Each one of them represents a direction and a season of the year, and each has its own individual characteristics and origins. They have been portrayed in many historical Chinese and Korean myths and fiction, and also appear in many modern Japanese comic books and animation.
These Four Symbols were given human names after Daoism became popular. Azure Dragon has the name Meng Zhang (孟章); Vermilion Bird is Ling Guang (陵光); White Tiger is Jian Bing (監兵); Black Tortoise is Zhi Ming (執明).
The origin of those four symbols are from China. In 1987, a tomb was found at Xishuipo (西水坡) in Puyang, Henan Province. There were some clam shells and bones forming the images of the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger and the Northern Dipper. It is believed that the tomb belongs to the Neolithic Age, about 6,000 years ago.
