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Katrina Le

Professor Erin Rogers

Writing 1010

02 December 2017

The Monster Coming out of its Shell

Turtles are incredibly fascinating creatures. Often, they are characterized and known for

their distinctive shells. However, they can be known as much more than reptiles with

shells. One example of this can be seen in Vietnamese culture. For centuries, the turtle has been

considered as a sacred creature, one of the four holy beasts (“The Four Sacred Animals in

Vietnamese Culture,” 2016; Tuan, 2013). As one of the four holy beasts, the turtle is a “symbol

for strength and longevity” (Tuan). This all can be seen with a specific and unique turtle: the

Hoan Kiem turtle, also known as Cu Rau. Over the course of time, Cu Rau has evolved from

being an auspicious symbol from a legendary myth to also being a symbol of tragedy with

various cultural, political, and environmental implications from a real-life cautionary tale.

In Vietnamese culture, turtles are seen as symbols of good luck. This is no different with

the legend of the Hoan Kiem Turtle. The legend begins in the early 15th century when the Ming

Dynasty invaded the Vietnamese people. Emperor Le Loi, Vietnamese ruler during the Le

Dynasty, lead an army of common people against the Ming Dynasty with the help of a sword

with “The Will of Heaven” engraved on it given to him by the gods. After the Vietnamese

defeated the Ming, a giant turtle rose out of a lake to return the sword to its rightful owners (K.

Harris, 2011). This turtle was Kim Qui, the Golden Turtle God (Currey, 2012; K. Harris, 2011).

From then on, the lake became known as Hoan Kiem Lake or “Lake of the Returned Sword”

(Currey, 2012; Overland, 2005). From this myth, the Hoan Kiem Turtle became mythologically
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and culturally significant. The myth is incredibly widespread as it is told all over the country in

books as well as performances (“Giant Turtle Sightings Set Vietnam Capital Abuzz,” 1998). It is

important to note that Vietnamese culture is known for being a culture full of superstition (S. D.

Harris, 2016). The ubiquity of myth throughout the country and the superstition of Vietnamese

culture imply that the turtle has a lot of superstitious value. In fact, many believe that the turtle

“will bestow good fortune” (MacKinnon, 2011). It is clear that the turtle stood for victory for

many throughout the centuries.

Unlike the other three of the four holy beasts (the phoenix, dragon, and unicorn), the

Hoan Kiem Turtle was actually real and served as a link between reality and legend. The lake of

legend stands today in the center of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, in the midst of the city’s

bustle (Anh et al., 2016; Overland, 2005). Sightings of the last giant turtle that lived in Hoan

Kiem Lake since 1991 have caused excitement throughout the country (“Giant Turtle Sightings

Set Vietnam Capital Abuzz,” 1998; Overland, 2005). Weighing over 400 pounds with a shell

measuring 3.5 by 6 feet long (Overland, 2005), the creature truly was enormous. As the turtle

was discovered to be real, people started treating it as an actual biological creature. The turtle

became known as Cu Rau, which means “great grandfather turtle” (Lui, 2016). Over the years,

there has been debates over the taxonomy of the creature. One biologist by the name of Ha Dinh

Duc wanted to name the turtle Rafetus Leloii after the emperor from the legend (Overland,

2005). Another group of biologists wanted to classify the turtle as Rafetus Vietnamensis as they

believed the creature was unique to Vietnam and only Hoan Kiem Lake (Le Tran Binh et al.,

2010). However, a review of the article that classified the turtle as Rafetus Vietnamensis argued

that the studies conducted in the article were not scientifically sound and that the turtle was no

different from other species of giant soft-shelled turtles found in China known as Rafetus
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Swinhoei (the generally accepted classification of the turtle) (Farkas & Le, 2011). The debate

over the turtle can also be seen with its gender with many articles claiming it was male and many

others claiming it was female (S. D. Harris, 2016; Ives, 2016; Pham, 2016). Concerning the age

of the turtle, scientists found the turtle to have been 80-100 years old by the time it was found

(Lui, 2016). This is unlike the many who believe that the turtle was the original turtle from the

legend, having been centuries of years old (S. D. Harris, 2016; Overland, 2005; Sullivan,

2006). As scientists argued over the identity of the turtle and attempted to taxonomically classify

it, the turtle began being treated as an actual living creature. This is able to display the link

between science and myth that exists with the creature.

Besides having been a real creature as well as being a general symbol of auspiciousness,

Cu Rau has incredible political implications. In the myth, the Hoan Kiem Turtle helped Le Loi

and the Vietnamese common people defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty in a war over land (K.

