Black Tortoise | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Chinese | 玄武 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | Mysterious ~ Dark ~ Black Warrior | ||||||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | Huyền Vũ | ||||||||||
Chữ Hán | 玄武 | ||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||
Hangul | 현무 | ||||||||||
Hanja | 玄武 | ||||||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||||||
Kanji | 玄武 | ||||||||||
Hiragana | げんぶ | ||||||||||
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Black Warrior of the North | |||||||
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Chinese | 北方玄武 | ||||||
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The Black Tortoise is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is usually depicted as a tortoise intertwined with a snake.[1] The character '武' can mean 'martial' or 'warrior.' The two characters 玄 and 武 do not have any literal meaning of tortoise and snake. But both tortoise and snake are known to hibernate during winter. The image of intertwined tortoise and snake likely symbolizes a state of inner struggle[citation needed] or a state of hibernation, and thus implies the season of winter. So the English translation Black ~ Dark ~ Mysterious Warrior[a] is a more faithful translation.[4][5]
It represents the north and the winter season, thus it is sometimes called Black Warrior of the North (Chinese: 北方玄武; pinyin: Běifāng Xuánwǔ).
In Japan, the characters 玄武 are pronounced as 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.
An important Taoist priest also has 玄武 Xuanwu as his clergy name. He is sometimes (as in Journey to the West) portrayed in the company of a turtle and a snake.
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.
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