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Huge Turtle Being Carried In Funeral Procession,Hong Kong, ca.1890

Dickydevo

Gone But Not Forgotten
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HK TURTLE0001.jpg

I can`t quite recall where this image originated,though it was from a book published in Hong Kong and is more than 100 years old and I know its` a Taoist(?) funeral. But I am more interested in the identity of the animal.

Any ideas?
 
It looks almost like an incarnation of The Great A'Tuin, of Pratchett's Discworld...how mainstream is the picture? Might it have inspired him?

discworld_terry_pratchett_desktop_1024x768_hd-wallpaper-963407.jpg
 
Any ideas?
May the Black Tortoise who represents longevity or ongoing life but, more likely in my view and as it is an Hong Kong publication, could represent Ao the Turtle who carries the 3 Islands that are home to the 8 Immortals.
 
May the Black Tortoise who represents longevity or ongoing life but, more likely in my view and as it is an Hong Kong publication, could represent Ao the Turtle who carries the 3 Islands that are home to the 8 Immortals.

Thanks!
 
It looks almost like an incarnation of The Great A'Tuin, of Pratchett's Discworld...how mainstream is the picture? Might it have inspired him?

discworld_terry_pratchett_desktop_1024x768_hd-wallpaper-963407.jpg
I am sure the picture I posted is very rare,I only stumbled across it in a certain Hong Kong University magazine and they found the wood cut in some obscure Chinese book.
 
If it was Japanese it could have been Gamera - could there be a folkloric connection between the image and those movies?
 
I don't think thats an example particularly oversize Turtle? Leatherbacks can be over 2 metres long and weigh up to 900kgs
 
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