Why is Xuanwu made up of snakes and turtles?

In ancient times, people thought snakes were witty, clever and good at collecting money, and popular belief believed that dreaming snakes predicted money; However, the turtle has hard armor on its abdomen and back, and its head, tail and limbs can be retracted into the armor, so it is hungry and thirsty, and its life span is very long. So these two can be combined.

Xuanwu's original intention is to declare the Ming Dynasty. In ancient times, the words "martial arts" and "ghosts" were interlinked. Xuan means black, and ghost means the underworld. Ancient people in China used black tortoise shells for divination, commonly known as "tortoise divination". Its general meaning is to ask Xuanzang some questions to his ancestors in the underworld, and then bring back the answers and show them to the world in the form of divination. It can be seen that the original Xuanwu refers to a simple black turtle and does not involve snakes.

Because the ancients found that snapping turtles among turtles liked to eat snakes, if they met snakes when crawling, they would go up and fight with them. After winning, the snapping turtle will carry the snake on its back and take it to a hidden place to enjoy food. Inspired by this phenomenon, the ancients derived the simple tortoise pattern of Xuanwu into a pattern of tortoise and snake entangled and fighting at both ends to highlight the bravery of Xuanwu.

Extended data:

First, snakes are part of the reason:

In ancient China, great divine power was always compared with the phenomenon of the sympathetic evolution of all things, and the reproductive divine power was worshipped. The snake itself is a symbol of reproduction. Xuanwu appeared in the shape of tortoise and snake, which was regarded by the ancients as a symbol of male and female mating and reproduction. Jiuyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty (born around A.D. 12 1 year) also explained that Yin and Yang must cooperate with each other with the example of tortoise and snake correcting mistakes: "Guan Guan Sui and dove are in Hezhou. A beautiful and virtuous woman is a good spouse of a gentleman. Males are not alone, nor are females. Xuanwu tortoise and snake help each other in the first place. After all, it's embarrassing. " ?

Second, turtles become part of the reason:

In ancient times, the tortoise was a symbol of longevity and immortality, which could guide the movement of Qi. Biography of Qiuci in Historical Records said: "The old people in the south used turtles to support their beds. In their twenties, the old man died and moved to the bed, but the turtle did not die. Turtles can guide qi. " "Bao Puzi" contains: Chengyang hunted when he was frugal, fell into an empty tomb, and was hungry and cold. I saw a chinemys reevesii in the tomb, counted it, turned around, swerved, swallowed, squatted or leaned back. Thrift is also called the tortoise can guide, but it tries to do what the tortoise does, so it is no longer hungry. "

In addition, the first night of Gong Bei Xuanwu Seven Nights is also called Nandou. The Star Classic says: "There are six stars in the south, and Emperor Shou is also the prime minister." Gan Bao of Jin Dynasty (born around 3 16) quoted Guan Ju as saying: "Nandou is reborn, Beidou is dead again". Fighting in the south can prolong life. This is very attractive to emperors, bureaucrats and ordinary people who pursue immortality.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Xuanwu