After digging a well, why did the ancients have to put two turtles in?

Before there was tap water, ancient people relied mainly on digging wells to get water. Interestingly, when people dug ancient wells, they often found giant turtles at the bottom of the wells.

Origin of the well

In Chinese legend, Emperor Ba Yi's descendant invented the well. The 'Book of Changes' says: "Reforming a village does not change the well". Kong Yingda, a Confucian scholar of the Tang Dynasty, also said: "The ancients dug the ground to get water, and used a bucket to pull it up for use, which was called a well".

Before the invention of tap water, wells were one of the main ways to provide drinking water for people. Therefore, throughout history, there are many interesting legends and customs associated with wells.

At that time, people living near rivers and mountains could directly use river water and spring water. Those who did not have the means would dig wells to get clean water for daily use. In addition, after digging a well, people would release two turtles into it.

There are many theories about the act of releasing turtles into wells. One of the scientific explanations is that ancient people used turtles to test the quality of water.

Water quality testing

Experts say that in the past, people did not have testing tools to assess whether water sources were usable or not. However, somehow they knew the natural 'characteristics' of turtles, so they released two of them into the well for testing. If they could survive in the well, the water could be used for drinking.

In ancient times, not every house had a well. A village usually had only one or two. Whether the well water was clean and safe or not was closely related to the quality of life of everyone. Therefore, in order to prevent people with the motive of poisoning the water source, releasing one or two turtles into the well played a role of testing and early warning.

Some folk tests

In ancient times, in addition to using turtles to test well water, people also used the special reactions of some other animals to assess whether the surrounding environment was safe or not.

For example, when digging the foundation for a new house and finding a snake hole under the chosen foundation, people will not destroy it but use firecrackers to chase it away and keep the hole. When the house is finished, the snake will return to the hole. The reason for not destroying the hole and chasing the snake away is because people use the snake as a means to judge whether the house is safe or not. If the foundation is unstable, suppose there is an earthquake or flood warning... the house may collapse or be flooded, the snakes will first crawl out of the hole, moving chaotically. People can predict natural disasters thanks to that.

There are also some popular sayings of an allegorical nature among the people such as: "the swallow flies low, it will rain", "the ants move their house to another place, it will rain", etc. All of them show that people have learned how to use the unusual behaviors of animals to predict meteorology and weather. That is the knowledge accumulated in real life that people have.

Nowadays, people know it is going to rain when they see large numbers of dragonflies flying at low altitudes. The low flying behavior of swallows is also a reason.

Five elements reason - feng shui

There is another explanation for releasing turtles into ancient wells as follows: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise are the four sacred animals of ancient people. The image of Black Tortoise is a combination of turtle and snake, but there is no such creature so the turtle was used as a substitute.

In the theory of Yin Yang and Five Elements, Xuan Wu represents the water element and also symbolizes the underworld. Taoism considers it as the Great Emperor Zhen Wu; Xuan Wu is the true body of Xuan Tian Zhen Wu. For this reason, the tortoise shell is often used for divination.

In the 'Book of Rites' it is written: "Xuanwu is a type of turtle. Turtles have armor, which can be used to resist harsh words". Therefore, the ancients put turtles in wells, which also means guarding and praying, hoping to receive blessings from the gods through this animal. In addition, the turtle itself is a symbol of longevity, and releasing turtles into wells is also to convey people's wishes for longevity.

In addition to the two hypotheses above, there is another legend: releasing turtles into the well to commemorate the god Con.

Remembering the merits of the god Con

According to legend, Con was originally a god who, out of pity for the people drowning in the great flood, asked the Emperor of Heaven to give him a type of soil that could stop the flood. But the Emperor of Heaven did not agree.

So, Gun sent the Si Dieu (an ancient bird of prey) to find out where the soil was stored. Then he ordered the god Cuu (represented as a turtle) to carry it out. Gun threw the soil into the water to prevent the flood. When the Emperor of Heaven heard about it, he was extremely angry. Not only did he immediately take back the soil, but he also ordered his soldiers to kill Gun.

Three years after the death of the god Gun, his spirit survived and gave birth to Yu. Yu continued to inherit the responsibility of controlling the flood from Gun. At that time, Gun transformed into Xuanwu and swam away. Yu devoted himself to controlling the flood, and with the support and help of other gods, the flood was finally drained away. He was honored by later generations as the Great Yu.

People also did not forget the god Con. To show gratitude for the god's sacrifice and pray for his blessing, after digging the well, people released two turtles into the water.

This is a mythological story that has been passed down from ancient times. Because its content contains many elements of gods and magic, modern people cannot explain it, but no one denies it. After all, it is still the origin of an interesting folk custom. In fact, except for the divine element, the other details (the great flood and the custom) are reasonable.

In the long history, local customs and practices are one of the good cultures that have been passed down. Based on discovering them, people can understand the life and culture of the ancients. And releasing turtles into wells is also a custom that contains very interesting meanings.

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