Vietnamese Dragon Turtle

The Dragon Turtle (Long Quy or Rùa Thần) is one of the Four Sacred Beasts of Vietnamese mythology, a chimeric creature combining the protective shell and longevity of the turtle with the power, intelligence, and celestial authority of the dragon. In Vietnamese cosmological tradition, the Dragon Turtle served as the vehicle through which Heaven communicated with the Vietnamese people. The most famous legend involves Emperor Lê Lợi, who received a magical sword from a Golden Turtle god (Kim Quy) to defeat Chinese Ming dynasty occupiers. After his victory, while boating on Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, the turtle appeared to reclaim the sword — an act interpreted as Heaven acknowledging the restoration of Vietnamese sovereignty. The lake was renamed Hồ Hoàn Kiếm (Lake of the Restored Sword) in honor of this event.

The Dragon Turtle figure is believed to combine the best qualities of both its component animals: the turtle's endurance, patience, and connection to primordial wisdom (turtles are considered among the oldest living beings, carrying the world on their shell in ancient cosmology) and the dragon's creative intelligence, power, and capacity for transformation. In Vietnamese Feng Shui, placing a Dragon Turtle figurine in the office or home attracts support from powerful people, enhances academic success, and ensures steady, enduring prosperity that does not come and go like the tide.

The Dragon Turtle is also associated with writing and scholarship — figures often show the turtle carrying coins or ingots in its mouth and a coin on its back, sitting on a bed of coins, making it specifically excellent as a business and financial talisman. Touching the turtle's back coin while stating a financial intention is a folk practice for activating the charm.