still unresolved today, according to the Zangshu (attributed to Guo Pu), in the annotated Siku quanshu edition, in the section discussing the four beasts. Some books lean toward the dragon being higher than the tiger, treating it as yang overcoming yin, governing living qi and benefactors. By contrast, other books stress balance: Nhập môn loan đầu notes that Huyền Vũ, Chu Tước, Thanh Long and Bạch Hổ must be in harmony with one another to be auspicious, and that letting one side be high and the other low so they cannot accompany each other will surely bring misfortune, quoting the saying Huyền Vũ cao mà Chu Tước thấp thì bất lợi (Huyền Vũ high and Chu Tước low is unfavourable). So there are at least two parallel readings: one leaning toward a hierarchy with the dragon above the tiger, one leaning toward balance on all four sides. Readers should know which convention they are following rather than mixing the two.
Where does the ming tang lie among the four symbols?
The ming tang (bright hall) is the open ground in front of the point, lying within the arms of dragon and tiger and directly beneath the gaze of Chu Tước. In other words, if the four symbols are four guarding gates, the ming tang is the courtyard in the middle, in front, where qi gathers before entering the point. The ming tang is not only a place that holds water, it is also an open, airy space in which qi circulates and spreads; it plays the role of a mirror that draws in good qi and pushes back harmful qi. The book quotes an old image: a flat, square ming tang is likened to an upturned palm receiving wealth, or a bag filled with jewels, with the saying hình như ấn chưởng, tất chủ mãi điền; thế nhược tu nang, định gia tích ngọc (if its shape is like a seal in the palm, it surely governs the buying of fields; if its configuration is like a gathered bag, the house will certainly accumulate jade).
On distance, one way of discussing cites the saying đường cận tốc phát, đường viễn trì phát: a ming tang close to the point brings early prosperity, far from the point brings late prosperity. This is a way of speaking about pace, not a certain statement about timing.
Three layers of ming tang: inner, middle, outer
| Layer | Position | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Inner ming tang | The ground inside the embrace of the guarding dragon and tiger, closest to the point | Where qi gathers directly in front of the point, closest to the point of convergence |
| Middle ming tang | A wider area, lying between the outer dragon, outer tiger and the inner thanh long, bạch hổ | Where qi is regulated between the layers, determining the width and depth of the land configuration |
| Outer ming tang | The land beyond the middle ming tang, enclosed by the outer dragon and outer tiger into a large ring | Where qi from afar is received, creating an overall setting for the whole land configuration |
This three-layer division rests on a multi-tiered dragon and tiger structure. The inner ming tang is the place closest to the point, lying within the arms of the first layer of dragon and tiger. The middle ming tang is the main area, lying between the outer dragon and outer tiger layer and the inner thanh long and bạch hổ layer. The outer ming tang is a wider area, embraced by the outer dragon and outer tiger layer into a large ring. Each layer has its own role but together they help create harmony for the whole landform. When reading a land configuration, people usually examine it from outer to inner to know whether qi is being led to the point, rather than only looking at one open space in front of the house.
How do you read the four symbols in street houses and apartments?
In street houses and apartments, the four symbols are no longer real mountains, hills and rivers but are mapped onto the surrounding building blocks. The row of houses on the left plays the role of Thanh Long, the row on the right plays Bạch Hổ, the tall building or rear wall behind plays Huyền Vũ, and the front yard, road, park and landscape lake play Chu Tước. The table above has already listed the corresponding substitutes for each symbol.
The reading principles still hold: Thanh Long should curve, should be lower than or level with one's own house, avoiding utility poles, antennas and sharp objects pointing in. Bạch Hổ should be full and round, steady, avoiding a house markedly taller that presses down, and avoiding sharp corners aimed straight at it. Huyền Vũ should have a backing, avoiding a back door opening straight onto a large empty space or a lift directly opposite. Chu Tước should be open, with people passing by, avoiding a high wall right in front or a main door directly facing the main door of the house opposite. In apartments, corridors and balconies are usually regarded as the inner ming tang layer, shared yards and internal roads as the middle ming tang, and the large road outside as the outer ming tang.
It should be said clearly: this is a figurative mapping, not a measurement. One way of discussing it notes that applying feng shui knowledge requires a sober and practical approach, based on observing nature and the patterns of how things work, and should not be turned into a rigid formula. The imperial city of Hue is a classic example of a land configuration planned according to the four symbols, with the Perfume River as Chu Tước, Ngự Bình mountain as the screen in front, the mountain ranges behind as Huyền Vũ, and dragon and tiger on either side; the article on imperial capitals will analyse this in more detail.
Points still debated among the schools
There are at least three points without agreement. The first is how to determine the four symbols, by fixed direction or by sitting and facing, as set out above. The second is the hierarchy of dragon and tiger: one school leans toward the dragon being higher than the tiger, another leans toward balance on all four sides. The third is how important Chu Tước is: the book Nhập môn loan đầu stresses that Chu Tước should move and should have homage paid to it, while some other books treat Chu Tước as only an outer layer, not as decisive as Huyền Vũ and dragon and tiger. Readers should regard these as different conventions, not a single truth, and should not use the four symbols to make certain claims about a family's wealth or health.
