The Azure Dragon in the Dragon and Tiger Hall of Zixiao Palace

In ancient astrology, the seven constellations in the East were imagined to take the form of a dragon, known as the Azure Dragon or the Blue Dragon, and were called the "Gods of the East", being one of the four gods. The pattern composed of the seven constellations in the north is Xuanwu, known as the God of the North. They were originally independent directional gods. In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperors Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di both claimed that they had been protected by the Northern Emperor Zhenwu and thus ascended the throne, and they highly praised them. The status of Zhenwu suddenly rose, while Qinglong was demoted to guardian deity. In the "Sutra of the Divine Mantra for Subduing Demons of the Northern Emperor", it is recorded: "The Azure Dragon is the essence of the Seven Stars of the East, the horn of Kang, descending to the human world to protect the territory." Within the Qinghua Palace, the Xiuji Dragon King and the Shenlin Dragon King emerged, commanding the blue treasures and underground treasures, and safeguarding the blue robes and official positions of the human world. In traditional Chinese culture, there are various interpretations of the auspicious creature, the blue dragon. For instance, the Azure Dragon belongs to Yang in the two Energies, Zhen in the Eight Trigrams, Wood in the Five Elements, and protects the soul and governs the liver in the human body, etc. The huge clay statue of the blue dragon in the Dragon and Tiger Hall of Zixiao Palace has high artistic and cultural relic value. Some experts have verified that it is a masterpiece passed down through the ages by Liu Yuanyi, a renowned sculptor of the Yuan Dynasty, and is a precious existing clay sculpture art piece on Wudang Mountain.