NOTES AND QUERIES 201 



Ch'i chii ( is|§ JH. ) north of the rivers Ching and Wei in Shensi. From 

 the above it would appear that the ssH refers to a bovine-animal, 

 and not. to a rhinoceros. 



Is it possible that in post-diluvian times the Rhino, was found 

 as far north as the Valley of the Yellow River? That thongs made 

 from the hide of hsi (hsi-niu) were made in very early times is 

 proven by the following taken from the Tso Chuan, chap, vi, ]^ *gr $r 

 QiWkiik'&MifilWL}^ ^ M ^L • ^ ne commentary here states dis- 

 tinctly that the hsi was a hsi-niu," Also the |g- JJc ft /§( quoting the 

 tt m. & H says that /PWnft;fcfSJi@JSJ¥#&_hfcS!« 

 B, ft /p. # m - ft % $ % /P nfl 4" A £ » - ^J 2, ft • And the 

 3fc ft |fi states that H ft # ?K J? & . n ^ # lU J^ & & M ± * If 

 ^ JH IP ^ il- ilf fH '<£. H- IP • ^ 7 e certainly get much nearer the 

 mark when we find it called a pi-hsi. 



In Adversaria, series II, No. 1, The sentence M- JL& Wl N W. 

 appears to me to mean that "the skin of the nose is all crinkled up, 

 like the folds or pleats of a skirt." I see no reference to a "horn" 

 in the sentence as it stands. But this is all the more in favour of 

 Dr. Giles' contention, that the ssu is not a rhinoceros. 



Another important fact not to be over-looked, is that the Chinese 

 generalty, and the druggists in particular, always call the shavings 

 of the hsi, "hsi-chio-pi'en," and never "s.sw-chio-pi'en." 



In Adversaria, series II, No. 1, p. 25, the sentence $£ nib Wi I$P HI tk 

 can only have one meaning, viz. — that the roots (or stems) of the 

 meanings, (are forked) rise up clearly (say one or two inches) 

 from the base of the horn. In other words, |£ ^ >" $§ *fr flfi jg fffj M 95 

 For my own part, I must confess that I am still in doubt as to 

 whether the hsi is really a rhinoceros or a bovine-animal. That the 

 ssu is not a rhinoceros is practically certain. 



Mr. A. H. Sanders, dialing, Hunan, also writes on this 

 subject : — 



Re " Rhinoceros " discussion, p. 237 Journal 1917. Should 

 Drs. Giles and Laufer ever take the proposed week-end jaunt to 

 Tibet for the purpose of settling the knotty Rhinoceros question 

 "bovine or not bovine," they might come this way and view the 

 celebrated He ^ of dialing. 



It is of bronze, and life-size, and is vulgarly supposed to have 

 fallen direct from Heaven ready-made. But the local historical 

 records give it as dating from £tc fijj; ^ . 



Nevertheless, my teacher was very emphatic on the point tKat at 

 least the pattern must be of celestial origin. "For," said he, "this 

 is no ordinary ox. It is a genuine ^p, which has never been known 



