CoMC - "Qilin: Unicorn's Eastern Cousin"

There's no way to deny that in the Western World the Unicorn's one of the most magical and revered mythological creatures that exists. But that’s not the point of today’s essay. This time we’ll focus on the Qilin, said to be a version of the Unicorn in the Eastern world, particularly in the Chinese culture.

As to the appearance of the Qilin, not only it differs between the various Asian cultures, even within the Chinese culture it suffers several variations. Let’s take a look at some of those. In the Jin Dynasty, it was described as wreathed in flame and smoke, with a dragon-like head, scales, and the body of a powerful hooved beast such as a horse. During the Ming Dynasty though, it was represented as an oxen-hoofed animal with a dragon-like head surmounted by a pair of horns and flame-like head ornaments. We can say that the most common representation is a beast with the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hooves of a horse, and a single short horn growing out of the middle of its forehead (which is the reason why it is so associated with the Western Unicorn).

There quite a few associations made with the Qilin from being said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler to being an omen of serenity or prosperity. We have little knowledge though of its habits, but we can say almost certainly that they are careful not to tread on even the tiniest living thing, they will eat only plant life that is no longer living and that t lives for 1,000 years. Despite its fearsome appearance it has only be known to punish the wicked. It is normally gentle but can become fierce if a pure person is threatened by a sinner, spouting flames from its mouth and exercising other fearsome powers that vary from story to story.

In Chinese culture almost everything has a meaning and there’s symbolism in everything and the Qilin is no different. The hair on its back is supposed to be five-colored to represent the five sacred Chinese colors: red, yellow, blue, white, and black. Also, the Qilin is revered as one of the four superior animals of good omen (together with the phoenix, the dragon, and the tortoise and ranks third in order of importance) that foretell future events and represent the basic elements of life.

Gathering all this information was not easy since different sources depict different scenarios, therefore I believe it would be fascinating if Magizoology studies could pursue leads on this amazing creature and gather more reliable and accurate information.

WordCount: 445
Class based on: Unicorns
Sources:
http://www.unicorncollector.com/legends.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin