The ''xiezhi'' () is a mythical ancient creature of Chinese origin impact to throughout East Asian legends. It resembles an ox or goat, with thick dark fur covering its body, bright eyes, and a single long horn on its forehead. It has great intellect and understands human speech. The ''xiezhi'' possesses the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and when it finds corrupt officials, it will ram them with its horn and devour them. It is known as a symbol of justice.

History

According to legend, the ''xiezhi'', was a single-horned sheep or goat) in the original Chinese. Forke rendered this "the monoceros 'hsieh-chai''is a goat with one horn", Karlgren as " ''kie-chai'' is a ram with one horn"; Karlgren and Forke read as ''hsieh-chai'' and ''kie-chai'' respectively, but ''hsieh-chih'' is the Wade-Giles romanization according to references otherwise consulted. which had power to divine the guilt or innocence of a person. Gao Yao, the minister of justice for the legendary

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

employed the beast during criminal proceedings, and he would command the sheep to ram (head-butt) the accused. The beast would ram the guilty, but spare the innocent. The account appears in

Wang Chong Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Han Dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mechanistic account ...

, ''Lunheng'' (80 AD). In the same work (''Lunheng''), the legend is prefaced the remark that public offices are painted with the images of the beast and the minister. As a symbol of traditional Chinese law, ''xiezhi'' has been promoted by the Chinese Dynasties. The judicial hat () was also referred to as the ''xiezhi'' after the mythical sheep/ox. The ''xiezhi'' hat was part of the attire of censors () into the 8th century during the Tang period, especially for an impeachment trial. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,

King Wen of Chu King Wen of Chu (, died 677 BC) was from 689 to 677 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Zi () and King Wen was his posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given m ...

once obtained a ''xiezhi'' and put its image on his head, and then the ''xiezhi'' crown became a fashion in the State of Chu. Law enforcement officials in the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

also wore such crowns, as did the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, which inherited the Qin system. By the

Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, images of the xiezhi became an indispensable ornament in the Xie Men, and the XieZhi crown was titled on the law. Therefore, law enforcement officials were called ''xiezhi''. Mentions of the ''xiezhi'' in Chinese literature can be traced back to the

. " Rhapsody on the Imperial Park" (),

Sima Xiangru Sima Xiangru ( , ; c. 179117BC) was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician who lived during the Western Han dynasty. Sima is a significant figure in the history of Classical Chinese poetry, and is generally regarded as the greatest of all com ...

mentions the ''xiezhi'' "sagacious stag" among the preys in the year-end barricade hunt staged by the

Son of Heaven Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secu ...

. Scholar Yáng Fú (杨孚) described the xiezhi in his treatise Yiwu Zhi as a "righteous beast, which rams the wrongful party when it sees a fight and bites the wrongful party when it hears an argument". It is described in the

Shuowen Jiezi ''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the ''Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give t ...

as being "a cattle-like beast with one horn; in ancient times. It settled disputes by ramming the party at fault". As an inherently just beast, the xiezhi was used as a symbol of justice and law. The

Censorate The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the M ...

of the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

and

Qing 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 ...

eras, who were responsible for the monitoring of the civil service, wore the xiezhi as a badge of office. Among the common folk, the image of the xiezhi was believed to dispel evil spirits; a xiezhi might be carved on a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

to frighten off evil spirits. Similarly, military policemen of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

wear badges bearing the xiezhi and it is engraved on the gavels in the law courts of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. In 2022, a species of prehistoric giraffoid artiodactyl from early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

China, '' Discokeryx xiezhi'', was named after the Xiezhi in reference to a single bony plate on top of its skull which bore a resemblance to the horn of the mythical creature.

In other places

Japan

In Japan, it is known as , also sometimes referred to as a . The kaichi is described as similar to a lion with one horn on the top of its head.

Korea

The ''xiezhi'' is known as ''haetae'' ( ko, 해태) in Korea. According to Korean records, the ''haetae'' has a muscular leonine body covered with sharp scales, a bell in its neck, and a horn on its forehead. It lives in the frontier areas of Manchuria.An Illustrated Guide to Korean Culture - 233 traditional key words by The National Academy of the Korean Language In Joseon-dynasty Korea, the ''haetae'' was believed to protect against fire disasters. Sculptures of ''haetae'' were used in architecture (for example, at

Gyeongbok Palace Gyeongbokgung (), also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the '' Five Grand Palaces'' built by the Joseo ...

) to ward off fire. A cartoon ''haetae'' named is the city mascot of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. In English, the ''haetae'' may be called "the

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 ...

-lion."

Gallery

Xiezhi 5156.JPG, Xiezhi in Beijing Haetaea.jpg, A ''haetae'' at a Korean palace

Notes

References

External links

'Haechi' the Symbol of Seoul: Seoul City Official Tourism (English)
{{Japanese folklore long Chinese legendary creatures Legendary mammals