玄武

Xuánwǔ

proper noun

Meanings

1 Black Tortoise (of the North)
2 Xuanwu, Daoist deity of the north

About Xuanwu

The Black Tortoise, a tortoise wound with a snake, guardian of the north among the 四象 (Four Symbols). Daoists worship him as the god 真武大帝, whose main temples are on 武当山.

Also called 真武大帝、玄天上帝

Characters

玄

xuán

dark; black; mysterious

武

wǔ

martial; warrior

Examples

HSK 5

玄武是中国古代四象之一，代表北方。

Xuánwǔ shì Zhōngguó gǔdài sì xiàng zhīyī, dàibiǎo běifāng.

Xuanwu is one of the Four Symbols in ancient China, representing the north.

HSK 7-9

南京的玄武湖非常有名。

Nánjīng de Xuánwǔ hú fēicháng yǒumíng.

Nanjing's Xuanwu Lake is very famous.

Tips

culture

The other three of the 四象 are 青龙 (east), 白虎 (west) and 朱雀 (south). The Kangxi emperor's name, 玄烨, made 玄 taboo, so the Forbidden City's north gate, 玄武门, was renamed 神武门.

history

玄武门之变 (Xuanwu Gate Incident, 626 CE) was the palace coup where Li Shimin ambushed and killed his brothers at Chang'an's Xuanwu Gate, forcing his father to abdicate and becoming Emperor Taizong of Tang - one of the most consequential coups in Chinese history.

Stroke Order

玄 xuán

武 wǔ

玄武