Harris, 2011) and thus became a symbol of Vietnamese victory and independence from

China. Conflict between China and Vietnam has been going on for centuries and can be seen to

this day with current land disputes over oil rigs being placed on islands in the South China Sea as

well as mineral exploitation issues (Ives, 2016). This makes the turtle incredibly relevant as it

stands for victory over a very historically significant problem. Given the huge historical

significance of tense Chinese-Vietnamese diplomatic relations denotes that the turtle could stand

for the tense relations themselves as it can be implied that the relationship between the two

countries is one of the reasons the myth is so widespread.

The Hoan Kiem Turtle or Cu Rau was real, but it recently passed on January 20, 2016

(France-Presse, 2016; Ives, 2016; Lui, 2016; Overland, 2005; Pham, 2016; “Vietnam’s Sacred

Turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake Dies as Communists Gather,” 2016). From then on, the turtle was
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seen as more ominous, especially since its death happened to coincide with the re-election of

communist leaders. In fact, the turtle died a single day before a new president, party leader, and

prime minister were named (Lui, 2016). Given the coincidental timing as well as the superstition

of the people, many became scared for the future of Vietnam. Many quickly thought that the

turtle’s death was a sign of bad luck concerning the newly-elected communist leaders (France-

Presse, 2016; Hunt, 2016; Ives, 2016; Lui, 2016; Pham, 2016; “Vietnam’s Sacred Turtle in Hoan

Kiem Lake Dies as Communists Gather,” 2016). The turtle began to be associated with the

Vietnamese people’s view not only on China, but on communism in general. How quickly

people associated the turtle’s death to bad fortune for the Communist Party shows that there is

still tension within the country after the Vietnam War. The death of the Hoan Kiem Turtle was

mourned throughout the country (France-Presse, 2016; Ives, 2016; Lui, 2016; Pham, 2016;

“Vietnam’s Sacred Turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake Dies as Communists Gather,” 2016). But even

though the death of the turtle was mourned throughout, communist leaders removed reports on

the turtle’s death (Pham, 2016; “Vietnam’s Sacred Turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake Dies as

Communists Gather,” 2016). This goes to show that communist leaders were afraid of being

viewed in a negative light because of the turtle. The death of the turtle was thought to have

brought bad luck to the political future of Vietnam, but also displays some of the negative

feelings about communist leadership within the country. The turtle went from being a symbol of

victory over China to a symbol of political misfortune.

Ever since being found as a real biological creature, concerns about the Hoan Kiem

Turtle became much more environmental. By 1998, there had been already been calls to

improve the conditions of Hoan Kiem Lake (“Giant Turtle Sightings Set Vietnam Capital

Abuzz,” 1998). The conditions of the lake were and continue to be poor due to the urbanization
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of the city of Hanoi. In fact, the lake has very visible sludge as raw sewage has and continues to

be dumped into the lake (Overland, 2005). By the time there was a scientific attempt to desludge

the lake, it was already too late. Le Hung Anh and his team tested a device they created that

could potentially be used to desludge the lake months prior to when the turtle passed (Anh et al.,

2016). Le Hung Anh and his colleagues formally studied Hoan Kiem Lake through their

research. The problem is that this was the very first time that Hoan Kiem Lake was formally

studied. This shows that it was already too late for the turtle years, or maybe even decades, prior

to its passing. In fact, when Ha Dinh Duc was interviewed on the turtle, he stated that although it

was now his priority to protect the turtle, it was already too late for the turtle to survive much

longer (Overland, 2005). He even further supports his statement by mentioning other

endangered and mythological creatures he has tried to save. This statement was made 11 years

before Cu Rau’s death, a very clear gap in time. Attempts to save the turtle weren’t enough and

didn’t come quickly enough. Poor care for the turtle can also be seen with the way the turtle was

taken care of when it was sick. In 2011, after the turtle was found ill, it was captured and nursed

back to health (AsiaPulse News, 2011). However, it was simply released back in the sludge-

ridden lake right after. There was a noticeable lack of concern for the long-term health of the

turtle. This lack of concern can be seen in a video of the turtle being observed in the lake

(Graham, 2011). The people are crowded around photographing the turtle as litter and sludge

surround it. The environment was sacrificed for the city. In fact, according to Nguyen Quang

Truong of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi, there were no sound

attempts to conserve Rafetus Swinhoei as a whole, prior to and after the Hoan Kiem Turtle’s

death (Ives, 2016). The Hoan Kiem Turtle was the last known in the lake and one of the last four

of its species, Rafetus Swinhoei (K. Harris, 2011). Some even called it the “rarest species in the
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world” (“Vietnam’s Sacred Turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake Dies as Communists Gather,”

2016). Conserving it would’ve meant mating the turtle (if assumed female) with another Rafetus

Swinhoei in China. To be fair, mating the Hoan Kiem Turtle with another in China would’ve

been impractical especially with transportation, lack of information, and previously-mentioned

tense Vietnamese-Chinese relations. But even so, an attempt should’ve been made, especially

with the cultural significance of the turtle.

