According to ancient Chinese thought, all things were born of the two types of chi, 'yin' and 'yang', and the best of these were called 'spiritual objects'. The ancients divided animals into four categories (birds, beasts, fish and reptiles) based on their characteristics of flying, walking, swimming and crawling; their feathers, hair, scales and shells; and the extent of their activities in heaven, earth, water and soil, and assigned a representative to each category. These are the "four spirits", namely the phoenix, the tiger, the dragon, and the turtle snake (Xuanwu). According to Chinese tradition, there are 28 constellations in the sky, and seven of them are scattered in the four directions - east, west, south, north and south - to form the animals. The east is shaped like a "dragon", the west like a "tiger", the south like a "phoenix" and the north like a "turtle". Later these "four animals" were combined with the "four colours" to form the colourful "four beasts". These are the "Dragon" in azure, the "Phoenix" in vermilion, the "Tiger" in pure white and the "Xuanwu" in black. In addition, since the center was missing, the "Kirin" was placed in the center and combined with yellow. This is based on the Wuxing (Five Phases philosophy) (FULLHALTER). According to Pelikan Schreibgeräte, Asia, especially, Japan is an important market for Pelikan Pelikan's writing instruments, and Japanese pen collectors wished to have a limited edition for their own market. This led to the Asia Limited Edition, based on these great Chinese legends, released only 888 pieces for five animals each. The number "8" is considered a lucky number in China and the Far East.