Xiezhi
Xiezhi | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 獬豸, 獬豸 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | giải trãi | ||||||||||
Chữ Hán | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||
Hangul | 해태 | ||||||||||
Hanja | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||||||
Kanji | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
Hiragana | かいち | ||||||||||
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Chinese folk religion |
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The xiezhi (獬豸[a]; xièzhì < Eastern Han Chinese *gɛʔ-ḍɛʔ[1]: 620 ) is a mythical creature of Chinese origin found throughout Sinospheric legends. It resembles an ox or goat, with thick dark fur covering its body, bright eyes, and a single long horn on its forehead. It has great intellect and understands human speech. The xiezhi possesses the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong, and when it finds corrupt officials, it will ram them with its horn and devour them. It is known as a symbol of justice.
History
[edit]According to legend, the xiezhi, was a single-horned sheep or goat[b] which had power to divine the guilt or innocence of a person. Gao Yao, the minister of justice for the legendary Emperor Shun employed the beast during criminal proceedings, and he would command the sheep to ram (head-butt) the accused. The beast would ram the guilty, but spare the innocent. The account appears in Wang Chong, Lunheng (80 AD).[8][2][3]
In the same work (Lunheng), the legend is prefaced the remark that public offices are painted with the images of the beast and the minister.[3][2]
As a symbol of traditional Chinese law, xiezhi has been promoted by the Chinese dynasties. The judicial hat (
Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, King Wen of Chu once obtained a xiezhi and put its image on his head, and then the xiezhi crown became a fashion in the State of Chu. Law enforcement officials in the Qin dynasty also wore such crowns, as did the Han dynasty, which inherited the Qin system. By the Eastern Han dynasty, images of the xiezhi became an indispensable ornament in the Xie Men,[clarification needed] and the XieZhi crown was titled on the law.[clarification needed] Therefore, law enforcement officials were called xiezhi.[citation needed]
Mentions of the xiezhi in Chinese literature can be traced back to the Han dynasty. "Rhapsody on the Imperial Park" (
As an inherently just beast, the xiezhi was used as a symbol of justice and law. The Censorate of the Ming and Qing eras, who were responsible for the monitoring of the civil service, wore the xiezhi as a badge of office. Among the common folk, the image of the xiezhi was believed to dispel evil spirits; a xiezhi might be carved on a lock to frighten off evil spirits.[citation needed] Similarly, military policemen of the Republic of China wear badges bearing the xiezhi[citation needed] and it is engraved on the gavels in the law courts of the People's Republic of China.[citation needed]
Etymology and Identity
[edit]Linguist and Sinologist Axel Schuessler reconstructs the Late Han pronunciation of this mythological animal's name (
Schuessler points out that the animal name 豸 ~ 廌[e] is attested as early as in the Shang period's oracle bones and once referred to real animals,[f] i.e. small deer which were hunted by the Shang kings yet whose identity has been almost forgotten.[1]: 620 He then proposes an Austroasiatic etymology by comparing 廌 (Old Chinese: *dreʔ)[g] to Old Mon drāy (> Burmese ဒရယ် da.rai "hog deer"), Old Khmer drāy > Khmer ទ្រាយ triəy "stag", and Stieng [Biat] draːi "swamp deer,[1]: 620 whose Proto-Mon-Khmer ancestor was reconstructed by Shorto as *draaj (#1508).[24]: 405
Linguist Juha Janhunen (2011) counts the "real goat-like animal (perhaps an antelope)" underlying 廌; zhì as one among many sources (besides the rhinoceros[22]: 192 and others) which inspired the
Schwartz (2018) identifies the 廌 as the antelope (
Homage
[edit]In 2022, a species of prehistoric giraffoid artiodactyl from early Miocene China, Discokeryx xiezhi, was named after the xiezhi in reference to a single bony plate on top of its skull which bore a resemblance to the horn of the mythical creature.[26]
In other places
[edit]Japan
[edit]In Japan, it is known as kaichi (獬豸), also sometimes referred to as a shin'yō (
Korea
[edit]The xiezhi is known as haetae (Korean: 해태) in Korea. According to Korean records, the haetae has a muscular leonine body covered with sharp scales, a bell in its neck, and a horn on its forehead. It lives in the frontier areas of Manchuria.[28]
In Joseon-dynasty Korea, the haetae was believed to protect against fire disasters. Sculptures of haetae were used in architecture (for example, at Gyeongbok Palace) to ward off fire.[citation needed] A cartoon haetae named Haechi is the city mascot of Seoul.
