97 replies to this topic

[Ghost_of_Han]

Well yesterday I was watching the PBS special on How China Discovered America, and when the fleet got to Africa and saw a giraffe, they called it a Qi lin (I'm guessing on the pin yin). And said it was like the the Chinese Unicorn. And legends being a big interst of mine, I wanted to know more. So could anyone tell me where this came from. I never heard of the animal in History ever, never use in quote or saying (kinda like the Panda Bear post, but it was real). And a picture Would be wonderful if they actually have one.

[Kulong]

Qilin 麒麟 is a Chinese mythical animal, much like the dragon.

When Zheng He brought a giraffe back from Africa, many thought it was the mythical Qilin probably due to the fact that the giraffe was a never-before-seen animal and it had short horns on its head among other physical features that may resemble Qilin.

I don't know why people call Qilin the "Chinese Unicorn" as Qilin is not a horse nor does it have a single horn on its head. <_<

You don't hear Chinese calling the unicorn the "European Qilin" :D

[General_Zhaoyun]

I once had a Qilin jade .. it looks like a lion with the deer's horn and is a sacred animal who will bless one and protect one from evil spirits.

[Yun]

The Qilin has, according to some sources, "the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hooves of a horse, a body covered with the scales of a fish, and a single horn." That's the origin of the term "Chinese unicorn". However, the Qilin is also often portrayed as having the antlers of a deer - this is a mix-up with the Chinese dragon (long), which does have antlers. See my comment on the picture of the dragon Chiwen in
http://www.chinahist...p?showtopic=333

The Qilin supposedly is a benevolent creature that is only seen during the reign of a benevolent ruler - in the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), a Qilin is said to have been captured towards the end of Confucius' life, and Han philosophers later reasoned that this was because Confucius was a benevolent "king without a throne".

The presentation of the giraffe to the court of Zhu Di (Yongle) would have suggested to court ideologists that this was a sign of the emperor's benevolence. It was easy to consider the giraffe to be a Qilin - it does have a head like a deer's, a tail like an ox's, hooves rather like a horse's, a pattern on its body like scales, and two horns (but not one). In fact, some Chinese scholars suggest that the myth of the Qilin arose from a giraffe-like animal that may have once lived in China - perhaps another member of the giraffe family, of which only the giraffe and okapi are left. This bears some similarities to the theory mentioned by Kongmun about the origin of the dragon myth: see

http://www.chinahist...p?showtopic=333

[Kulong]

I don't think I've ever seen a Qilin with a single horn...

http://www.ccdemo.in...QilinBeastZ.JPG

http://shopping.263....g/195/qilin.jpg

[Ghost_of_Han]

It reminds me of a Lion.

[Ghost_of_Han]

If the Qilin was a CHiense myth why would the Japanese have it? The guy said on the site that he might be wrong, I thing he probaley is. It just doesn't make sense.

[Yun]

The usual depictions we see of Qilin today are from later imperial China, when the image of the Qilin had been much corrupted and confused with the dragon. For a look at what the Qilin originally looked like in mythology, see:

http://www.archaeoli...ina_gallery.htm

The elephant is interesting (suggesting that there were still elephants in the south at the time), but look at the beast with a single horn. That's been identified as a Qilin by experts.

[Ghost_of_Han]

http://www.ccdemo.in...QilinBeastZ.JPG

I think this is the Temple of Heaven or the Summer place isn't it?

[Yun]

Yes, that's in the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan). Here's the explanatory text for the statue, which carries the later version of what the Qilin looked like:

http://www.ccdemo.in...5QilinText.html

[Yun]

Another Eastern Han depiction of the Qilin (with a Daoist immortal riding it):

http://www.qingyun.c...oming/yuren.htm

The commentary says that the Qilin originally didn't have scales and had the fur of a normal deer, but when the fur was commonly painted in a scale-like pattern, the Qilin slowly developed into an animal with fish scales.

[MengTzu]

Hey Yun,

I might be way off here, but I think (I probably read it somewhere) some also commented that Confucius recorded the event of the Qilin to show that the king of Lu was dumb enough to hunt such a sacred creature signifies the end of prosperity, or that the hunting of a sacred creature signifies the same, and therefore Confucius got disappointed and stopped writing the Chun Qiu.

Peace,

Michael

10-14-2004

[kaiselin]

I just found a book on unicorns that said there are 6 kinds of Qilin.

It stated:
"Chinese writer enumerate six different sorts of unicorns:
the King, the Kioh Twan, the Poh, the Hiai Chai , the Too Jon Sheu, and the Ki-lin; but it seem probable that all six are derived from a single original."

The books footnote said that this came from "Mythical Monsters" by Gould 1886
It goes on to say that Gould had the assistance from Chinese scholars in preparing the chapter.

Has anyone ever seen this info before?

I am going to start looking for other references but I do not know what the names would be in Pinyin.

The King I am guessing would be Wang, and Ki-lin is obvious, but the rest I can't figure out. I don't do Wade Guiles well but I'm not even sure its that.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kaiselin

Edited by kaiselin, 28 March 2007 - 11:41 PM.

[Shaolin]

Post the pictures if you can....I am sure everyone is interested to see it....

[Publius]

I am going to start looking for other references but I do not know what the names would be in Pinyin.

KC,

you may want to check out this Wade-Giles to Pinyin conversion sheet from UCLA:
http://www.library.u...ian/ctable2.htm

there's also a Pinyin to Wade-Giles version:
http://www.library.u...ian/ctable3.htm

[Note: Topic merged with previous Qilin thread]