Nine-tailed turtle
The Nine-tailed turtle (Chinese: 九尾龜) is a legendary Chinese turtle.
In an appended supplement to Records of the Grand Historian, the Han dynasty scholar Chu Shaosun (104?–30 BC[1]) mentioned eight famous turtles particularly suitable for plastromancy or turtle shell divination, one being called the "Turtle of Nine Provinces" (九州龜). Famous turtles supposedly had written signs below their plastrons, and those who can find such a turtle would be richly rewarded, "up to ten million."[2] Over time "Turtle of Nine Provinces" became "Turtle of Nine Tails" in folklore.[3] According to one source, it takes a turtle three thousand years to grow another tail.[3]
The Ming dynasty writer Lu Can (1494–1551) included a zhiguai story about a nine-tailed turtle in his Gengsi Bian (庚巳編). The story, he claimed, came from someone named Qiu Ningke (仇寧客) who "personally witnessed it". One day, in the city of Haining, a Butcher surnamed Wang (王) and his son bought a large turtle from the fish market. After they returned home, a merchant arrived from south of the Qiantang River, offering them a large sum for the turtle which he intended to release back into the river. When asked why, he pressed down on the turtle shell and revealed four smaller tails on each side of the large tail. Butcher Wang and his son ignored him and proceeded to slaughter the turtle for their dinner. That night, the river flooded and beds floated, but the water quickly subsided. The next day, their landlord wondered why they were not up, receiving no response, finally broke through their door. Their clothes were still on the bed but Butcher Wang and his son were missing.[4]
As a nickname, "Nine-Tailed Turtle" can be either positive or negative. Tao Zongwang, a hero from the Ming classical novel Water Margin, is nicknamed "Nine-Tailed Turtle". On the other hand, the Qing dynasty novel The Nine-Tailed Turtle (serialized 1906–1910), about prostitution, derived its title from a scandal in the household of Kang Jisheng, a former Jiangxi governor. The novel explains that "turtle" is a derisive word for a husband with an unfaithful wife.[5] In the case of Kang Jisheng, all nine women in his household are loose, so he has the nickname "Nine-Tailed Turtle".[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Loewe, p. 83.
- ^ Loewe, p. 87.
- ^ a b Cheng Muheng (程穆衡) (1845). Shui Hu Zhuan Zhu Lüe [Commentary on Water Margin] (PDF) (in Chinese). Vol. 2. Wang Shi Ting Xiang Ge. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ Lu Can (陸粲) (1551). Gengsi Bian (PDF) (in Chinese). Vol. 10. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ Wang, David Der-wei, p. 82.
- ^ Wang, David Der-wei, p. 83.
- Loewe, Michael (1988). "Divination by Shells, Bones and Stalks during the Han Period". T'oung Pao. Second Series. 74 (1/3): 81–118. doi:10.1163/156853288X00103. JSTOR 4528404. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- Wang, David Der-wei. Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911. Stanford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0804728453, 9780804728454.