CHINESE METAPHORICAL ZOOLOGY 27 



five cubits in height; the tail is graduated like Pandean oil 



five t r^* the " of ^ instrument In.', 

 fi.e modulations. It is generally adopted as a si m,l, fo 

 feminine beauty and purity. 



hnliJl 11 ^^ 11 r d i the P hoenix tether are often sym- 

 bolical of the husband and wife. 



The unicorn (lt),isa mythical creature which brings 

 good fortune, and holds an important place in the thoughts 

 ot the Chinese. It is recorded to have the body of a deer, 

 the tail of an ox, the scales of a fish, and one horn covered 

 with flesh (denoting that though anxious for peace it is 

 ready for war). It is typical of general excellence, and is 

 often metaphorically applied to a filial son, or a distinguished 

 man. 



The Chinese regard the tiger as the king of beasts, and 

 this animal, together with the fox, monkey, deer, tortoise, 

 ■crane, eagle, and parrot, are the possessors of many mythical 

 attributes, such as power to change their shape, etc. The 

 tiger typifies ferocity, the fox witchcraft and trickery, the 

 monkey cunning, the deer, crane, and tortoise longevity, the 

 •eagle boldness, and the parrot wisdom. 



When a man is said to be anxiously hoping for the 

 unicorns appearance ( $t Sifc & ^ ), it is evident to the 

 Chinese mind that he wishes to be blest with a son of his 

 own, to carry on the line and worship him after death. 

 Should this son sent by the unicorn ( 4ft JH *£ ■?• ) turn out to 

 be a credit to his father, and become a great man, he will be 

 called a crane among the chickens ( %% 3£ Wt §), or, as we 

 should say, "a Triton among the minnows"; should he prove 

 to be a better man than his father, he is styled the calf of a 

 brindled ox ( ^ ^ £ ■£), or a colt ivhich passes beyond the 

 hoof -marks of its sire (Hi^^), and it is then his duty 

 to be a son who controls his father's weevil-like depredations 

 (§fc ii £ ■?■ ), and make up for his shortcomings by virtuous 

 conduct. Since even a lamb kneels to take its mother's milk 

 (^ ^ Et % ), so should a son be filial. If the father is 

 advanced in years at the time of his son's birth, he is said 

 to be an old oyster producing a pearl ( 42 *fc & & ), and if this 

 precious child carries out his filial obligations, his constant 

 care will be to ensure that his aged parents will live to see 

 as many springs as the tortoise and the crane ( & HI f»I # ) ; 

 as the tortoise, according to Chinese records, lives to be 

 1.000, and the crane to be 500 years old, the son will have 

 his work cut out to accomplish this happy result. The death 

 or departure of a brother is signified by the figurative break- 

 ing of a column in a flight of wild geese (M If #f SI )• 



