What do we know about the exotic animal Kirin in the west? ?

In the history of China, there are several Da Rui beasts, which symbolize the supreme power of the royal emperor, such as dragons, phoenixes and unicorns. Whenever these auspicious signs come from heaven, they are naturally symbols of national jubilation, national prosperity and national security. But do these creatures really exist in the world? What did these creatures look like in the eyes of the ancients? In fact, this has always been a mystery.

Whether the Phoenix and the Dragon saw this is really unknown, but the unicorn did see it and paid it as a tribute.

However, if you saw it, you wouldn't think it was a unicorn.

Because this animal, regarded as a tribute of Kirin, is what we know as giraffe today.

Above _ "Ming Painting Kirin and Singing Shen Du"

Qilin diplomacy

In the autumn of the twelfth year of Yongle, Bangra, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, which is now Bangladesh, paid tribute to creatures as magical as the Ming Dynasty. The courtiers at that time exclaimed after seeing it. That magical animal is a giraffe. Of course, in the paintings of Ming painters, it is Kirin. There really is a so-called "Ode to Kirin Shen Du in Ming Dynasty", which is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

As for why Wan Li, not far from the Ming Dynasty, came to pay tribute to Kirin, people naturally thought it was related to Zheng He. Yes, it does have something to do with Zheng He, but this tribute to Kirin is probably irrelevant. It is true that Zheng He made his first tribute to Bangladesh in the sixth year of Yongle, but this time it is unlikely. However, whether Zheng He contributed a tribute or not, this creature, which should not be novel, still attracted the amazement of the ruling and opposition parties.

Above _ Giraffes in Ancient Paintings

Why shouldn't it be surprising? Because in fact, giraffes have been seen as early as the Song Dynasty. At that time, it was called sudra, but because there were too few records, especially what it looked like, everyone didn't know at all, and it was still regarded as Kirin in the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that it is speechless.

However, it just shows that the opening to the outside world in the Ming Dynasty made people see many new things. But based on China's idea of omnipotence, alien creatures can always find a species from China to match. So it is natural for giraffes to correspond to Kirin. Besides, according to the general theory that prosperity brings good luck, it is not surprising that Yongle Shi Sheng did produce a unicorn. In particular, it is amazing that giraffes can still reach Beijing alive after long-distance bumps. After all, giraffes are actually very delicate, and from the living habits, they are not so vulnerable to long-distance bumps.

Above _ Gong Shi in the Western Regions in the Ming Dynasty's "Imperial Capital Accumulates Victory"

For the Ming Dynasty, Kirin was one of the few valuable tributes. At that time, there was a list of tribute items:

"There are two different products in the trade: one is opal, the other is five-color aunt, the third is big pearl, the fourth is coral branch, the fifth is Jin Po, the sixth is rose dew, the seventh is Kirin, the eighth is lion, the ninth is Hua Fulu, the tenth is leopard, the eleventh is camel chicken and the twelfth is white dove."

It can be seen that the tributes that the Ming Dynasty demanded from these countries were basically luxury goods and rare animals. After all, there are many people who want to pay tribute to gold, silver and jewelry, but what they want is not very practical. Otherwise, they can't produce any trade goods. )