Bixi (tortoise)
Encyclopedia
Bixi also called guifu (龟趺) or baxia (霸下), is a stone tortoise, used as a pedestal for a stele
or tablet
. Tortoise-mounted stelae have been traditionally used in the funerary complexes of Chinese emperors and other dignitaries. Later, they have also been used to commemorate an important event, such as an emperor's visit or the anniversary of World War II victory. Besides China, they can be found in Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea, and even the Russian Far East
.
).
According to the 1957 survey by Chêng Tê-k'un (鄭徳坤),
the earliest extant tortoise-borne stele is thought to be the one at the tomb of Fan Min (樊敏), in Lushan County
, Ya'an
, Sichuan
. Victor Segalen
had earlier identified the stele as a Han Dynasty
monument; present-day authors agree, usually giving it the date of 205 AD.
The stele has rounded top with a dragon design in low relief - a precursor to the "two intertwined dragons" design that was very common on such steles even in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, over a thousand years later.
In the collection of the Nanjing Museum
there is a hunping
funerary jar, dating to 272 AD, with a miniature architectural composition on top, depicting, among other objects, a tortoise carrying a stele erected by the
Jin Dynasty governor of Changsha in honor of a local dignitary.
Perhaps the best known extant early example of the genre is the set of four stele-bearing tortoises at the mausoleum of Xiao Xiu
(475-518), who was the younger brother of the first Liang Dynasty
emperor Wu
(Xiao Yan), near Nanjing
.
The bixi tradition flourished during the Ming
and Qing Dynasties
. The Ming founder, the Hongwu Emperor
, in the first year after the dynasty had been proclaimed (1368), adopted regulations, allowing tortoise-based funerary tablets to the higher ranks
of the nobility
and the mandarinate
. He tightened the rules in 1396, leaving only the highest nobility (those of the gong and hou ranks) and the officials of the top 3 ranks
eligible for bixi-based stelae. The type of dragons
crowning the tortoise-born stele, and the type and number of other statuary at the tomb site, were prescribed by the same regulations as well.
At the Hongwu Emperor's own mausoleum
, a huge bixi holding the so-called Shengde stele welcomes visitors at the Sifangcheng pavilion at the entrance of the mausoleum complex. Three centuries later (1699), the Kangxi Emperor
of the Qing Dynasty visited Nanjing and contributed another tortoise, with a stele praising the founder of the Ming, comparing him to the founders of the great Tang and Song dynasties of the past.
The Hongwu Emperor's tortoise tradition was continued by the later Ming and Qing emperors, whose mausoleums
are usually decorated by bixi-born steles as well.
Even the self-declared emperor Yuan Shikai
was posthumously honored with a bixi-based stele in Anyang
, as was the Republic of China
Premier Tan Yankai
(1880–1930), whose stele near Nanjing
's Linggu Temple
had its inscription erased after the Communist Revolution.
Occasionally, a foreign head of state was honored with a bixi as well, as it happened to the sultan of Brunei
Abdul Majid Hassan
, who died during his visit to China in 1408. The sultan's grave, with a suitably royal bixi-based monument, was discovered in Yuhuatai District south of Nanjing
in 1958.
After an ancient Christian stele was unearthed in Xi'an
in 1625, it, too, was put on the back of a tortoise. In 1907, this so-called Nestorian Stele
was moved to the Stele Forest
Museum along with its tortoise.
Turkic Kaganate
- the so-called "Bugut Stele" of the late 6th century from Arkhangai Province in western Mongolia
with a Sogdian
and (most likely) Sanskrit
inscription was installed on a stone tortoise. It is presently in the provincial capital, Tsetserleg. According to the Turkish researcher Cengiz Alyilmaz, it was the design of this stele that influenced the builders of the important 8th-century stelae with Old Turkic inscriptions, many of which also stood on tortoises. Among them, the most accessible one is probably Bayanchur Khan
's (Eletmish Bilge Kağan)'s Terhin-Gol stele
(753 AD), presently in the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Ulan Bator.
Later, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
erected tortoise-based monuments as well, some of which have been preserved in Russia's Ussuriysk
and Mongolia's Karakorum
.
In Japan, this form of tortoise-supported stele is found primarily at the graves of prominent Kamakura period
(1185–1333) figures, especially in the city of Kamakura
. The form does not seem to have been particularly popular in earlier or later times.
