CHINESE METAPHORICAL 

 ZOOLOGY 



C. A. 8. WILLIAMS. 



"Man, by nature, is never satisfied, 

 Like a snake swallowing an elephant ; 

 In Life, when all is said and done, 

 The praying-mantis pounces upon the cicada." 



( A <K> ? £ *B $ H Ht $ a S5 & ffi UP ) 



From a poem by Lo Hung-hsien (ff£ }ij§ ^fe). 



Figurative description has' been reduced to a fine art by 

 trie Chinese, and owing to the almost total absence of 

 abstract nouns in their language, they have borrowed largely 

 from nature in order to give point to their written and spoken 

 ideas. 



Animals and birds, both natural and mythical, are 

 perhaps more frequently utilised for this purpose than any 

 other objects of nature, and the different characteristics of 

 the denizens of the zoological kingdom have provided apposite 

 similies for almost every phase of the human emotions. 



The dragon ( ft ), according to the Chinese, has the head 

 of a camel, the horns of a deer, eyes of a rabbit, ears of a cow, 

 neck of a snake, belly of a frog, scales of a carp, claws of 

 a hawk, and palm of a tiger. It is the type yar excellence 

 for the highest qualities of man, was emblematic of the 

 Emperor, and represents masculine beauty and boldness in 

 general. 



The phoenix ( H. Mi ) occupies an exalted place in the 

 national estimation, and is a fabulous bird of good omen, 

 said to resemble a wild swan before and a unicorn behind; 

 it has the throat of a swallow, the bill of a cock, the neck 

 of a snake, the tail of a fish, the forehead of a crane, the 

 crown of a mandarin drake, the stripes of a dragon, and the 

 vaulted back of a tortoise. The feathers have five colours, 

 which are named after the five cardinal virtues, 1 and it is 



1 Charity {i.e. natural goodness of heart), duty to one's neighbour, 

 propriety, wisdom, and truth ( £1 ft i! t? fs). 



