The modern constellation Hydra lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the Azure Dragon of the East (東方青龍, Dōng Fāng Qīng Lóng) and the Vermilion Bird of the South (南方朱雀, Nán Fāng Zhū Què), that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.
The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 長蛇座 (cháng shé zuò), which means "the long snake constellation".