In Korea, tortoise-borne stelae are known already during the Three Kingdoms of Korea
period (e.g., the Tombstone of King Muyeol of Silla
, erected 661).
Monuments of this type have been preserved from the later Goryeo
Dynasty as well, such as the Stele of Bongseon Honggyeongsa
(1026).
Vietnam also has a long tradition of tortoise-born stelae, where they commemorate emperor Lê Lợi as well as the graduates of the Confucian academy at Hanoi's Temple of Literature.
While there is no indigenous tradition of erecting stelae on tortoise-shaped pedestals in the United States, a Qing period bixi can be seen on campus of the Harvard University
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. This bixi
was given as a gift to Harvard in 1936 by the members of Harvard Clubs in China; an appropriate text was carved for the occasion on the tablet carried by the tortoise.
's assesement, the early (Han
and the Six Dynasties
) stone tortoises were artistic images of quite real aquatic turtles. The creatures looked quite realistic through the Song Dynasty
, when huge tortoise pedestals, such as the ones in Shou Qiu
near Qufu
, or the one in Dai Miao at Mount Tai
were erected.
The early-Ming specimens, while still definitely chelonian
, had sprouted small ears; sides of their heads and their carapace
s are often decorated by a leaf-like design. By the mid-Qing
(the 18th century), however, the stele-bearing tortoise becomes the characteristic dragon
-headed bixi.
According to some 19th-century western authors, the Chinese tradition of using a tortoise as a pedestal may have a common source with the Indian legend of the world being held up by a giant turtle.
's (78-139) "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xi Jing Fu), which mentions "the great strides" of the giant divine bixi.
Zhang Heng's follower Zuo Si
(250 - 305) in his Wu
Capital
Rhapsody
(Wu Jing Fu) explicitly associates the attribute bixi with the legendary giant turtle ao
, whose head supports a sacred mountain.
The term bixi became associated with the stele-carrying tortoises no later than the Ming Dynasty
. The terminology, however, did not immediately become stable.
The earliest known Ming-era list of fantastic creatures appearing in architecture and applied art is given by Lu Rong
(1436–1494) in his Miscellaneous records from the bean garden (椒园杂记, Shuyuan Zaji). The bixi, with the syllables swapped (屭贔, xibi), appears in the first position in that list:
Lu Rong claims that his list (including the total of 14 creatures) is based on the ancient books of beasts and supernatural creatures, the Shan Hai Jing
and the Bo Wu Zhi (博物志); however, as the modern researchers Yang Jingrong and Liu Zhixiong note, that is not the case, and the names, much more likely, were taken by Lu Rong from the folklore of his times.
Soon after Lu Rong, the mighty tablet-carrying tortoise appears in various lists of the "Nine children of the Dragons", compiled by several Ming authors. However, both Li Dongyang
(1441–1516) in his Huai Lu Tang Ji and Xie Zhaozhe (謝肇淛, 1567–1624) in his Wu Za Ji (五雜俎, Five Assorted Offerings, ca. 1592), refer to the tortoise that carries the stele as name baxia (霸下), rather than bixi; at the same time they apply the name bixi to the "literature-loving" dragons that appear on the sides of the stele:
The name bixi, however, is given to the table-carrying tortoise in the more popular version of the list of the "Nine Children of the Dragon". In this form of the list, given e.g. by Yang Shen
(1488–1559), the bixi is given the first position:
that went to swim in the ocean every summer, and came back to its seaside hill in the fall, inspired Lu Ji
's lines:
The opening chapter of the 14-century novel Water Margin
involves Marshal Hong releasing 108 spirits imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing tortoise.
A bixi plays a key role in a ghost story, "The Spirit of the Stone Tortoise" (贔屭精, Bixi jing),
from Yuan Mei
's (1716–1797) collection What the Master does not Speak of
.
The French poet and researcher Victor Segalen
(1878–1919), who published both a scholarly book about China's stelae and a book of poetry-in-prose about them,
was also impressed by the "truly emblematic" stone tortoises, their "firm gestures and elegiac
posture".
Today, the image of the bixi continues to inspire modern Chinese artists.
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
or tablet
Tablet
A tablet is a pharmaceutical dosage form. It comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients, usually in powder form, pressed or compacted from a powder into a solid dose...
