It is well known that most civilizations originated along rivers, including the ancient Chinese civilization that lived in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, the ancient Babylonian civilization that grew along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the ancient Indian civilization that grew along the Indus and Ganges rivers, and so on.

It can be seen how important water is to human beings. In ancient times, after people dug a well, they would put two turtles in the well. It has been confirmed that this story is true, and it is still used in certain places today. Two giant turtles may also be found in some remote ancient wells.

But what is the origin of this behavior?

Test the water quality

Turtles actually have relatively high requirements for water quality. If the water quality is not good, the turtles will even reach the end of their lives early.

At that time, people could not test the water quality through technical means, and they did not know whether there were harmful substances in it. Therefore, they could only explore whether the well was safe or not by observing the living conditions of the turtle.

At the same time, the existence of turtles can also prevent poisoning incidents from happening. After all, their living conditions can give humans an early warning.

To seek peace

Furthermore, the ultimate goal of many things humans do cannot escape survival and development. For the ancients, superstition was spiritual sustenance, so Superstitious thoughts were a common and normal phenomenon in ancient times.

In ancient times, there were four mythical beasts in folklore, namely the blue dragon, the white tiger, the red bird, and the Xuanwu. The shape of the Xuanwu was a combination of a turtle and a snake, so the people regarded the turtle as a symbol of Xuanwu.

According to legend, Xuanwu’s five elements govern water, and among the four elements is Laoyin, which is the god who guards the north. It is also said that the underworld is in the north, so Xuanwu is said to be the underworld among the people, and is regarded by Taoism as a true martial art that can lead to the underworld. Emperor.

This is also one of the reasons why tortoise shells were used for divination in ancient times. It is recorded in the "Book of Rites": "Xuanwu is a tortoise. The tortoise has armor and can be used to protect against insults."

So the ancients put two turtles in the well as a way to stabilize the well, hoping to receive blessings from the gods for peace. Furthermore, turtles are inherently longevity creatures, so they also have the wish to live a hundred years.

To commemorate the ancestors

There is also a saying on the Internet that people put turtles in memory of Dayu's father Gun. This is another mythical story.

Everyone is certainly familiar with Dayu, but few people know about Dayu’s father. According to legend, there was a flood at that time, and Yao sent Gun to control the flood. However, Gun mostly used measures to block the water, that is, building dikes to block the water. When Shun succeeded to the throne, Gun's water control had made no progress, and Shun executed Gun in anger. .

Later, Dayu inherited Gun's task of controlling floods, and after learning from Gun's mistakes, he used the method of digging canals to divert water to clear floods. As a result, there was a legend in later generations that he passed through the house three times without entering.

However, the story is not over here. Gun was a man who cared about the people. Even after his death, he still kept thinking about water control. In the end, he transformed into "Xuanwu" because of his obsession and has been protecting people ever since.

In order to thank Gun for his sacrifice and to hope for Xuanwu's protection, people kept putting two turtles in the wells they dug.

In short, the ancient people’s behavior of releasing turtles into the water contains not only cultural and traditional beliefs, but also scientific basis. It is a very wise move.

We are now bathed in the warm light of the new era, and our lives are far better than those of the ancients. Many people take it for granted that the wisdom of the ancients is outdated.

In fact, no matter when, the wisdom of the ancients has inspired our current life, and the life experience they summed up over thousands of years is worthy of our careful consideration.