Page 21 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 14

Phoenix, dragon, unicorn and tortoise, the representatives of
their animal kinds; they are also symbols of the four directions

Five or six kinds of domestic animal were distinguished – horse, ox, sheep, pig, dog

and hen (see separate entries). All of these were regarded as edible, though horse-flesh
was only eaten on ceremonial occasions.
The five noxious creatures are the snake, the centipede, the scorpion, the
lizard or gecko and the toad. On the 5th day of the 5th month, magical means
were invoked to rid human settlements of these creatures. Zhong-kui is the god
mainly charged with operations against them, and he is helped by the cock.