Mythical Beast, Timeless Hope

Since the phoenix in Chinese folklore is an imaginary bird, no one has ever seen its feather. Therefore, the feather of a Chinese phoenix is used to refer to something very precious. In East Asia, another imaginary beast is the qilin (麒麟), which is thought to be based on a giraffe.
The qilin is used to refer to a rarely found talented person. The derivative qilin-a refers to a child prodigy. In praising two sons of his acquaintance Du Fu (杜甫, 712-770), a Tang Dynasty (唐朝, 618-907) poet, wrote, “Since one is sent by Confucius and the other is sent by Buddha, both of you must be heaven-sent qilin-a.” I suppose the son of Du Fu must have been jealous of such high praise. A qilin, as described in ancient Chinese literature, has the body of a deer, tail of a cow, hooves and mane of a horse and horns on its forehead.

A modern version of the mythical qilin

While today people associate the qilin with giraffes, ancient Chinese literature did not describe it as having a long neck. The first giraffe that arrived in China from Africa was brought by the Ming Dynasty (明朝, 1368-1644) fleet. The fleet explored a sea route to Africa under the command of Admiral Zheng He (鄭和, 1371-1435) and dedicated the giraffe to Emperor Yongle (永樂, 1360-1424, r.1402-1424). The emperor, who was amazed to see such a mythical-looking animal for the first time, must have thought it was a spiritual being and called it a qilin, an imaginary beast.

A painting, known as Qilin Brings Serenity (rui) Ode (1414),
by a court artist showing the Zheng He's giraffe

A mural that was excavated here in Korea from the Chonmachong (천마총, 天馬塚, Tomb of the Flying Heavenly Horse) in Kyongju (慶州市, 경주) in 1973 was opened to public viewing a few weeks ago. It is hard to see with the naked eye, but if one looks at a photo taken of it with an infrared camera, it is clear that the horse has horns. Therefore, some claim it is not a horse, but a qilin. Whether it is a horse or a qilin, the value of the mural, a national treasure created by Korean ancestors during the Silla Kingdom (新羅, 신라, 57 BC-935 AD), will not change. As there is a controversy, however, I hope the true identity of the mythical animal is clarified.

Cheonmado (Mural of Heavenly Horse) (5th-6th century)

People in the old days believed that a qilin is not seen in ordinary days but appears when a benevolent lord comes to the throne and rules the country compassionately. If the mural drawn by a Silla painter is a qilin, it must be a painting that was drawn with the hope of the appearance of a sage king. Even though 1500 years have passed, the wish of the people here in Korea remains the same.

Giorgio Olivotto
Seoul, Korea
April 18, 2010