Ao ( <

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

( ZS): *''ŋaːw'') is a large marine

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

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of ...

. 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 the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

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

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huainanz ...

, 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, where he carries the three islands of the Eight Immortals ( 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 The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the ''lóng'' in Ch ...

who was able to carry enormous weights upon his back; figures of the dragon-turtle bearing memorial

stelae A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

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

Chinese legendary creatures Legendary turtles {{China-myth-stub

In toponymy

See also

References