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The story of the Four Gods of Heaven and Earth, the Shi Jin
Ten Chi Sho, is not something that was made up for Fushigi Yuugi by Watase Yuu. The myth of the Four Gods has been deeply
rooted in ancient Chinese mythology. The following are exerpts from Derek Walters' "An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend: Chinese
Mythology" and Donald A. Mackenzie's "Myths of China and Japan."
Creation Myth
"Nu Kwa, a mythical empress of China, was reputed to have become a goddess after she had passed to the celestial
regions...When the demons of water and fire, aided by rebel generals of her empire, set out to destroy the world, Nu Kwa waged
war against them. Her campaign was successful, but not until a gigantic warrior had partly destroyed the heavens by upsetting
one of its pillars and the flood had covered a great portion of the earth. The empress stemmed the rising waters by means
of charred reeds, and afterwards rebuilt the broken pillar...Thereafter she created the guardians of the four quarters, placing
the Black Tortoise in the north, and giving it control over winter; the Blue Dragon in the east, who was given control over
spring; the White Tiger in the west, who was given control over autumn; and the Red Bird in the south, who was given control
over summer, with the Gold Dragon, whose special duty was to guard the sun, the moon being protected by the White Deity of
the west. The broken pillar of heaven was built up with stones coloured like the five gods (Mackenzie)."
Celestial Emblems
"The
Four Directions, East, South, West and North, represent the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Together with
the Centre, which in Chinese is synonymous with China itself, they form the five cardinal points. The Four Directions have
been represented at least since the second century BC, by four celestial animals, the Dragon for the East,
the Bird for the South, the Tiger for the West, and the Tortoise for
the North. Each animal has its own colour: the Dragon is the Green of Spring, the Bird the red of Fire, the Tiger of Autumn
the glittering white of metal (of ploughshares or swords), and the Tortoise Black, for night, or water. The four celestial
animals, which have no connection with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, are also the names of the four divisions
of the sky. The Dragon's Heart, the Pleiades, and the Bird Star are the names of three of the lunar mansions which marked
the central position of the Dragon, Tiger and Bird. As there was no identifying star at the centre of the Black Tortoise,
the appropriate place (the eleventh mansion) was called Void (Walters)."
Click for bigger version
 
Star Map of the 28 star lodgings Star
Guide of the 28 star lodgings and the
centre
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Dragon
"East - the Blue Dragon, Spring, Wood; Planet, Jupiter;
liver and gall (Mackenzie)." 
"One of the oldest symbolic animals, stylized forms of which are a feature
of the decoration of ancient bronzes cast before the invention of writing. In complete contrast to Western mythology, however,
Dragons are rarely depicted as malevolent. They may be fearsome and very powerful, and all stand in awe of the dragon-kings,
but they are equally considered just, benevolent, and the bringers of wealth and good fortune. There are, of course, legends
of the various immortals battling against evil dragons, but such monsters would be foreign ones. Local dragons are to be respected,
feared, and petitioned as one would petition a just and honest ruler. For this reason, the dragon symbol is the sign of authority,
being worn on the robes of the Imperial family and nobility.
Dragons are generally considered to be aquatic, living in
lakes, rivers and the sea, the larger the expanse of water, the more powerful the dragon. Nevertheless, there are dragons
which inhabit the heavens, one quarter of the sky being called the Palace of the Green Dragon, in reference to the stars which
in Chinese astronomy constitute the constellation of the Dragon. Even so, the appearance of the Dragon constellation is said
to herald the rainy season (Walters)."
 Phoenix
"South - the Red Bird, Summer, Fire, the Sum; Planet,
Mars; heart and large intestines (Mackenzie)."
(I know this should be the Red Bird section, but since
Suzaku is more like a Phoenix I'd thought I'd add this instead. Also, there was nothing on the Red Bird at all.)
"Phoenix
is used as a translation for Feng, or Feng Huang, the sacred bird of Chinese mythology. It has many miraculous attributes,
but not self-rejuvenation, and does not posess the Arabian phoenix's propensity for self-immolation. It is usually portrayed
as a beautiful bird, virtually identical to an ornamental pheasant. Few illustrations match its verbal description, as it
is said to have the front of a swan, the hinder parts of a unicorn, the throat of a swallow, the bill of a chicken, the neck
of a snake, the stripes of a dragon, and the arched back of a tortoise. Its plumage is of the five mystical colours - black,
white, red, green and yellow, and it has twelve tail feathers, execept in years when there is an extra month, when there are
thirteen. It feeds on bamboo seeds, lives in the branches of the dryandera tree, and drinks from fountains of fresh water.
It
is one of the four emblems of royalty, usually associated with the Empress. The expression Dragon and Phoenix signifies wedded
bliss. In many respects its symbolism has been confused and merged with that of the Red Bird, one of the four Celestial Emblems
(Walters)."
 Tiger
"West - the White Tiger, Autumn, Wind, Metal; Planet,
Venus; lungs and small intestine (Mackenzie)."
This is all i could find on the white tiger, i'll
keep looking...
"...The White Tiger of the West, for instance, is associated with metal. When, therefore, metal is
placed in a grave, a ceremonial connection with the tiger-god is effected. 'According to the Annals of Wu and Yueh, three
days after the burial of the king, the essence of the element metal assumed the shape of a white tiger and crouched down on
the top of the grave.' Here the tiger is a protector - a preserver.
...As we have seen, white jade was used when the Tiger
god of the West was worshipped; it is known as 'tiger jade'; a tiger was depicted on the jade symbol. To the Chinese the tiger
was the king of all animals and 'lord of the mountains', and the tiger-jade ornament was specially researved for commanders
of armies. The male tiger was, among other things, the god of war, and in this capacity it not only assisted the armies of
the emperors, but fought the demons that threatened the dead in their graves (Mackenzie)."
 Tortoise
"North - the Black Tortoise, Winter, Cold, Water;
Planet, Mercury; kidneys and bladder (Mackenzie)."
In recent times, the tortoise was supplanted by the "Black Warrior" symbolism.
"One
of the Celestial Emblems, the symbol of longevity and wisdom. It is said that its shell represents the vault of the universe.
A common symbol for longevity is the Tortoise and Snake, whose union was thought to have engendered the universe.
The reason
why the tortoise symbolism has been superseded by the Black Warrior as the emblem of the North, is probably due to the fact
that 'tortoise' is a term of abuse (Walters)."
"In China the tortoise had divine attributes. Tortoise shell is a symbol
of unchangeability, and a symbol or rank when used for court girdles. The tortoise was also used for purposes of divination.
A
gigantic mythical tortoise is supposed, in the Far East, to live in the depths of ocean. It has one eye situated in the middle
of its body. Once every three thousand years it rises to the surface and turns over on its back so that it may see the sun
(Mackenzie)."
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