Bixi stele (wrapped), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA - IMG 4607.JPG
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Bixi, or Bi Xi (), is a figure from Chinese mythology. One of the 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
with the shell of a turtle. Stone sculptures of Bixi have been used in Chinese culture for centuries as a decorative plinth for commemorative
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
s and tablets, particularly in the funerary complexes of its later emperors and to commemorate important events, such as an imperial visit or the anniversary of a World War II victory. They are also used at the bases of bridges and archways. Sculptures of Bixi are traditionally rubbed for good luck, which can cause conservation issues. They can be found throughout East Asia in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East.


History

The tradition of tortoise-mounted stelae originated no later than early 3rd century (late Han dynasty). According to the 1957 survey by Chêng Tê-k'un (), the earliest extant tortoise-borne stele is thought to be the one at the tomb of Fan Min (), 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 a 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 Xiao Xiu (), formally Prince Kang of Ancheng ( (475–518), was a younger half-brother of Xiao Yan (Emperor Wu), the founder of the Liang dynasty of China. According to the ''Book of Liang'', he was the 7th son of Xiao Yan's father Xiao Shunzhi. X ...
(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 The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
, 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. Quote regarding the Kangxi's stele text and its meaning: ")"; regarding the dimensions of the stele and its tortoise: "" 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 Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, 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. It had a ...
, as was the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
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 Abdul Majid Hassan (1380–1408 CE), also known as Maharaja Karna, allegedly was the second Sultan of Brunei. He may have ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei''. A ruler from Boni named M ...
, 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 Xi'an Stele was moved to the Stele Forest Museum along with its tortoise. These days, long-lost bixi continue to be unearthed during archaeological excavations and construction work. Among the most remarkable finds is the discovery of a huge 1200-year-old in Zhengding ( Hebei Province) in June 2006. The stone turtle is 8.4 m long, 3.2 m wide, and 2.6 m tall, and weighs 107 tons. It has since been moved to Zhengding's Kaiyuan Temple.


Outside 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 Kaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of Bumi ...
- the so-called " Bugut Stele" of the late 6th century from
Arkhangai Province The Arkhangai Province or Arkhangai Aimag ( mn, Архангай аймаг, Arhangai aimag, ; "North Khangai") is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia. It is located slightly west of the country's center, on the northern slopes of the Khangai Moun ...
in western Mongolia with a Sogdian and (most likely) Brahmi Mongolic inscription was installed on a stone tortoise. It is now in the provincial capital,
Tsetserleg Tsetserleg ( mn, Цэцэрлэг, ''garden'') may signify: * Tsetserleg (city), the capital of Arkhangai aimag in Mongolia * two sums (districts) in different aimags of Mongolia: ** Tsetserleg, Arkhangai ** Tsetserleg, Khövsgöl Tsetserleg ( mn, ...
. 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 )''Heavenborn State Founding Wise Qaghan'', birth_name=Yàolúogě Mòyánchùo (藥羅葛磨延啜) Mo-yun Chur (磨延啜) (b. 713 - d.759) or Eletmish Bilge Qaghan was second qaghan of Uyghur Khaganate. His Tang dynasty invested title was Yingwu ...
's (Eletmish Bilge Kağan)'s Terhin-Gol stele (753 AD), now in the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in
Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...
. Later, the Jurchen
Jin dynasty (1115-1234) Jin is a toneless pinyin romanization of various Chinese names and words. These have also been romanized as Kin and Chin (Wade–Giles). "Jin" also occurs in Japanese and Korean. It may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), ...
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 The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle betwee ...
(1185–1333) figures, especially in the city of
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...
. Another large collection of tortoise-borne stelae, spanning 17th through 19th centuries, can be seen at the cemetery of the
Tottori Domain 270px, Ikeda Yoshinori 270px, Front gate of the Tottori Domain residence in Edo was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now Tottori Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It controlled all of Inaba Provi ...
'' daimyō'' outside Tottori. Otherwise, the form does not seem to have been particularly popular in earlier or later times. In Korea, tortoise-borne stelae are known 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 {{Infobox Korean name , img=Stele of BongseonHonggyeongsa temple in Cheonan, Korea.jpg, hangul=봉선홍경사사적갈비 , hanja=奉先弘慶寺事蹟碣碑 , rr=Bongseon Honggyeongsa Sajeok Galbi , mr=Pongsŏn Honggyŏngsa Sajŏk Kalbi The ...
(1026). Vietnam also has a long tradition of tortoise-born stelae, where they commemorate emperor
Lê Lợi Lê Lợi (, Chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietname ...
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.