. Tortoise-mounted stelae have been traditionally used in the funerary complexes of Chinese emperors and other dignitaries. Later, they have also been used to commemorate an important event, such as an emperor's visit or the anniversary of World War II victory. Besides China, they can be found in Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea, and even the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
.
History
The tradition of tortoise-mounted stelae originated no later than early 3rd century (late Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
).
According to the 1957 survey by Chêng Tê-k'un (鄭徳坤),
the earliest extant tortoise-borne stele is thought to be the one at the tomb of Fan Min (樊敏), in Lushan County
Lushan County, Sichuan
Lushan County, Sichuan is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Ya'an city.-Historical Monuments:An ancient monument, located in Lushan County and dating to 205 AD of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is the remains of the mausoleum of Fan Min...
, Ya'an
Ya'an
Ya'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
. Victor Segalen
Victor Segalen
Victor Segalen was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic....
had earlier identified the stele as a Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
monument; present-day authors agree, usually giving it the date of 205 AD.
The stele has rounded top with a dragon design in low relief - a precursor to the "two intertwined dragons" design that was very common on such steles even in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, over a thousand years later.
In the collection of the Nanjing Museum
Nanjing Museum
Nanjing Museum is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, on East Zhongshan Road, about 3 km from the Xinjiekou traffic circle to the east, just inside Zhongshan Gate...
there is a hunping
Hunping
A hunping is a ceramic funerary vessel often found in the tombs of the Han Dynasty and especially the Six Dynasties periods of China...
funerary jar, dating to 272 AD, with a miniature architectural composition on top, depicting, among other objects, a tortoise carrying a stele erected by the
Jin Dynasty governor of Changsha in honor of a local dignitary.
Perhaps the best known extant early example of the genre is the set of four stele-bearing tortoises at the mausoleum of Xiao Xiu
Xiao Xiu
Xiao Xiu , styled Prince Anchengkang ,was a younger half-brother of Emperor Wu, the first emperor of China's Liang Dynasty...
(475-518), who was the younger brother of the first Liang Dynasty
Liang Dynasty
The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...
emperor Wu
Emperor Wu of Liang
Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
(Xiao Yan), near Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
.
The bixi tradition flourished during the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing Dynasties
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. The Ming founder, the Hongwu Emperor
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
, in the first year after the dynasty had been proclaimed (1368), adopted regulations, allowing tortoise-based funerary tablets to the higher ranks
Mandarin square
A Mandarin square , also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of an official in Imperial China...
of the nobility
Chinese nobility
Chinese sovereignty and peerage, the nobility of China, were an important feature of traditional social and political organization of Imperial China. While the concepts of hereditary sovereign and peerage titles and noble families were featured as early as the semi-mythical, early historical...
and the mandarinate
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
. He tightened the rules in 1396, leaving only the highest nobility (those of the gong and hou ranks) and the officials of the top 3 ranks
Mandarin square
A Mandarin square , also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of an official in Imperial China...
eligible for bixi-based stelae. The type of dragons
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
crowning the tortoise-born stele, and the type and number of other statuary at the tomb site, were prescribed by the same regulations as well.
At the Hongwu Emperor's own mausoleum
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain , located east of the historical center of Nanjing, China...
, a huge bixi holding the so-called Shengde stele welcomes visitors at the Sifangcheng pavilion at the entrance of the mausoleum complex. Three centuries later (1699), the Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
of the Qing Dynasty visited Nanjing and contributed another tortoise, with a stele praising the founder of the Ming, comparing him to the founders of the great Tang and Song dynasties of the past.
The Hongwu Emperor's tortoise tradition was continued by the later Ming and Qing emperors, whose mausoleums
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the designation under which the UNESCO has included several tombs and burial complexes into the list of World Heritage Sites. These tombs date from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China....
are usually decorated by bixi-born steles as well.
Even the self-declared emperor Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China , and his short-lived...
was posthumously honored with a bixi-based stele in Anyang
Anyang
Anyang is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively....
, as was the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
Premier Tan Yankai
Tan Yankai
Tan Yankai was a Chinese politician from Hunan.-Biography:A member of Liang Qichao's Constitutionalist Party, he campaigned for a parliament and restrained monarchy...
