Zouyu (), also called ''zouwu'' () or ''zouya'' (), is a legendary creature mentioned in old Chinese literature. The earliest known appearance of the characters (''zou yu'') is in the '' Book of Songs'', but J.J.L. Duyvendak describes that the interpretation of that little poem as referring to an animal of that name is "very doubtful". ''Zouyu'' appears in a number of later works, where it is described as "righteous" animal, which, similarly to a ''

qilin The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, 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 ...

'', only appears during the rule of a benevolent and sincere monarch. It is said to be as fierce-looking as a tiger, but gentle and strictly vegetarian, and described in some books (already in ''

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 a white tiger with black spots. During the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

(early 15th century), his relative from

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

sent him a captured ''zouyu'', and another ''zouyu'' was sighted in Shandong. The ''zouyu'' sightings were mentioned by contemporaneous authors as good omens, along with the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

running clear and the delivery of a ''

'' (i.e., an African giraffe) by a

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

delegation that arrived to China aboard

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 fleet. Puzzled about the real zoological identity of the ''zouyu'' said to be captured during the Yongle era, Duyvendak exclaims, "Can it possibly have been a Pandah?" Following him, some modern authors consider ''zouyu'' to refer to the giant panda. Sinologist and linguist Wolfgang Behr included the ''zouyu'' ~ ''zouwu'' ~ ''zouya'' among several leophoric names, besides ''shī-zǐ'' and '' suān-ní'', in ancient Chinese texts to denote lions.

Popular culture

The creature appears in the 2018 fantasy film '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' as an elephant-sized cat resembling a lion/tiger mix with large eyes, four upper tusks, and a ruffled tail (resembling those of

Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi () ...

and those from ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

'' three years later on) and has the ability to apparate.

Notes

{{Reflist

Popular culture

Notes

Further reading