The qilin (; ) is a
legendary hooved
chimerical creature that appears in
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of ...
, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a
sage or illustrious ruler.
Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of one-horned beasts. The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other cultures, such as
Japanese and
Korean mythology, where it is known as the kirin, and
Vietnamese mythology, where it is known as the kỳ lân.
Origins
Earliest mention of this mythical horned beast is in the poem included in the
Classic of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...
(11th - 7th c. BCE). ''
Spring and Autumn Annals
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The '' Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...
'' mentioned that a ''lin'' () was captured in the 14th year of Duke Ai of Lu () (481 CE); ''
Zuo Zhuan'' credited
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
with identifying the ''lin'' as such.
The bisyllabic form ''qilin'' ( ~ ), which carries the same generic meaning as ''lin'' alone, is attested in works dated to the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
(475 - 221 BCE). Q''i'' denotes the male and ''lin'' denotes the female (e.g. in
Shuowen Jiezi)
The legendary image of the qilin became associated with the image of the
giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
in the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. The identification of the qilin with giraffes began after
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
's 15th-century
voyage to East Africa (landing, among other places, in modern-day
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
). The Ming Dynasty bought giraffes from the
Somali merchants along with zebras, incense, and various other exotic animals. Zheng He's fleet brought back two giraffes to
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
and they were referred to as "qilins", with meaning giraffe in
Somali
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Somali ...
. The identification of qilin with giraffes has had a lasting influence: even today, the same word is used for the mythical animal and the giraffe in both Korean and Japanese.
[Parker, J. T.:" The Mythic Chinese Unicorn"]
Axel Schuessler reconstructs 's
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...
pronunciation as *''gərin''. Finnish linguist
Juha Janhunen
Juha Janhunen (born 12 February 1952 in Pori, Finland) is a Finnish linguist whose wide interests include Uralic and Mongolic languages. Since 1994 he has been Professor in East Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He has done fieldwork on ...
tentatively compares *''gərin'' to an etymon reconstructed as *''kalimV'',
[Janhunen, J. (2011). Unicorn, Mammoth, Whale: mythological and etymological connections of zoonyms in North and East Asia. Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past, Occasional Paper, 12, 189–222.] denoting "
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
"; and represented in the language isolate
Nivkh and four different language families
Tungusic,
Mongolic,
Turkic and
Samoyedic, wherein *''kalay(ә)ng'' means "whale" (in
Nenets) and *''kalVyǝ'' "
mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...
" (in
Enets
The Enets (russian: энцы, ; singular: , ; also known as Yenetses, Entsy, Entsi, Yenisei or Yenisey Samoyeds) are a Samoyedic ethnic group who live on the east bank, near the mouth, of the Yenisei River. Historically nomadic people, they now ...
and
Nganasan). As even aborigines "vaguely familiar with the underlying real animals" often confuse the whale, mammoth, and unicorn: they conceptualized the mammoth and whale as aquatic, as well as the mammoth and unicorn possessing a single horn; for inland populations, the extant whale "remains... an abstraction, in this respect being no different from the extinct mammoth or the truly mythical unicorn." However, Janhunen cautiously remarks that "
e formal and semantic similarity between *''kilin'' < *''gilin'' ~ *''gïlin'' 'unicorn' and *''kalimV'' 'whale' (but also Samoyedic *''kalay''- 'mammoth') is sufficient to support, though perhaps not confirm, the hypothesis of an etymological connection", and also notes a possible connection between Old Chinese and Mongolian (*)''kers'' ~ (*)''keris'' ~ (*)''kiris'' "rhinoceros" (
Khalkha
The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin k ...
: ).
[Хирс in Bolor dictionary]
/ref>
Description
Qilin generally have Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
-like features: similar heads with antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on ...
s, eyes with thick eyelashes, manes that always flow upward, and beards. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse. They are always shown with cloven hooves. While dragons in China (and thus qilin) are also most commonly depicted as golden, qilin may be of any color or even various colors, and can be depicted as bejeweled or exhibiting a jewel-like brilliance.