In English, the haetae may be called "the unicorn-lion."[citation needed]
Gallery
[edit]-
A xiezhi in Anhui Province, China
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A haetae at a Korean palace
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Other variants are
解 豸,解 𧋈, 獬廌,解 廌, 觟𧣾, 觟䚦 - ^ Given as "one-horned sheep" (Chinese:
一角 之 羊 ; pinyin: yījiǎo zhī yáng) in the original Chinese. Forke rendered this "the monoceros [hsieh-chai] is a goat with one horn",[2] Karlgren as " kie-chai is a ram with one horn";[3] Karlgren and Forke read 觟𧣾/獬豸 as hsieh-chai and kie-chai respectively, but hsieh-chih is the Wade-Giles romanization according to references otherwise consulted.[4] - ^ Not to be confused to the official Yáng Fù (楊阜) who flourished during the late Eastern Han and Cao Wei eras
- ^
解 is the gloss for 豸 provided by 3rd century CE's classicist Du Yu.[17] Schuessler (2007) apparently interprets it as解 ; xiè "understand, distinguish"; yet there are other interpretations: such as "solution" by Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary[18] or "decision" or "clarity" by Bernard Karlgren.[19] - ^ In his 2009 book Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese, Schuessler treats 豸 and 廌 as variants of each other.[20]: 125 Earlier, Guangyun also treated them likewise.[21]
- ^ See also Janhunen (2011: 192-194)[22]: 192–194 and Schwartz (2018: 40-42).[23]: 40–42
- ^ whence Eastern Han Chinese *ḍɛB > Middle Chinese *ḍjeB, *ḍaɨB > standard Chinese zhì, zhài.[1]: 620 [20]: 125
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Schuessler, Axel (2007). An Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
- ^ a b c Wang Chong (1962) [1907], "Ch. XXIX: Auguries Verified (Shih-ying)", Lun-hêng:Part II. Miscellaneous Essays of Wang Ch'ung, Forke, Alfred. tr. (2 ed.), New York: Paragon Book Gallery, p. 321
- ^ a b c Karlgren, Bernhard (1946), "Legends and Cults in Ancient China", Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (18): 261, 324, JSTOR 40379201
- ^ a b Ssu-ma Ch'ien (2020), The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume X, Nienhauser, William H. tr., Indiana University Press, p. Endnote 208, ISBN 9780253056795
- ^ Wang Chong
王 充 (nd) [c. 85], "Shihying, chapter 52"是 應 篇 第 五 十 二 , Lunheng論 衡 [Discourses in the Balance] (in Chinese) – via Wikisource,儒者 說 云 :觟𧣾者 、一角 之 羊 也,性 知 有罪 。皋陶治 獄 ,其罪疑 者 ,令 羊 觸 之 。有罪 則 觸 ,無罪 則 不 觸 。斯蓋天生 一角 聖 獸 ,助 獄 為 驗 ,故 皋陶敬 羊 ,起 坐 事 之 。此則神 奇瑞 應 之 類 也。 - ^ Wang, Tao [in Chinese] (1983) [1937], Jiweiju xiaoxue jinshi luncong
微 居 小學 金石 論叢 /积微居 小学 金石 论丛, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, pp. 82–83 - ^ Wang, Tao (2007), "Ritual Animals: Colour and Meaning (Part 1)", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 70 (2): 339, n132, JSTOR 40379201
- ^ Wang Chong, Lunheng (in Chinese),[5] cited by Yang (1983)[1937],[6] cited as source on xiezhi by Wang Tao (in English).[7]
- ^ Cui Hao(
崔 浩 d. 450), cited in the annotative work Shiji Suoyin ("Seeking the Obscure in the Grand Scribe's Records").[4] - ^ Chen, Xi (2022), A Study of Criminal Proceeding Conventions in Tang Dynasty, Shi, Guang. tr., Springer Nature, pp. 134–135, ISBN 9789811630415