(1880–1930), whose stele near Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
's Linggu Temple
Linggu Temple
Linggu Temple is a Buddhist temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The temple was described as the best Buddhist temple in the world. It was now surrounded by a large park.-History:...
had its inscription erased after the Communist Revolution.
Occasionally, a foreign head of state was honored with a bixi as well, as it happened to the sultan of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
Abdul Majid Hassan
Abdul Majid Hassan
Sultan Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei but recorded in Ming historical record. He sent a mission to China in 1406 and his name is recorded as Ma-na-je-ka-na....
, who died during his visit to China in 1408. The sultan's grave, with a suitably royal bixi-based monument, was discovered in Yuhuatai District south of Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
in 1958.
After an ancient Christian stele was unearthed in Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
in 1625, it, too, was put on the back of a tortoise. In 1907, this so-called Nestorian Stele
Nestorian Stele
The Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...
was moved to the Stele Forest
Stele Forest
The Stele Forest, or Xi'an Beilin Museum , is a museum for steles and stone sculptures which is located in Xi'an, China. Founded in 1944, it was the principal museum for Shaanxi province on the site of what was formerly an 11th century Confucius Temple...
Museum along with its tortoise.
Outside of China
The concept of a tortoise-borne, dragon-crowned stele was early adopted by China's northern neighbors. The earliest extant monument of theTurkic Kaganate
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...
- the so-called "Bugut Stele" of the late 6th century from Arkhangai Province in western Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
with a Sogdian
Sogdian language
The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language that was spoken in Sogdiana , located in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan ....
and (most likely) Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
inscription was installed on a stone tortoise. It is presently in the provincial capital, Tsetserleg. According to the Turkish researcher Cengiz Alyilmaz, it was the design of this stele that influenced the builders of the important 8th-century stelae with Old Turkic inscriptions, many of which also stood on tortoises. Among them, the most accessible one is probably Bayanchur Khan
Bayanchur Khan
Bayanchur Khan , was an Uyghur khagan from 747 to 759 AD. His official titles were "Ay Tengrida Qut Bolmish" and "El Etmish Bilge Qaghan" . His Tang Dynasty-invested title was Yingwuweiyuanpiqiejuo Khan or Yingwu Khan in short...
's (Eletmish Bilge Kağan)'s Terhin-Gol stele
Tariat inscriptions
Tariat inscriptions are on a stele found in on the north of Hoid Terhyin River, Doloon Mod district, Arkhangai Province of Mongolia. . The stele had been erected by Bayanchur Khan of Uyghur Khaganate in the middle of eight century...
(753 AD), presently in the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Ulan Bator.
Later, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
erected tortoise-based monuments as well, some of which have been preserved in Russia's Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok and about from both the Chinese border and the Pacific Ocean. Population: -Medieval history:...
and Mongolia's Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
.
In Japan, this form of tortoise-supported stele is found primarily at the graves of prominent Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
(1185–1333) figures, especially in the city of Kamakura
Kamakura
Kamakura can refer to:*Japanese name*Kamakura, Kanagawa, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan*Kamakura shogunate*Kamakura period, a history of Japan*Kamakura , a fictional character in the G.I...
. The form does not seem to have been particularly popular in earlier or later times.
In Korea, tortoise-borne stelae are known already during the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
period (e.g., the Tombstone of King Muyeol of Silla
Muyeol of Silla
King Taejong Muyeol , born Kim Chunchu, was the 29th monarch of the southern Korean kingdom of Silla and ruled from 654 to 661. He is credited for leading the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea...
, erected 661).
Monuments of this type have been preserved from the later Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
Dynasty as well, such as the Stele of Bongseon Honggyeongsa
Stele of Bongseon Honggyeongsa
The Stele of Bongseon Honggyeongsa Temple was designated as the seventh National Treasure of Korea on December 12, 1962.The Bongseon Honggyeongsa Temple was built in 1021 during the reign of King Hyeonjong who built the temple in accordance with the wishes of his father King Anjong and because he...
(1026).
Vietnam also has a long tradition of tortoise-born stelae, where they commemorate emperor Lê Lợi as well as the graduates of the Confucian academy at Hanoi's Temple of Literature.
