Black Tortoise

Chinese mythology symbol

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
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References

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