J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York

Zhenwu, originally called Xuanwu (“Dark Warrior”), first appears in the Daoist pantheon as the embodiment of one of the four cardinal directions, representing the north, depicted emblematically as a tortoise entwined with a snake. The tortoise and snake imagery can be traced back to the late Warring States period, circa 3rd century B.C.

In the early Northern Song dynasty, the emperor Song Zhenzong (r. 998-1022) who was an ardent Daoist, decreed that the god’s name should be changed to Zhenwu (“Perfected Warrior”), and ordered a temple to be built in the Song capital city, Kaifeng, for the worship of Zhenwu, who was then represented in human form. During the Yuan dynasty, Zhenwu was elevated to the rank of celestial emperor and referred to as “Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven, Primal Sage, and Benevolent Majesty.”

In the early Ming dynasty, Zhenwu again was favored by the imperial house, and the early Ming emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424) ordered the construction of many temples dedicated to Zhenwu, including the large temple which still remains as the northernmost building at the meridian of the ‘Forbidden City’ in Beijing. Zhenwu became one of the most important and most widely venerated of all the Daoist gods during the Ming dynasty and continued to be worshiped by Manchu emperors throughout the Qing dynasty.

A very similarly modelled bronze figure of Zhenwu standing on a coiled snake and a tortoise is in The British Museum, London, illustrated by Jenyns and Watson, Chinese Art, vol. 2, 2nd ed., Oxford, 1980, p. 99, no. 66.