Spirit turtle

Spirit turtle
An immortal riding a turtle, Han dynasty, Nanyang city, China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	靈龜
Simplified Chinese	灵龟
Literal meaning	Spirit turtle
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin língguī Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /leŋ kˠiuɪ/ Old Chinese Zhengzhang /*reːŋ kʷrɯ/
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	linh quy
Chữ Nôm	靈龜
Korean name
Hangul	영귀
Hanja	靈龜
Transcriptions Revised Romanization yeonggwi McCune–Reischauer yŏngkwi
Japanese name
Kanji	霊亀
Hiragana	れいき
Transcriptions Romanization reiki

The spirit turtle (Chinese: 靈龜) or spirit tortoise is a turtle originated from Chinese mythology and spread with East Asian cultural sphere. It is believed by East Asian cultures, like other turtles in mythology, to represent longevity (壽命).

It is said to be chief among all shelled creatures.^[1]