The qilin is depicted throughout a wide range of Chinese art, sometimes with parts of their bodies on fire.
Legends tell that qilin have appeared in the garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
of the legendary Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
and in the capital of Emperor Yao; both events bore testimony to the benevolent nature of the rulers. It has also been told that the birth of the great sage Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
was foretold by the arrival of a qilin.[
]
Qilin as unicorns
In modern times, the depictions of qilin have often fused with the Western concept of unicorns. Qilin () is often translated into English as "unicorn", and can sometimes be depicted as having a single horn - although this is misleading, as qilin may also be depicted as having two horns, and a separate word, "one-horned beast" () is used in modern Chinese for "unicorns". A number of different Chinese mythical creatures can be depicted with a single horn, and a qilin, even if depicted with one horn, would be called a "one-horned qilin" in Chinese, not a "unicorn".
Nevertheless, the mythical and etymological connections between the creatures have been noted by various cultural studies[ and even the Chinese government, which has minted silver, gold, and platinum commemorative coins depicting both archetypal creatures.
]
Other cultural representations
East Asia
Japan
Kirin, which has also come to be used as the modern Japanese word for a giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
, are similar to qilin. Japanese art tends to depict the kirin as more deer-like than in Chinese art. Alternatively, it is depicted as a dragon shaped like a deer, but with an ox's tail instead of a lion's tail. They are also often portrayed as partially unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
-like in appearance, but with a backwards curving horn.
Korea
Girin or kirin () is the Korean form of qilin. It is described as a maned creature with the torso of a deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
, an ox tail with the hooves
The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...
of a horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
. The girin were initially depicted as more deer-like, however over time they have transformed into more horse-like. They were one of the four divine creatures along with the dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...
, phoenix and turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
. Girin were extensively used in Korean royal and Buddhist arts.
In modern Korean, the term "girin" is used for "giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
".
Southeast Asia
Thailand
In Thailand, the qilin is known as "" ( th, กิเลน), and is a member of the pantheon of Thai Himapant forest mythical animals. It is most probable that the Gilen was introduced into the pantheon under the influence of the Tai Yai
The Shan people ( shn, တႆး; , my, ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ), also known as the Tai Long, or Tai Yai are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in th ...
who came down from Southern China to settle in Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
in ancient times, and the legend was probably incorporated into the Himapant legends of Siam in this manner. The Gilen is a mixture of various animals, which come from differing elemental environments, representing elemental magical forces present within each personified creature. Many of the Himapant animals actually represent gods and devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
of the Celestial Realms, and bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
s, who manifest as personifications which represent the true nature of each creature deity through the symbolism of the various body parts amalgamated into the design of the Mythical creature.
In '' Phra Aphai Mani'', the masterpiece epic poem of Sunthorn Phu
Phra Sunthorn Vohara (Phu) ( th, พระสุนทรโวหาร (ภู่), , ; 26 June 1786 – 1855), known as Sunthorn Phu ( th, สุนทรภู่, , ), is Thailand's best-known royal poet. He wrote during the Rattanakosin p ...
, a renowned poet of the 18th century. There is a monster that is Sudsakorn Sudsakorn ( th, สุดสาคร, , ) is a fictional character in Sunthorn Phu's story ''Phra Aphai Mani'', written in Thailand during the Rattanakosin period. Sudsakorn, the son of Phra Aphaimani and a mermaid, was born at Ko Kaeo Phitsadan ...
's steed, one of the main characters in the epic. This creature was called ''"Ma Nin Mangkorn"'' ( th, ม้านิลมังกร, "ceylonite dragon horse"), it is depicted as it has diamond fangs, ceylonite scales, and a birthmark on the tongue. It was a mixture of horse, dragon, deer antlers, fish scales, and Phaya Nak tail, with has black sequins all over. Its appearance resembles a qilin.
