Zouyu
Zouyu | |||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 騶虞 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 驺虞 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 騶吾 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 驺吾 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 騶牙 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 驺牙 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Zouyu (Chinese: 騶虞), also called zouwu (騶吾) or zouya (騶牙), is a legendary creature mentioned in old Chinese literature. The earliest known appearance of the characters 騶虞 (zou yu) is in the Book of Songs,[1][2] but J.J.L. Duyvendak describes that the interpretation of that little poem as referring to an animal of that name is "very doubtful".[1]
Zouyu appears in a number of later works, where it is described as "righteous" animal, which, similarly to a qilin, 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[3]) as a white tiger with black spots.[1]
During the reign of the Yongle Emperor (early 15th century), his relative from Kaifeng 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 running clear and the delivery of a qilin (i.e., an African giraffe) by a Bengal delegation that arrived to China aboard Zheng He's fleet.[1]
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?"[1] Following him, some modern authors consider zouyu to refer to the giant panda.[4]
Sinologist and linguist Wolfgang Behr included the zouyu ~ zouwu ~ zouya among several leophoric names, besides 獅子 shī-zǐ and 狻猊 suān-ní, in ancient Chinese texts to denote lions.[5]
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 and has the ability to apparate.[6]
Notes[]
- ^ a b c d e Duyvendak, J.J.L. (1939), "The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century", T'oung Pao, Second Series, 34 (5): 402, JSTOR 4527170
- ^ Book of Poetry: Zou Yu
- ^ Shuowen Jiezi, radical 虍 (tiger)
- ^ China Giant Panda Museum: Historical Records in Ancient China Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Supposed Chinese historical terminology appears in the Chinese version of this article, 我国古代的历史记载 Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Behr, Wolfgang. (2004). "Hinc sunt leones – two ancient Eurasian migratory terms in Chinese revisited (I)". International Journal of Central Asian Studies. 9, 2004, p. 14-15 of pp. 1-25
- ^ "Breakdown of the 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' Comic-Con Official Trailer! - The-Leaky-Cauldron.org". The-Leaky-Cauldron.org. 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
Further readings[]
- Behr, Wolfgang. "Hinc sunt leones – two ancient Eurasian migratory terms in Chinese revisited (I-II)". International Journal of Central Asian Studies. Volume 9, 2004, pp. 1-25; Volume 10, 2005, pp. 1-22.
- Chinese legendary creatures
- Mythological felines