While there is no indigenous tradition of erecting stelae on tortoise-shaped pedestals in the United States, a Qing period bixi can be seen on campus of the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. This bixi
Harvard Bixi
The Harvard Bixi is a 17-foot high, 27 ton Chinese marble stele located at Harvard University, north of Boylston Hall and west of Widener Library in Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
was given as a gift to Harvard in 1936 by the members of Harvard Clubs in China; an appropriate text was carved for the occasion on the tablet carried by the tortoise.
Development as an art form
According to Victor SegalenVictor Segalen
Victor Segalen was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic....
's assesement, the early (Han
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and the Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties is a collective noun for six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the Three Kingdoms , Jin Dynasty , and Southern and Northern Dynasties ....
) stone tortoises were artistic images of quite real aquatic turtles. The creatures looked quite realistic through the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, when huge tortoise pedestals, such as the ones in Shou Qiu
Shou Qiu
Shou Qiu is a historical site on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong Province, China. According to the legend, Shou Qiu is the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor.The site features two giant turtle-borne steles with a small lake between them...
near Qufu
Qufu
Qufu is a city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is located at 35° 36′ northern latitude and 117° 02′ east, about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefecture seat at Jining...
, or the one in Dai Miao at Mount Tai
Mount Tai
Mount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak , which is commonly reported as tall, but is described by the PRC government as .Mount Tai is one of the...
were erected.
The early-Ming specimens, while still definitely chelonian
Chelonian
Chelonian has multiple, interrelated meanings:*Green turtle*Chelonia, the superorder uniting turtles, tortoises and terrapins with the "proto-turtle" Australochelys*Chelonians, monsters from Doctor Who...
, had sprouted small ears; sides of their heads and their carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
s are often decorated by a leaf-like design. By the mid-Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(the 18th century), however, the stele-bearing tortoise becomes the characteristic dragon
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
-headed bixi.
According to some 19th-century western authors, the Chinese tradition of using a tortoise as a pedestal may have a common source with the Indian legend of the world being held up by a giant turtle.
The name of the tortoise
The word bi 贔 or bixi 贔屭 (also written with a variant character, 贔屓) is translated by Chinese dictionaries as "strong", "capable to support great weight". The word bixi is attested already in Zhang HengZhang Heng
Zhang Heng was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar from Nanyang, Henan. He lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He was educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, and began his career as a...
's (78-139) "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xi Jing Fu), which mentions "the great strides" of the giant divine bixi.
Zhang Heng's follower Zuo Si
Zuo Si
Zuo Si , courtesy name Taichong , was a writer and poet of the Western Jin.-Biography:...
(250 - 305) in his Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
Capital
Jiankang
Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...
Rhapsody
Fu (poetry)
Fu is a kind of rhymed prose, or poetry style essay, popular in ancient China, especially during the Han Dynasty. The term fu is often used in a multiway contrast with the more purely poetic shi style, with the fixed-rhythm forms of poetry , and with various more explicitly prosaic forms of...
(Wu Jing Fu) explicitly associates the attribute bixi with the legendary giant turtle ao
Ao (turtle)
According to legend, Ao was a large marine turtle or tortoise who lived in the South China Sea during the time of the formation of the world by the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind...
, whose head supports a sacred mountain.
The term bixi became associated with the stele-carrying tortoises no later than the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. The terminology, however, did not immediately become stable.
The earliest known Ming-era list of fantastic creatures appearing in architecture and applied art is given by Lu Rong
Lu Rong
Lu Rong was a Chinese scholar. He is also known under the courtesy name Wenliang and the pseudonym Shizhai .He earned his jinshi degree in 1466...
(1436–1494) in his Miscellaneous records from the bean garden (椒园杂记, Shuyuan Zaji). The bixi, with the syllables swapped (屭贔, xibi), appears in the first position in that list:
The xibi looks like a tortoise. By its nature it likes to carry heavy weights. It used to be employed to support stone tablets.
Lu Rong claims that his list (including the total of 14 creatures) is based on the ancient books of beasts and supernatural creatures, the Shan Hai Jing
Shan Hai Jing
Shan Hai Jing is a Chinese classic text, and a compilation of early geography and myth. Versions of the text have existed since the 4th century BC, and by the early Han Dynasty it had reached its final form. It is largely a fabled geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a...
and the Bo Wu Zhi (博物志); however, as the modern researchers Yang Jingrong and Liu Zhixiong note, that is not the case, and the names, much more likely, were taken by Lu Rong from the folklore of his times.
Soon after Lu Rong, the mighty tablet-carrying tortoise appears in various lists of the "Nine children of the Dragons", compiled by several Ming authors. However, both Li Dongyang
Li Dongyang
Li Dongyang was a Ming Dynasty scholar born in Chaling city, Hunan Province.He served as an official under four emperors for over 50 years, including the roles of "Grand Historian" and the "Minister of Rites". He is also known for his distinctive poetry...
(1441–1516) in his Huai Lu Tang Ji and Xie Zhaozhe (謝肇淛, 1567–1624) in his Wu Za Ji (五雜俎, Five Assorted Offerings, ca. 1592), refer to the tortoise that carries the stele as name baxia (霸下), rather than bixi; at the same time they apply the name bixi to the "literature-loving" dragons that appear on the sides of the stele:
The baxia has an innate love for carrying weights; the creature [that] now [is] under tablets is its image. ... The bixi has an innate love for literature; the dragons [that] now [are] on the sides of tablets are its image.
The name bixi, however, is given to the table-carrying tortoise in the more popular version of the list of the "Nine Children of the Dragon". In this form of the list, given e.g. by Yang Shen
Yang Shen
Yang Shen , son of Yang Tinghe, zi Yòngxiū , hao Shēng'ān , also hao Bonanshanren , Bonanshushi , was a poet in the Ming Dynasty....
(1488–1559), the bixi is given the first position:
The bixi looks like a tortoise, and likes to carry heavy weights; [he] is the tortoise-carrier (guifu) now [seen] under stone tablets.
Stone tortoises in art and popular lore
The great stone tortoises, whose antiquity sometimes went farther into the history than anyone could remember, often made impression on people who saw them, and excited their curiosity. It is said that an old legend of the stone tortoise made by Lu BanLu Ban
Lu Ban was a Chinese carpenter, engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker, statesman and contemporary of Mozi, born in the State of Lu, and is the patron Saint of Chinese builders and contractors. He was born in a renowned family during the Spring and Autumn Period when China was...
that went to swim in the ocean every summer, and came back to its seaside hill in the fall, inspired Lu Ji
Lu Ji
Lu Ji , style name Shiheng , was a writer and literary critic of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:Lu Ji was a direct descendant of the founders of Eastern Wu and son of the general Lu Kang...
's lines:
The opening chapter of the 14-century novel Water Margin
Water Margin
Water Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...
involves Marshal Hong releasing 108 spirits imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing tortoise.
A bixi plays a key role in a ghost story, "The Spirit of the Stone Tortoise" (贔屭精, Bixi jing),
from Yuan Mei
Yuan Mei
Yuan Mei was a well-known poet, scholar, artist, and gastronome of the Qing Dynasty.Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang , Zhejiang province, to a cultured family who had never before attained high office. He achieved the degree of jinshi in 1739 at the young age of 23, was immediately appointed to the...
's (1716–1797) collection What the Master does not Speak of
Zi Bu Yu
Zi Bu Yu is a collection of allegedly true supernatural stories compiled by Qing Dynasty scholar and writer Yuan Mei . Literally Zi Bu Yu means "what Confucius did not speak of" which refers to the saying "Confucius did not speak of strange events, violence, riots and supernatural things" from...
.
The French poet and researcher Victor Segalen
Victor Segalen
Victor Segalen was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic....
(1878–1919), who published both a scholarly book about China's stelae and a book of poetry-in-prose about them,
was also impressed by the "truly emblematic" stone tortoises, their "firm gestures and elegiac
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
posture".
Today, the image of the bixi continues to inspire modern Chinese artists.
See also
- Tortoise stelae in the Temples of Confucius and Yan Hui in Qufu - twenty-five bixi from the Temple of ConfuciusTemple of Confucius, QufuThe Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province of China, is the "original", largest and most famous of the temples of Confucius in China and East Asia....
and Temple of Yan HuiTemple of Yan HuiThe Temple of Yan Hui, more commonly known as simply the Temple of Yan or the Yan Temple , is a temple in Qufu, China, dedicated to the memory of Yan Hui , the favorite disciple of Confucius.-Location and layout:...
in Qufu, from five dynasties, from SongSong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
to QingQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
.
External links
- Stele on the Back of Stone Tortoise (an overview of the Bixi tradition)