Xuangui, the Bird-Headed Turtle of the Guai River

What the Shan Hai Jing says

Xuangui lives in the Guai River, which rises on Mount Niuyang in the first book of the Southern Mountains and flows east into the Xianyi. The text says the river holds many dark turtles. They are shaped like turtles but have the head of a bird and the tail of a viper, and their voice sounds like wood being split. Wearing one keeps you from going deaf, and it can also treat calluses. The name of the river itself, Guai, means strange. The same mountain is home to the Lushu, a horse with a white head, tiger stripes and a red tail.

Dark turtle or spinning turtle?

The entry uses two names that sound almost alike. It first calls the creatures xuan gui with the character for dark, then names them Xuangui with a character meaning to turn or spiral. Readers have long noticed the pair, and both forms appear in discussions of the passage. A turtle called Xuangui also appears in the Central Mountains, again with a bird's head and the same voice like splitting wood, which suggests the creature was known in more than one region of the book's world.

Charms you can wear

The Xuangui belongs to one of the most practical groups in the Shan Hai Jing: things to carry. In the same first book, a tree on Mount Zhaoyao keeps you from getting lost if you wear it, and wearing the Lushu brings many children and grandchildren. The Xuangui protects the ears and the skin. Lists like these show that the book was read not only as a record of wonders but also as a guide to what the strange creatures of the world could do for people.

Xuangui in our game

In Beasts of Shanhai the Xuangui is a shell first and a beast second. We gave it a hard back that cuts down every hit, and the job of drawing enemy attacks so that the beasts behind it can work. It is one of the sturdiest low-cost beasts in the game, and its Earth element fits a creature that spends its life in a riverbed.

Beaked Turtle in Beasts of Shanhai

In our free browser game Beasts of Shanhai, Beaked Turtle is a Earth beast that costs 2 Gold. Its skill is Hard Shell. It takes 15% less damage from each hit (at least 1 less, and always at least 1 damage) and has Guard, so foes must attack it first. At two stars the reduction is 25%, and at three stars 35%.

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