Black Tortoise

The Black Tortoise (Chinese: 玄武; pinyin: Xuánwǔ) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is usually shown as a tortoise with a snake. The name 玄武 that is used in East Asian languages do not actually mention both of the animals. It is also called the "Black Warrior" for a better translation. It is called Xuanwu in Chinese.

Black Tortoise
Black Turtle
Black Warrior
The Black Tortoise depicted on a Chinese tile
Chinese name
Chinese玄武
Literal meaningDark Warrior
Mysterious Warrior
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetHuyền Vũ
Chữ Hán玄武
Korean name
Hangul현무
Hanja玄武
Japanese name
Kanji玄武
Hiraganaげんぶ
Black Warrior of the North
Gilded copper, early 15th century. Hubei Provincial Museum.
A copper Black Tortoise from the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty (early 15th century)
Chinese北方玄武
  • Ao - the great turtle of early Chinese mythology
  • Bixi - the son of the Dragon King who supports Chinese stelæ
  • Cetus in Chinese astronomy - Cetus and Black Tortoise correspond on astrology, and both creatures possess affinities to waters and travel to underworlds to guide people[1][2]
  • Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden

References
  1. National Museum of Korea, 2007, Black Tortoise and Serpent, the Guardian Deity of the North
  2. Nancy Thomson de Grummond, 2006, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend, The Journey to the Afterlife, p.212, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Other websites
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Tortoise.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.