Black Tortoise

The Black Tortoise (Chinese: 玄武; pinyin: Xuánwǔ) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a tortoise entwined together with a snake. The name 玄武 used in East Asian languages does not mention either animal; the alternative name "Black Warrior" is a more faithful translation. It is known as 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
A copper Black Tortoise from the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty (early 15th century)
Chinese北方玄武

It represents the north and the winter season, thus it is sometimes called Xuanwu (Black Tortoise, lit. Black Warrior) of the North (Chinese: 北方玄武; pinyin: Běifāng Xuánwǔ).

In Japan, it is named Genbu. It is said to protect Kyoto on the north side, being one of the four guardian spirits that protect the city. It is represented by the Kenkun Shrine, which is located on top of Mt Funaoka in Kyoto.

The creature's name is identical to that of the important Taoist god Xuanwu, who is sometimes (as in Journey to the West) portrayed in the company of a turtle and a snake.

History

During the Han dynasty, people often wore jade pendants that were in the shape of turtles. Because of the ancient Chinese influence on Japan, honorific titles and badges in Japan also often referred to the turtle or tortoise.

The northern gates of Chinese palaces were often named after the Xuanwu. Most famously, the Incident at Xuanwu Gate, where Li Shimin killed his brothers Jiancheng and Yuanji and seized power in a coup, took place at the north gate of the Taiji Palace, in the north of Chang'an.

Legends
Black Tortoise with Snake. Southern Dynasties Brick Relief 11.

In ancient China, the tortoise and the serpent were thought to be spiritual creatures symbolizing longevity. The min people custom of building turtle-shaped tombs may have had to do with the desire to place the grave under the influence of the Black Tortoise.[1][2]

Xuanwu
Xuanwu subduing the tortoise. Wudang Palace, Yangzhou.

In the classic novel Journey to the West, Xuanwu was a king of the north who had two generals serving under him, a "Tortoise General" and a "Snake General". This god had a temple in the Wudang Mountains of Hubei and there are now a "Tortoise Mountain" and a "Snake Mountain" on opposite sides of a river near Wuhan, Hubei's capital. Taoist legend has it that Xuanwu was the prince of a Chinese ruler but was not interested in taking the throne, opting instead to leave his parents at age 16 and study Taoism. According to the legend, he eventually achieved divine status and was worshiped as a deity of the northern sky.

Other Chinese legends also speak of how the "Tortoise General" and a "Snake General" came to be. During Xuanwu's study to achieve enlightenment and divine status, he was told that, in order to fully achieve divinity, he must purge all human flesh from his body. Since he had always eaten the food of the world, despite all his efforts, his stomach and intestines were still human. A god then came and changed his organs with divine ones. Once removed, the original stomach and intestines were said to have become a tortoise and a snake, respectively. The tortoise and snake became demons and terrorized people. Now divine, Xuanwu heard of this and returned to slay the monsters he had unleashed on the countryside. However, as the snake and tortoise showed remorse, he did not kill them but instead let them train under him to atone for their wrongdoings. They then became the Tortoise and Snake generals and assisted Xuanwu with his quests (another legend held that the mortal organs were tossed out to become Wuhan's Tortoise and Snake mountains).

According to another source, once Xuanwu had begun his study of the Way, he discovered that he must purge himself of all of his past sins to become a god. He learned to achieve this by washing his stomach and intestines in the river. Washing his internal organs, his sins dissolved into the water in a dark, black form. These then formed into a black tortoise and a snake who terrorized the country. Once Xuanwu learned of this, he returned to subdue them as in the other story.

Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise

As with the other three Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the Moon) within the Black Tortoise. The names and determinative stars are:[3][4]

Mansion no.NamePinyinTranslationDeterminative star
8斗Dǒu(Southern) Dipperφ Sgr
9牛NiúOxβ Cap
10女NǚGirlε Aqr
11虛XūEmptinessβ Aqr
12危WēiRooftopα Aqr
13室ShìEncampmentα Peg
14壁BìWallγ Peg
A characteristic "turtle-back tomb" in Quanzhou, Fujian

See also
  • 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[5][6]
  • Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden
  • Enamorus

References
  1. de Groot, Jan Jakob Maria (1892), The Religious System of China, vol. III, Brill Archive, pp. 1082–1083
  2. 李永球 (Li Yongqiu) (2010-03-07), 各籍貫墳墓造型 [In every land, its own kind of graves], Sin Chew Daily
  3. "The Chinese Sky". International Dunhuang Project. Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  4. Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 517. ISBN 0-7923-4066-3. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  5. National Museum of Korea, 2007, Black Tortoise and Serpent, the Guardian Deity of the North
  6. 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
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