Development as an art form

According to Victor Segalen's assessment, the early (
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
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 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. Shou Qiu itself is today marked only by a pyramidal monument, ...
near Qufu, or the one in
Dai Miao Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being ta ...
at Mount Tai were erected. The early-Ming specimens, while still definitely chelonian, had sprouted small ears; sides of their heads and their
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) 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 tor ...
s are often decorated by a leaf-like design. They usually have prominent teeth, which real-life turtles don't. By the mid-
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
(the 18th century), however, the stele-bearing tortoise becomes the characteristic
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
-headed ''bixi''. File:Segalen-39-Xiao-Xiu-Tortoise-and-column.jpg,
Xiao Xiu Xiao Xiu (), formally Prince Kang of Ancheng ( (475–518), was a younger half-brother of Xiao Yan (Emperor Wu), the founder of the Liang dynasty of China. According to the ''Book of Liang'', he was the 7th son of Xiao Yan's father Xiao Shunzhi. X ...
mausoleum, Nanjing, Liang dynasty, ca. 518. Photo by Victor Segalen File:Khabarovsk stone tortoise.JPG, Tortoise from the grave of the Jurchen general Asikui. Originally near Ussuriysk, now in
Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...
Museum.
Jin dynasty (1115-1234) Jin is a toneless pinyin romanization of various Chinese names and words. These have also been romanized as Kin and Chin (Wade–Giles). "Jin" also occurs in Japanese and Korean. It may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), ...
File:Ussuriysk-Stone-Tortoise-S-3542.jpg, Ussuriysk,
Jin dynasty (1115-1234) Jin is a toneless pinyin romanization of various Chinese names and words. These have also been romanized as Kin and Chin (Wade–Giles). "Jin" also occurs in Japanese and Korean. It may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), ...
File:Karakorum - Tortue Sud.jpg, Karakorum ruins, Yuan dynasty (13th century) File:Stone Sifangcheng.jpg, The
Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
's
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
, Nanjing, ca. 1400 File:Linggu-Stone-Tortoise-2901.jpg, Near Linggu Temple, Nanjing, Ming dynasty File:Kangxi-Lugou-rebuilding-stele-3581.jpg, Stele in honor of the rebuilding of the Marco Polo Bridge by the Kangxi Emperor, Beijing, 1668 File:Nanjing-Drum-Tower-Kangxi-stele-3042.jpg, Drum Tower, Nanjing. Commemorates visit by the Kangxi Emperor, 1684 File:MingXiaoling ZLTS01 rotated.jpg, The Kangxi Emperor's stele at Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, Nanjing 1699 File:LugouQiao-Qianlong-bridge-rebuilding-stele-3610.JPG, The
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
's Marco Polo Bridge rebuilding stele, Beijing, 1785 File:Linggu-Shensong-Bixi-2911.jpg, Tan Yankai tomb, near Linggu Temple, Nanjing, ca. 1930 File:Minzu-zhengqi-haoran-changcun-Bixi-3563.jpg, World War II monument in
Wanping Castle Wanping Fortress, also known as Wanping Castle (), is a Ming Dynasty fortress or "walled city" in Fengtai District, Beijing. It was erected in 1638–1640, with the purpose of defending Beijing against Li Zicheng and the peasant uprising. From ...
, Beijing, 1995 File:Graves of Shimazu Tadahisa and Mori Suemitsu, Kamakura.jpg, Gravesites of samurai Shimazu Tadahisa (d. 1227) and
Mōri Suemitsu was a samurai during the Kamakura period and a ''gokenin'' of the Kamakura shogunate. He was the fourth son of Ōe no Hiromoto. He was the founder of the Mōri clan. He served three generations of the army of Minamoto no Sanetomo at Tsurugao ...
(1202-1247), the founders of the Shimazu and Mōri clans respectively,
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. File:Bixi in Harvard University - IMG 8960.JPG, The
Harvard Bixi The Harvard Bixi is a 17-foot high, 27 ton Chinese marble stele with a turtle pedestal located at Harvard University, north of Boylston Hall and west of Widener Library in Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The stele was presented to ...
in the United States was produced in China in the 18th century. File:Bixi Lingyin.jpg, The ''bixi'' at Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou, with the characters "Lingyin" () written on the stele.
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.


