旋龟
black and red bird headed turtle with a serpent tail. from Chinese mythology.
The Guai shui, whose headwaters are in Niuyang shan, flows east to empty into the Xianyi River. According to legend, it was once home to a strange, some would say hideous, creature that had the disorienting appearance of a common black turtle but the head of a bird, the tail of a venomous snake, and a call like wood splitting. The legend continues with the surprising note that wearing a piece of the turtle prevented deafness and was especially effective in removing calluses. Disastrous floods occurred during the waning years of King Shun’s reign. The father of King Yu was ordered to find a way to prevent them, but could think of no means to contain the persistent floodwaters. One day, as he was strolling by a river, he spotted a rare Xuangui, whose head was on one end of the massive mound of a shell, the tail on the other. King Shun struck upon the concept of levees to keep the rising waters at bay. We know by now that levees are ineffective in preventing floods, and for his failure King Shun was put to death. When his son, the great King Yu, assumed his father’s mission to enact flood control, a Xuangui arrived unbidden and, along with a Yellow Dragon, came to Yu’s aid. Millennia later, scholars recorded this extraordinary incident, which was passed down orally over the years: “A yellow dragon dragged its tail ahead of a mud-scooping Xuangui.” More than preventing deafness and removing calluses, this selfless deed deified the turtle.