- ^ "Account of Sima Xiangru", in Sima Qian, Shiji (91 BCE). quote: "於是乎背
秋 涉 冬 ,天子 校 獵 。……弄 解 豸" - ^ "Account of Sima Xiangru A", in Book of Han (111 CE), quote: "於是乎背
秋 涉 冬 ,天子 校 獵 。……弄 解 廌" - ^ Sima Xiangru, "Fu on the Imperial Park" (translated by David Knechtges) (2008). in How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology edited by Cai, Zong-Qi. quoted: "And then, as the year turns its back on autumn and edges into winter, the Son of Heaven stages the barricade hunt. [...] Paw the sagacious stag. p. 67-68"
- ^ Records of Strange Things (
異物 志 ) in Court Advisor Yang's works (楊議郎 著書 ). quoted: "東北 荒 中有 獸 名 獬豸一角性忠見人鬥則觸不直者聞人論則咋不正者" p. 27-28 of 980. Scanned by Chinese Text Project - ^ a b SWJZ, "Radical 𢊁" quote: "𢊁:
解 𢊁,獸 也,似 山 牛 ,一角 。古 者 決 訟,令 觸 不 直 。" - ^ Chunqiu Zuo Zhuan, "Xuan 17", "zhuan" quote: (
余 將 老 ,使 郤子逞 其志,庶有豸乎?); rough translation: "I will plead old age [to retire], and let Master Xi achieve his wish. Mayhap that shall lead to a solution / an understanding / clarity / decision?" - ^ Du Yu (
杜 預 ), Chunqiu Zuozhuan - Collected Explanations (春秋 經傳 集 解 ), "Part 2"; Sibu Congkan (四 部 叢 刊 ) 1st edition version, "Vol. 11, Xuan 12 - 18", p. 186 of 190. quote: "豸解也" - ^ Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary (《
教育 部 國語 辭典 》), entry 豸, quote: (辦法。) - ^ Karlgren, Bernard (1969). “Glosses on the Tso Chuan,” BMFEA, 41: 1–158; gloss 349; cited in Durrant, Li, & Schaberg (translators) (2016). Zuo tradition: Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals. fn. 336 on p. 692.
- ^ a b Schuessler, Axel (2009). Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
- ^ Guangyun, "rising tone, section
蟹 , sub-section 廌", quote: (廌:解 廌。…… 豸:同上 。) - ^ a b c d Janhunen, Juha (2011) "Unicorn, Mammoth, Whale" in Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past: Occasional Paper 12. Kyoto: Institute for Humanity and Nature, Indus Project Research. p 189 - 222
- ^ a b Schwartz, Adam (2018). "Shang Sacrificial Animals: Material Documents and Images". In: Sterckx R, Siebert M, Schäfer D, eds. Animals through Chinese History: Earliest Times to 1911. Cambridge University Press; 2018:20-45.)
- ^ Shorto, Harry Leonard (2006) A Mon-Khmer comparative dictionary. Sidwell, Cooper, & Bauer (eds.). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics
- ^ SWJZ, vol. 10, radical 豸, quote: (豸:
獸 長 𦟝行 豸豸然 ,欲 有 所司 殺 形 。) translation: "(The character) zhi (stands for) wild beasts with elongated backbones that move flexibly, (when they) desire to kill their prey, they patiently wait and stalk (them)" from Valenti, Federico (2018). Biological Classification in Early Chinese Dictionaries and Glossaries: from Fish to Invertebrates and Vice Versa (PDF) (PhD thesis). Università degli studi di Sassari. p. 56. - ^ Pennisi, Elizabeth (2 June 2022). "This ancient giraffe relative head-butted rivals with an 'amazing sexual weapon'". Science. Science. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ Gould, Charles (2009). Mythical Monsters. BiblioLife. pp. 357–359. ISBN 978-0-559-10836-5.
- ^ An Illustrated Guide to Korean Culture - 233 traditional key words by The National Academy of the Korean Language