After learnt 鱼, 鸟, 犬, today we move on to a new character for another animal, which is 龟. Its Traditional Chinese character is 龜. Let me zoom it out so that you can see it clearly: 龜.
From 龟 or 龜 you might not have any idea what kind of animal it is. Once you see its Oracle script 
, or its Bronze script 
, you immediately know what it is. They are just drawings of the animal below:
, or its Bronze script , you immediately know what it is. They are just drawings of the animal below: |
| 乌龟 |
Yes 龟 means turtle or tortoise.
Its evolution history demonstrates how it has evolved into current form - 龟: (image taken from http://www.vividict.com)
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| Evolution history of 龟 | 龜 |
龟 | 龜 is treated as a very special species in China. It symbols long live and prosperity. Ancient Chinese wizards engraved words onto shells of 龟, then burned them in fire to reveal the will of gods based on the pattern of the cracks. That is why we have luckily recovered what characters ancient Chinese uses - the Oracle scripts.
 |
| 甲骨文 |
Below is a Chinese calligraphy with 龟 inside:
 |
| 龟寿鹤年 |
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