When it comes to turtles, the Chinese have a saying “A thousand years and eighty thousand years of turtle” to describe the incredibly long lifespan of turtles. Even in ancient times, turtles were among the tools used for divination. In 2003, the National Museum of China called on the public to return artifacts in their possession.
A fisherman discovered a “strange object” worth a fortune, which turned out to be real. The following story is a testament to this.
In 2003, an elderly man living in Luoyang city, Henan Province, China, was a familiar sight to locals as he often fished along the Anyang River. This became his favorite pastime after retirement, and he would spend nearly the entire day by the riverbank.
However, one day, he unexpectedly caught a large fish after casting his line. It took him considerable effort to pull the creature ashore. But it was not a fish. From a distance, it appeared to be a large turtle. Upon closer inspection, the elderly man realized that this turtle was not moving. In fact, it was a block of iron or bronze shaped like a turtle, and notably, there were four short arrows embedded in its shell.
Additionally, ancient characters were inscribed on the back of this creature. The old man did not understand the ancient script but suspected it might be a decorative object that had been abandoned. Being submerged in the river had caused it to rust.
After much contemplation, he decided to take the metal turtle home and placed it in a corner.
Later that same year, upon learning about the Cultural Heritage Bureau’s initiative to recover lost treasures and cultural relics, he brought the turtle he found in the river to experts for appraisal.
As soon as the experts saw the turtle brought by the elderly man, they speculated that it was no ordinary object. Its eyes were wide open, and its limbs were stretched out behind it, vividly depicting a state of panic, struggle, and desperate longing for life.
After thorough examinations, experts confirmed that this was a soft-shelled turtle artifact, made of bronze during the late Shang Dynasty (approximately 1766 BC – 1122 BC). The inscription on the turtle’s shell is Jiaguwen, a form of script from the Shang Dynasty.
According to investigations and studies by experts, this rusty “turtle” is made of bronze and classified as a national treasure.
Experts believe this turtle dates back over 3,000 years. The particularly puzzling aspect of this bronze turtle is the arrows on its back. After discussions, the national museum decided to publish a photo of the “bronze turtle” on its official website to attract discussions and research from various fields over time. Some believed the four arrows on the turtle’s back radiated in four directions, leading to the treasure being named “Turtle with Four Arrows.”
According to the middle-aged man who submitted the bronze turtle, he had been farming by the riverside year-round. At that time, while preparing to fish, he noticed something resembling an injured turtle lying by the riverbank and intended to take it home for care. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was actually an ancient bronze artifact. Simultaneously, he received the notification regarding the national museum’s call for artifact submissions and did not hesitate to bring this item for donation.
Through expert appraisal, this bronze object, shaped like a “turtle”, is actually not referred to as “turtle” (gui) but as “soft-shelled turtle” (yuan). This is a member of the turtle family, known for its large size—some can weigh up to 100 kg. Therefore, the museum named this artifact “Bronze Turtle – A Reward for the Ancients” (the term refers to a type of ancient official). On the back of this soft-shelled turtle, there are four lines of text, totaling 32 characters: 32 characters inscribed in four lines: “Bing Shen, Wang Yu Huan, hua. Wang Yi Xia, xia san, lü vong (wu) fei ti. Wang Ling (ming) zhen (gui) huang (huang) yu tac shu ban, ri: tou yu Dong, tac nu (ru) bao.”
The entire bronze turtle is clearly displayed, with its head and tail protruding to the right, four legs spread out, and each of the four feet resting on a solid square base. Above its shoulders, there is one arrow; on the left side of its back, two arrows are embedded, and one arrow is on its lower body. This complexity has led archaeologists to spend considerable time decoding it.
The descriptions in the 32 characters inscribed on the back of the soft-shelled turtle are also quite legendary.
According to legend, King Zhou of Shang (the last king of the Shang Dynasty in Chinese history) organized an archery contest in Anyang, Henan Province, over 3,000 years ago. The Shang king went to the Huan River (also known as the Anyang River), and he shot his first arrow into the river, which happened to strike a soft-shelled turtle swimming at that moment. The official standing next to the king (a title for an ancient official – ban) pretended to praise the Shang king’s martial skills. Delighted, the king shot three more arrows and then ordered the retrieval of the turtle’s body to gift it to the official.
After taking the turtle home, the official preserved it carefully. Later, he sought skilled craftsmen in the neighborhood to create a bronze turtle based on the model of the turtle rewarded by the king. To ensure that future generations would know the origin of the bronze turtle, he requested the inscription of the story that had occurred that day on the back of the turtle, which corresponds to the 32 characters found on the bronze turtle.
The descriptions in these 32 inscribed characters are also quite legendary and provide important foundations for the study of archery customs during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Archaeological experts noted that the character “ban” appears on many bronze artifacts from the Shang Dynasty, indicating that these were various rewards given to those who fought alongside the Shang king in battles, achieving numerous victories.
