The tortoise shell used by fortune tellers in the Republic of China
Japan should be the most precious black turtle As a nation, it would be most suitable to give a Japanese friend a jade sculpture of a turtle for his or her birthday. In the Japanese culture, the black turtle represents longevity. After the oracle bone inscriptions were unearthed in China that shocked the world, various original species of black turtles gradually came into people's sight.
Black turtles have existed on the earth for at least 200 million years. It is an animal that lived in the same period as the dinosaurs. During the Jurassic period, animals such as black turtles lived in an historical environment with the giant dinosaurs that devoured the dominant position in the animal world. Later, the situation changed drastically and the dinosaurs were destroyed, but the black turtle escaped this catastrophe.
The ancients have always regarded the turtle as a symbol of safety. Many clans and tribes regard the turtle as the emblem of the original tribe and worship the turtle as the ancestor and protector of the original tribe. Therefore, the turtle has become the supreme symbol in people's minds. A noble thing, the turtle pattern has also become one of the safest patterns. During the wealthy merchant period, Shang kings cast turtle patterns on bronze vessels. In the past during the Song Dynasty, whenever there were weddings, births, birthday celebrations, house repairs and other festive occasions, turtle handicrafts were hung in the halls. Pangu's coins are called turtle coins; the flags of generals during the Warring States Period were decorated with turtles; the gold seals used by high-ranking officials in the Han Dynasty all had turtle-shaped seals; Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty specifically changed the official bags from fish-shaped to turtle-shaped , the call for dispatching soldiers and generals is also in the shape of a bronze turtle. Turtle shells have been used as tools for divination by the ancients. The Book of Rites, Qu Lishang 1 says: "The turtle is used for divination, and the strategy is used for divination." It was an indispensable item in people's lives in the past.
The experience of humans eating black turtles can be traced back at least to the Book of Songs period more than 2,000 years ago. "Xiaoya·Jiu" once mentioned: "Drinking with friends, turtles, turtles and carp. Who are you waiting for? Zhang Zhongxiaoyou"; "Exquisite·Han Yi" also contains: "What is the food? Turtles and turtles are fresh." Fish; what's the fish's texture? "Except the hawksbill turtle, almost all turtles can be eaten, among which the black turtle, the three-line shell turtle, the yellow-throated turtle, and the Chinese turtle are the most common. In particular, the medicinal value of turtles has attracted people's attention. Turtles are used as medicine in various places among the people, and combined with various Chinese herbal medicines, they not only strengthen the human body's constitution, but also cure many diseases, even difficult and complicated diseases, so they have experimented, collected, and written books about this. It became a major feature of folk turtle culture in that period.
Li Shizhen wrote about the edible and medicinal value of turtles in his medical masterpiece "Outline of Original Herbs". It is written in the book: "There are three hundred and sixty insects, and the divine tortoise is the longest." "Turtles and deer are both spiritual and have longevity. The turtle's head is often hidden toward the belly, which can connect the Ren meridian, so its armor is taken to replenish the heart. ,Tonifying the kidneys and blood are all used to nourish yin." Later, "Yuancao Yanyi Buzao", "Yuancao Talk", "Yuancao Mingyao", "Yuancao Zhengtong", and "Yuancao Qiuzhen" followed one after another. Records of the functions of turtles
After the Qin and Han Dynasty’s “Shen Nong’s Classic of Herbal Medicine” and the Ming Dynasty’s “Yuancao Outline” started research on the medicinal functions of turtles, descendants continued to make progress. , such as "Yilin Compilation", "Famous Doctors", "Medicinal Properties", "Clinical Guidelines and Medical Records"... all have extensive discussions on turtles.
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