The (), also called () or (), is a legendary creature mentioned in old Chinese literature.
Attestations
The earliest known appearance of the characters () is in the Book of Songs,Book of Poetry: Zou Yu but J.J.L. Duyvendak describes the interpretation of that little poem as referring to an animal of that name as "very doubtful".
The appears in a number of later works, where it is described as a "righteous" animal that, similarly to a , 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 JieziShuowen Jiezi, radical 虍 (tiger)) as a white tiger with black spots.
In 1404, during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, Prince Zhu Su, his relative from Kaifeng (in modern-day Henan province) sent him a captured spotted and captured in ; an anonymous painter later painted that , which was evidently a rare white tiger.(2019), "Precious Birds and Strange Beasts", The NPM Zoo: Animal Paintings in the Museum Collection. Publisher: National Palace Museum. Access date: 6 October 2023 Another was sighted in Shandong. The sightings were mentioned by contemporaneous authors as good omens, along with the Yellow River running clear and the delivery of a (i.e., an African giraffe) by a Bengal delegation that arrived to China aboard Zheng He's fleet.
Identity
Puzzled about the real zoological identity of the said to be captured during the Yongle era, Duyvendak exclaimed, "Can it possibly have been a Pandah?" Following him, some modern authors consider to refer to the giant panda.China Giant Panda Museum: Historical Records in Ancient China . Supposed Chinese historical terminology appears in the Chinese version of this article, 我国古代的历史记载
Sinologist and linguist Wolfgang Behr includes the ~ ~ among several leophoric names in ancient Chinese texts, such as () and (), which denoted lions.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
Riordan & Shi (2016) propose that (" ") and other words for some enigmatic pantherine predators in ancient Chinese texts possibly denoted snow leopards.Riordan, Philip & Shi, Kun (2016). "Chapter 42 - China: Current State of Snow Leopard Conservation in China" in McCarthy, Malton, & Nyhus (editors) Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes 1st Edition, p. 524
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 and those from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings three years later on) and has the ability to apparate.
Notes
References
Further reading 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.