Bixi also called
guifu (龟趺) or
baxia (霸下), is a stone tortoise, used as a pedestal for a
steleA 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
tabletA 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 EastRussian 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 DynastyThe 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 CountyLushan 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'anYa'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
,
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 SegalenVictor 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 DynastyThe 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 MuseumNanjing 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
hunpingA 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 XiuXiao 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 DynastyThe 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
WuEmperor 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' 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
MingThe 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 DynastiesThe 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 EmperorThe 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 ranksA 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
nobilityChinese 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
mandarinateA 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 ranksA 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
dragonsChinese 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 mausoleumThe 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 EmperorThe 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 mausoleumsImperial 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 ShikaiYuan 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
AnyangAnyang 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 ChinaThe 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 YankaiTan 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' 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 TempleLinggu 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
BruneiBrunei , 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 HassanSultan 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' 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'anXi'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 SteleThe 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 ForestThe 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 the
Turkic KaganateThe 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
MongoliaMongolia 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
SogdianThe Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language that was spoken in Sogdiana , located in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan ....
and (most likely)
SanskritSanskrit , 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 KhanBayanchur 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 steleTariat 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 DynastyThe 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
UssuriyskUssuriysk 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
KarakorumKarakorum 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 periodThe 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
KamakuraKamakura 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 KoreaThe 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 SillaKing 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
GoryeoThe 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 HonggyeongsaThe 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 UniversityHarvard 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, MassachusettsCambridge 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 bixiThe 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 was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic....
's assesement, the early (
HanThe 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 DynastiesSix 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 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...
, when huge tortoise pedestals, such as the ones in
Shou QiuShou 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
QufuQufu 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 TaiMount 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
chelonianChelonian 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
carapaceA 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-
QingThe 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
dragonChinese 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 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 SiZuo Si , courtesy name Taichong , was a writer and poet of the Western Jin.-Biography:...
(250 - 305) in his
WuEastern 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...
CapitalJiankang 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:...
RhapsodyFu 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
aoAccording 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 DynastyThe 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 RongLu 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 JingShan 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 DongyangLi 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 ShenYang 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 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 JiLu 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 MarginWater 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 MeiYuan 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 ofZi 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 SegalenVictor 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
elegiacIn 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 Confucius
The 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 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 SongThe 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 QingThe 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