Cultures of Authority in Asian Practice
The cover image of a dragon-tortoise was modified from a photograph of an imposing bronze figure that sits on the upper terrace of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This Hall is the largest structure in the Forbidden City in Beijing and was designed for the use and the celebration of the emperor. Grand ceremonies were held here: the emperor's ascension to the throne, his marriage and birthdays, the Winter Solstice and others. Tradition has it that when the emperor sat on his throne to receive the candidate who received highest honors in the state exams, that student could claim the privilege of climbing the dragon-tortoise and standing on its head.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is a world of dragons - 13,844 by one calculation. Dragons are one of the oldest symbolic animals in Chinese history and, contrary to Western mythology, were rarely depicted as malevolent. Rather, they were viewed as fearsome and powerful, as well as just and benevolent. Thus, while dragons were to be respected and feared, they were also petitioned as one would petition a just and honest ruler. It is for these reasons that dragons became the sign of authority.
In China the tortoise, too, had divine attributes. Its shell was a symbol of unchangeability and mark of rank when used for court girdles. Tortoises, not surprisingly, were associated with longevity and wisdom. This bronze dragon-tortoise combines and instantiates all of these attributes: a symbol of longevity and authority, situated at the site of supreme authority.
- Photograph by J. Allen Cash in Splendors of the East: Temples, Tombs, Palaces
and Fortresses of Asia, Mortimer Wheeler, ed., G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York,
1965. p229