| Change log entry 37138 | |
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| Processed by: | richwarm (2011-09-03 11:01:23 UTC) |
| Comment: |
<< review queue entry 36280 >> The Qilin is definitely not a unicorn. The word 'unicorn' means 'having one horn'. The Qilin has two horns, as you will see from any picture of the beast. (By the way, it is the Xiezhi that has only one horn.) Thanks for your great work with this dictionary! Editor: I'd be happy to discuss the matter, but you have submitted anonymously, so I'm going to process it in my own way. The Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) is "definitely not" a tiger, but has a stripes which resemble those of a tiger. Perhaps the term "Chinese unicorn" should be understood in the same way -- i.e. it is not a unicorn but is a creature of Chinese mythology with some features that resemble those of a unicorn. On the other hand, I do find references to qilin having a single horn. For example: (1) qilin -- in Chinese mythology, the unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. ... A qilin has a single horn on its forehead, a yellow belly, a multicoloured back, the hooves of a horse, the body of a deer, and the tail of an ox... http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/110049/qilin (2) The Story: Emperor Fu Hsi was a benevolent leader who taught his people important skills like cooking. One day near sunset, he was walking alone along the Yellow River when suddenly a creature unexpectedly rose climbed from beneath the water’s surface, walking so lightly that it seemed to walk on the surface of the river and left no footprints in the mud. The creature, the qilin, was seemingly and miraculously composed of many familiar animals–the qilin he saw had the legs and body of a wild deer, the tail of an ox, the head of a wolf, and a long horn, similarly colored to the fur and made of flesh... In one description influenced by the Buddhist value of life, the horn was tipped with soft flesh so that it could never be used to harm another creature. Almost all the characteristics of the horn vary with different versions of the qilin–long, short, fleshy, flesh-tipped, etc. Male qilin were said to have horns, while females did not. The pictures on this page also depict the qilin with two horns; however, the qilin in the story had a single horn protruding from its forehead, and in this aspect, the fantastical western and fantastical eastern so-called “unicorns” overlapped. http://laurashefler.net/arthistory2010/?p=582 |
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= 騏驎 骐麟 [qi2 lin2] /variant of 麒麟[qi2 lin2]/qilin (mythical Chinese animal)/kylin/Chinese unicorn/commonly mistranslated as giraffe/ # + 騏驎 骐麟 [qi2 lin2] /variant of 麒麟[qi2 lin2]/qilin (mythical Chinese animal)/kylin/commonly mistranslated as giraffe/ |