What is even more concerning is how the turtle was sometimes treated. In an interview, a

turtle hunter described Cu Rau as a “pest”, despite the creature having been a symbol of good

luck (S. D. Harris, 2016). There was even a lack of concern for the cultural significance of the

turtle in some, especially turtle hunters. This also points to the tragic story of the last known

giant soft-shelled turtle sighted in Hoan Kiem Lake prior to Cu Rau. This turtle was killed and

eaten in 1968 by hungry soldiers and its remains are on display in Ngoc Son Temple (Sullivan,

2006). It is fair to argue that the soldiers were placed in a very desperate situation that made it

necessary to kill and eat the giant turtle. But, turtle hunting or “trafficking” in general has been

and is a national concern. Turtles were and are occasionally eaten in Vietnam in the form of

turtle soup (“Hanoi Ocean House,” n.d.). Turtle hunting has been made illegal in Vietnam by

Vietnamese authorities, but even so, Vietnamese authorities were able to find a pile of over 7,000

hunted, killed, and to be sold sea turtles (Nuwer, 2016). The turtles were taken away by

authorities, but the story shows that there were and are still people willing to kill and sell turtles

for money. The Hoan Kiem Turtle was in many ways, treated poorly.

With the poor treatment and condition of the Hoan Kiem Turtle as well as the lacking

attempts to conserve and protect the turtle, the turtle will now also stand as a need for better

environmental protections, especially endangered species. The death was recent and so the turtle
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was only recently called “extinct”. It will only become a clearer and clearer warning of the

dangers of subpar environmental care. With the extinction of the turtle comes many more

questions to be considered. The turtle was mythologically, culturally, politically, and

environmentally significant, bridging science to culture and myth to reality. The death of the

turtle was not only a loss of biodiversity, but a loss of this link (Ives, 2016). What is

tremendously intriguing to take in account of is the stated causes for the lack of environmental

concern as well as the death of the turtle. Tim McCormack of the Asian Turtle Program, stated

that one of the reasons why the turtle wasn’t properly taken care of is because of the Hoan Kiem

Turtle’s cultural significance (“Vietnam’s Sacred Turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake Dies as

Communists Gather,” 2016). Again, the lake is in the middle of Hanoi and is part of the city’s

story. Cultural significance can be argued as a reason why the turtle was released back into the

polluted lake right after it was nursed back to health; the city wouldn’t have been the same

without the turtle living in the lake where it came from. Additionally, officials were quick to

point to “old age, bad weather, and natural causes” as the causes of death of Cu Rau (Lui,

2016). Perhaps officials did not find poor environmental treatment, a scientific cause of death,

suitable for such a mythologically important creature. There is even more to ask when

wondering how the Vietnam War affected the people’s perspective on the myth of the turtle as

well as the environment as a whole. Would the giant turtle have been eaten by soldiers in 1968 if

the war didn’t happen? If the country wasn’t environmentally destroyed by the war via

bombings and Agent Orange (“Agent Orange,” 2011), would the Hoan Kiem Turtle still be alive

today as recovery would be quicker? When considering these questions as well as the balance

between culture and science Cu Rau entails, the Hoan Kiem Turtle and the issues that surround it

can be seen as very complex. Being that link between science and culture and myth and reality,
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the complexity of the Hoan Kiem Turtle can be seen as not only a symbol of good or bad luck

but a reflection of society as a whole which very much involves that balance between science

and culture and myth and reality. Where that balance can next be found is a question yet to be

answered.

When asked about the Hoan Kiem Turtle, Nguyen Quang Truong, herpetologist at the

Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi, said, “It’s quite complicated” (Ives,

2016). Most clearly seen in a legend about an emperor defeating the enemy in a war with the

assistance a god-given sword returned to the gods by a large turtle, Cu Rau, also known as the

Hoan Kiem Turtle, was a symbol of good luck. This was especially true since it stood for victory

against the Chinese. But, this creature also existed in real life. As a real creature, there was

attempts to classify it as with any other creature. Additionally, this meant that the creature’s

tragic real-life death would stand for many things: bad luck for the political atmosphere in

Vietnam, adversity towards Communism within Vietnam, and poor environmental care for

endangered species. The Hoan Kiem Turtle was and continues to be a bridge between science

and culture and myth and reality and may be representative of society as a whole, displaying the

complicated balance between the worlds it bridges.

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