Name

The word ''bi'' or ''bixi'' (also written with a variant character, ) is translated by Chinese dictionaries as "strong", "capable to support great weight". The word ''bixi'' is attested already in
Zhang Heng Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, ma ...
'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 (; 250–305), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese writer and poet who lived in the Western Jin dynasty. Biography Zuo was born to an aristocratic family of Confucian scholars in Linzi. His mother died young. His father, Zuo Yong, ...
(250 - 305) in his '' Wu
Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...
'' (''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'' (, ''Shuyuan zaji''). The ''bixi'', with the syllables swapped (, ''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 The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed sinc ...
'' and the ''Bo Wu Zhi'' (); 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. Yang Jingrong and Liu Zhixiong (2008) 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 (, 1567–1624) in his ''Wu Za Zu'' (, ''Five Assorted Offerings'', ca. 1592), refer to the tortoise that carries the stele by the name ''baxia'' (), 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 hatnow sunder tablets is its image. ... The ''bixi'' has an innate love for literature; the dragons hatnow reon 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 (; 1488–1559) was a poet in the Chinese Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yongxiu (); his art names included Sheng'an (), Bonan Shanren () and Diannan Shushi (). Yang Shen was the son of Yang Tinghe and originally lived in Chengdu ...
(1488–1559), the ''bixi'' is given the first position:
The ''bixi'' looks like a tortoise, and likes to carry heavy weights; eis the tortoise-carrier (''guifu'') now
een Een ːnis a village in the Netherlands. It is part of the Noordenveld municipality in Drenthe. History Een is an ''esdorp'' which developed in the middle ages on the higher grounds. The communal pasture is triangular. The village developed dur ...
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 Ban Lu Ban (–444BC). was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty. He is revered as the Chinese Deity (Patron) of builders and contractors. Life Lu Ban was born in the state of Lu; a few ...
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 legend, and the reference to Lu Ji, comes from the book ''Shu Yi Ji'' (, "Extraordinary stories"), commonly ascribed to
Ren Fang Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number (R ...
(460—508). The story from the tortoise from a seaside hill (), as well as the one about another sea-going stone turtle from Linyi County (), and their translations to
Modern Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
, can be found at .
The opening chapter of the 14th-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" (, ''Bixi jing''), from
Yuan Mei Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese painter and poet of the Qing Dynasty. He was often mentioned with Ji Yun as the "Nan Yuan Bei Ji" (). Biography Early life Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang (, in modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang province, to a cu ...
'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.


Preservation concerns

As with other stone (particularly, marble and limestone) statuary, ''bixi'' turtles and their stelae are vulnerable to
acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...
(or, in winter, acid snow). On the Harvard University campus, the curators of its turtle protect it against the "acid snow" by wrapping it with a waterproof cover for the winter. A more ''bixi''-specific concern is the wear to the creatures' noses from the people who touch them for good luck. At Hanoi's Temple of Literature, highly popular with visitors, this has become a sufficient concern to the site's managers as to make them develop plans for introducing creative landscaping and structural obstacles to keep visitors from touching the temple's 82 stone turtles.The custom of rubbing ''bixi'' for good luck (or protection from bad luck) is attested in:


Notes


See also

* Tortoise stelae in the Temples of Confucius and Yan Hui in Qufu - twenty-five ''bixi'' from the Temple of Confucius and Temple of Yan Hui in Qufu, from five dynasties, from Song to
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
. * Turtle-shell tombs * Chinese dragon


References

* (Posthumous publication, based on research done in 1909–1917) * Includes Segalen's original text and the English translation Timothy James Billings and Christopher Bush. The original was published in 1912; its text can be also found at http://www.steles.net/ *
Section 1
.


External links



(an overview of the ''Bixi'' tradition) {{Chinese mythology Chinese iconography Chinese architectural history Chinese sculpture Chinese legendary creatures Fictional turtles Animals in art Chinese dragons