續一切經音義 7.124

7.124

龜鼈 (The upper character is pronounced with the fanqie gui + wei. The Shuowen says: "龜 means ancient; having bone on the outside and flesh on the inside. Classified under 它 [snake]; the turtle's head resembles a snake. It represents the nature of heaven and earth. Broad-shouldered and without males, turtles and soft-shelled turtles take snakes as their mates. It depicts the shape of four legs, head, and tail." The lower character is pronounced with the fanqie bei + mie. The Shuowen says: "An aquatic shelled creature; classified under 'frog' [黽], with 敝 as phonetic." Some write it under 'fish' [魚] as 鱉, which is incorrect).