The concept of a tortoise-borne, dragon-crowned stele was adopted early by China's northern neighbors. The earliest extant monument of theTurkic Kaganate - the so-calle… See more

According to Victor Segalen's assessment, the early (Han and the Six Dynasties) stone … See more

The word bi 贔 or bixi 贔屭 (also written with a variant character, 贔屓) is translated by Chinese dictionaries as "strong", "capable to support great weight". The word bixi is attes… See more

The great stone tortoises, whose antiquity sometimes went farther into history than anyone could remember, often made impression on people who saw them, and excited thei… See more

As with other stone (particularly, marble and limestone) statuary, bixi turtles and their stelae are vulnerable to acid rain (or, in winter, acid snow). On the Harvard University c… See more