Black Tortoise

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 meaning	Dark Warrior Mysterious Warrior
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xuánwǔ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization yun4 mou5 Jyutping jyun4 mou5 Southern Min Hokkien POJ gôan-bú
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Huyền Vũ
Chữ Hán	玄武
Korean name
Hangul	현무
Hanja	玄武
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Hyeon-mu
Japanese name
Kanji	玄武
Hiragana	げんぶ
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Genbu Kunrei-shiki Genbu

Black Warrior of the North
A copper Black Tortoise from the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty (early 15th century)
Chinese	北方玄武
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Běifāng Xuánwǔ

Related pages

• Ao - the great turtle of early Chinese mythology
• Bixi - the son of the Dragon King who supports Chinese stelæ
• Cetus in Chinese astronomy - Cetus and Black Tortoise correspond on astrology, and both creatures possess affinities to waters and travel to underworlds to guide people
• Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden

Other websites

• "Star Charts and Moon Stations"
• The Black Tortoise of the North