This article is about Chinese constellations. For the actual turtles, see Indian black turtle.
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 ~ Dark Warrior ~ Mysterious Warrior"[1][2][3][4] is a more faithful translation.
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 TaoistgodXuanwu, who is sometimes (as in Journey to the West) portrayed in the company of a turtle and a snake.
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.
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.[5][6]
Xuanwu
Xuanwu subduing the tortoise. Wudang Palace, Yangzhou.
In the classic novelJourney 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[citation needed] 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[which?] 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[citation needed] 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,[citation needed] 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:[7][8]
^Liu An (author), Xu Shen (annotator). Huainanzi, "Survey Obscurities". Main text: 「夫死生同域，不可脅陵，勇武一人，為三軍雄。」; John S. Major's translation (2010): "One for whom death and life are the same territory, who cannot be threatened, such a single brave warrior is the hero of the Three Armies." Annotation: 「武士也；江淮間謂士曰武。」; rough translation: "Wǔ (武 "warrior") means shì (士 "knight"); in the region between the Jiang and Huai rivers , shì (士 "knights") are called wǔ (武 "warriors")." Siku Quanshu version. vols. 4-7, p. 96 of 160
^Liu An (2010) The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China. Translated and edited by John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Aandrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. Roth. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. p. 215
^Zhang, Qian (2017). "China's guardians of the galaxy". Shanghai Daily. The four beasts are Qing Long (Azure Dragon), the guardian of the East; Bai Hu (White Tiger), the guardian of the West; Zhu Que (Vermilion Bird), the guardian of the South; and Xuan Wu (Black Warrior), the guardian of the North. This quartet originated from the 28 xingxiu ("mansions") in the Chinese constellation system.
^Pregadio, Fabrizio (editor) (2008). The Encyclopedia of Taoism A-Z: Volume 1 & 2. p. 119, 194, 223, 478, 909, 1266
^de Groot, Jan Jakob Maria (1892), The Religious System of China, vol. III, Brill Archive, pp. 1082–1083
^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
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This article is about Chinese constellations For the actual turtles see Indian black turtle The Black Tortoise Chinese 玄武 pinyin Xuanwǔ 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 Dark Warrior Mysterious Warrior 1 2 3 4 is a more faithful translation Black TortoiseBlack TurtleBlack WarriorThe Black Tortoise depicted on a Chinese tileChinese nameChinese玄武Literal meaningDark WarriorMysterious WarriorTranscriptionsYue CantoneseYale Romanizationyun4 mou5Southern MinHokkien POJgoan buVietnamese nameVietnamese alphabetHuyền VũChữ Han玄武Korean nameHangul현무Hanja玄武TranscriptionsRevised RomanizationHyeon muJapanese nameKanji玄武HiraganaげんぶTranscriptionsRevised HepburnGenbuKunrei shikiGenbuBlack Warrior of the NorthA copper Black Tortoise from the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty early 15th century Chinese北方玄武TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinBeifang XuanwǔIt 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 Beifang Xuanwǔ 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 Contents 1 History 2 Legends 2 1 Xuanwu 3 Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Edit 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 5 6 Xuanwu Edit Xuanwu subduing the tortoise Wudang Palace Yangzhou Main article Xuanwu god See also Chinese alchemy 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 citation needed 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 which 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 citation needed 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 citation needed 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 EditAs with the other three Symbols there are seven astrological Mansions positions of the Moon within the Black Tortoise The names and determinative stars are 7 8 Mansion no Name Pinyin Translation Determinative star8 斗 Dǒu Southern Dipper f Sgr9 牛 Niu Ox b Cap10 女 Nǚ Girl e Aqr11 虛 Xu Emptiness b Aqr12 危 Wei Rooftop a Aqr13 室 Shi Encampment a Peg14 壁 Bi Wall g Peg A characteristic turtle back tomb in Quanzhou FujianSee also EditAo the great turtle of early Chinese mythology Bixi the son of the Dragon King who supports Chinese stelae 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 9 10 Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden EnamorusReferences Edit Liu An author Xu Shen annotator Huainanzi Survey Obscurities Main text 夫死生同域 不可脅陵 勇武一人 為三軍雄 John S Major s translation 2010 One for whom death and life are the same territory who cannot be threatened such a single brave warrior is the hero of the Three Armies Annotation 武士也 江淮間謂士曰武 rough translation Wǔ 武 warrior means shi 士 knight in the region between the Jiang and Huai rivers shi 士 knights are called wǔ 武 warriors Siku Quanshu version vols 4 7 p 96 of 160 Liu An 2010 The Huainanzi A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China Translated and edited by John S Major Sarah A Queen Aandrew Seth Meyer and Harold D Roth New York Columbia University Press 2010 p 215 Zhang Qian 2017 China s guardians of the galaxy Shanghai Daily The four beasts are Qing Long Azure Dragon the guardian of the East Bai Hu White Tiger the guardian of the West Zhu Que Vermilion Bird the guardian of the South and Xuan Wu Black Warrior the guardian of the North This quartet originated from the 28 xingxiu mansions in the Chinese constellation system Pregadio Fabrizio editor 2008 The Encyclopedia of Taoism A Z Volume 1 amp 2 p 119 194 223 478 909 1266 de Groot Jan Jakob Maria 1892 The Religious System of China vol III Brill Archive pp 1082 1083 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 The Chinese Sky International Dunhuang Project Archived from the original on 2015 11 04 Retrieved 2011 06 25 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 National Museum of Korea 2007 Black Tortoise and Serpent the Guardian Deity of the North 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 AnthropologyExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Tortoise Star Charts and Moon Stations The Black Tortoise of the North 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black Tortoise amp oldid 1127776778, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
