Ao ( <

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

( ZS): *''ŋaːw'') is a large marine

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

. He was thought to have lived in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

during the time of the formation of the world. When the goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

, creator of mankind, was repairing the sky after a disaster, she chopped off Ao's four legs and used them as supports. Another myth claims that Ao still lives and resides in the

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea ( zh, c=渤海, p=Bó Hǎi, l=Bo Sea) is a gulf/inland sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects via the Bohai Strait. It ...

, where he carries the three islands of the

Eight Immortals The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''Xian (Taoism), xian (immortals)'' in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the ...

( Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou) upon his back.'' Classic of the Mountains and Seas''. He is thought to have been an influence on the later half-dragon, half-turtle figure of Bixi in imperial Chinese

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Bixi was considered a son of the Dragon King who was able to carry enormous weights upon his back; figures of the dragon-turtle bearing memorial

stelae A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

are common monuments throughout East Asia.

In toponymy

While place names using the word ''gui'' ("turtle") are ubiquitous throughout China (typically referring to a turtle-shaped hill, ''gui shan''), place names referring to an ''ao'' are more characteristic of China's southeastern coast (Zhejiang to Guangdong). This includes the Ao River (Aojiang) in southern Zhejiang, with the town of Aojiang on its northern shore, as well as the Liu'ao ("Six ao") peninsula in southern Fujian.

References

Mythological and legendary Chinese turtles {{China-myth-stub

In toponymy

See also

References