Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Black Tortoise
Black Tortoise
The Black Tortoise or Black Turtle is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese
constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a turtle entwined Black Tortoise
together with a snake. Further, in East Asia, it is not called after either animal but is Black Turtle
instead known as the "Black Warrior" under various local pronunciations. It is
known as Xunw in Chinese, Hyeonmu in Korean, Genbu in Japanese and
Huyn V in Vietnamese. It represents the north and the winter season.
In Japan, it is one of the four guardian spirits that protect Kyoto and it is said that it
protects the city on the north. Represented by the Genbu Shrine,[1] which is located
to the north of Kyoto Imperial Palace.
The creature's name is identical to that of the important Taoist god Xuanwu, who is
The Black Tortoise depicted on a
sometimes (as in Journey to the West) portrayed in the company of a turtle and
Chinese tile
snake.
Chinese name
Chinese
Literal meaning Dark Warrior
Contents Mysterious
1 History Warrior
2 Legends Transcriptions
2.1 Xuanwu Standard Mandarin
3 Astronomy
Hanyu Pinyin Xunw
4 See also
Yue: Cantonese
5 References
Yale Romanization yun4 mou5
6 External links
Jyutping jyun4 mou5
Southern Min
History Hokkien POJ gan-b
During the Han dynasty, people often wore jade pendants that were in the shape of Vietnamese name
turtles. Because of ancient Chinese influence on Japan, honorific titles and badges Vietnamese Huyn V
in Japan also often referred to the turtle or tortoise. alphabet
Korean name
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 Hangul
Jiancheng and Yuanji and seized power in a coup, took place at the north gate of the Hanja
Taiji Palace, in the north of Chang'an. Transcriptions
Revised Romanization Hyeon-mu
Legends Japanese name
In ancient China, the tortoise and the serpent were thought to be spiritual creatures Kanji
symbolizing longevity. The Fujianese custom of building turtle-shaped tombs may
Hiragana
have had to do with the desire to place the grave under the influence of the Black
Transcriptions
Tortoise.[2][3]
Revised Hepburn Genbu
Xuanwu Kunrei-shiki Genbu
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
.
Astronomy
As with the other Three Symbols, there are seven "mansions" (positions of the moon) within Black Tortoise. The names and
determinative stars are:[4][5]
9 Ni Ox Cap
10 N Girl Aqr
11 X Emptiness Aqr
12 Wi Rooftop Aqr
13 Sh Encampment Peg
14 B Wall Peg
See also
Ao, the great turtle of early Chinese mythology
Bixi, the son of the Dragon King who supports Chinesestel
Four Benevolent Animalsof China
Four Holy Beasts of Vietnam
Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden
Fushigi Ygi
External links
"Star Charts and Moon Stations"
The Black Tortoise of the North
Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.