Gallery
File:Qilin statue in Pingzhen Xinshi Park.jpg, Qilin statue in Pingzhen Xinshi Park, Taoyuan, Taiwan
File:Tribute Giraffe with Attendant.jpg, A Ming-era painting of a tribute giraffe, which was thought to be a qilin by court officials, from Bengal
File:Grote schotel met een qilin Schotel met een qilin bij een rots tussen planten, AK-RBK-1965-88.jpg, Plate with a qilin in the center, Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
File:MET 36 65 6 O.jpeg, Embroidered qilin, Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
File:Qilin statues, Bat Trang kiln, Hanoi, Nguyen dynasty, crackle glaze ceramics - National Museum of Vietnamese History - Hanoi, Vietnam - DSC05411.JPG, Kỳ Lân statues, Bat Trang kiln, Hanoi, Nguyen dynasty
Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname.
By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...
, crackle glaze ceramics – at the National Museum of Vietnamese History
The Vietnam National Museum of History ( vi, Viện Bảo tàng Lịch sử Việt Nam) is in the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi, Vietnam. The museum building was an archaeological research institution of the French School of the Far East under F ...
in Hanoi, Vietnam
File:Kirin Beer Sign (2627839004).jpg, The logo of Kirin Beer
is a Japanese integrated beverages company. It is a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings Company, Limited.
Its major operating units include Kirin Brewery Company, Limited, Mercian Corporation and Kirin Beverages Company, Limited. Kirin is a member ...
features a kirin (photo taken in Hiroshima, Japan)
File:Qilin Pendant.jpg, Qilin pendant
File:Qilin incense burner, World Museum Liverpool.JPG, Qilin incense burner at the World Museum in Liverpool, United Kingdom
File:Simorgh und Qilin im Gulistan RAS 258, Fol. 82v.png, An illustration of Simurgh
Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...
and Qilin in Gulistan
File:Qilin incense burner (one of a pair), World Museum Liverpool (1).JPG, Qilin incense burner (one of a pair) at the World Museum in Liverpool, United Kingdom
File:Imperial Encyclopaedia - Animal Kingdom - pic151 - 麒麟圖.png, Qilin depicted in the Imperial Encyclopaedia
File:靖国神社 麒麟 - panoramio.jpg, Kirin relief in Tokyo, Japan
File:1 Chome Nihonbashi, Chūō-ku, Tōkyō-to 103-0027, Japan - panoramio (9).jpg, A winged variant of kirin statue in Tokyo, Japan
File:宜蘭文昌廟麒麟像.jpg, Qilin (kî-lîn) as an object of worship in Yilan, Taiwan
See also
* Nian
* Chinthe
* Chimera
* Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
* Chinese spiritual world concepts
Chinese spiritual world concepts are cultural practices or methods found in Chinese culture. Some fit in the realms of a particular religion, others do not. In general these concepts were uniquely evolved from the Chinese values of filial piety ...
* Fenghuang
''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...
* Four Holy Beasts
* Giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
* Longma
* Pixiu
* Questing Beast
* Serpopard
* Shaanxi Kylins
The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
History
The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...
* Shisa
* Singha
* Sin-you
The ''Sin-you'' (Jap. 神羊, shin'yō, also called Hiai Chai, Chiai Tung, or Kai Tsi) is a mythical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures.
The appearance of the Sin-you is similar to that of a Qilin, but more feral and imposing. ...
* Sudsakorn Sudsakorn ( th, สุดสาคร, , ) is a fictional character in Sunthorn Phu's story ''Phra Aphai Mani'', written in Thailand during the Rattanakosin period. Sudsakorn, the son of Phra Aphaimani and a mermaid, was born at Ko Kaeo Phitsadan ...
(involving a similar creature that aided the protagonist, known as Mar Nin Mang Korn)
* Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
* Xiezhi
* Yali
References
External links
*
{{Japanese folklore long
Chinese legendary creatures
Fictional giraffes
Four benevolent animals
Japanese legendary creatures
Korean legendary creatures
Mythological deer
Unicorns